New to us hot tub with SWG

[purpleinnej]

Hi. We are trying to get a hot tub set up. We purchased it used and it came with a Saltron Mini. The prescribed amount of salt for startup is 7 cups and that did nothing.

Right now the saltron is alternating between number of hours (set to 24 at the moment) and “- -“. I soaked the cell in vinegar and used a toothbrush to remove the residue as much as I could. I can still see buildup and sediment inside the cell but I don’t know how to get to it and clear it out.

I’ve continued to add salt every few hours, wait, test for chlorine, add more salt, repeat. The test strips consistently show chlorine as non-detectable.

How much salt can I add before I get the lights on the saltron to identify low, neutral, or high? Should I replace the cell?

Not really sure where to start. Or if I need other chemicals besides just the salt.

 

[Mdragger88]

How old is the cell? They usually only last about 18 months of running daily.
24hrs is likely too long to run it. In my 250 gal spa I run 3 or 4 hours per day.
It can take up to 24 hrs for salt to fully dissolve in the water and the reading to be accurate. Attempting to run the cell before this time can fry the cell.
Stop adding salt.
What is your spa volume?

Here’s the manual

https://solaxx.com/assets/files/mini_manual1.pdf

In the interim you need to manually chlorinate your spa or nasties will grow.
Here’s the guide to follow

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

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We recommend purging your spa with Ahhsome to rid it of biofilms - especially a used spa. This is something that should be done every 3-6 months as part of regular maintenance.

 

[purpleinnej]

Cell age is unknown. Probably at least 5 years old if I had to guess. I’ve already ordered a replacement.

Spa size is 190 gallons.

I plan on running it 5 hours a day once we get chlorine level figured out.

Are you saying I should turn off the cell, add salt, wait 24 hours, then turn the cell back on? Whenever I add salt, the cell should be off?

And when you drain and refill, add chlorine before switching to salt?

 

[wireform]

24 hour waiting period for adding salt. Just a FYI the salt cell is a maintainer so it needs to have the chlorine level up there before using it as it can't produce fast enough to raise to sought after level.

 

[Mdragger88]

Cell age is unknown. Probably at least 5 years old if I had to guess. I’ve already ordered a replacement.

Spa size is 190 gallons.

I plan on running it 5 hours a day once we get chlorine level figured out.

That may be a bit much but let your testing be your guide.

Are you saying I should turn off the cell, add salt, wait 24 hours, then turn the cell back on? Whenever I add salt, the cell should be off?

Correct

And when you drain and refill, add chlorine before switching to salt?

A salt pool/spa is a chlorine pool/spa.
The cell’s job is to produce enough chlorine over an extended period of time to maintain your fc not make it all up from zero right now.
Chlorine is king
Always maintain fc above minimum for your cya.
FC/CYA Levels
Do not wait for the cell or nasties will grow in the meantime. Use dichlor or liquid chlorine.
Once cya reaches 30/40ppm switch to liquid chlorine only.
A swcg in a spa is best used to maintain the standby fc needs - it may not be enough to make up for some bather load demands without you supplementing with liquid chlorine.
The bather load in a small spa is great- much higher than a pool.
It’s like having a frat party in an average sized pool at each use.
You must chlorinate accordingly or things will get funky fast.
In my 200-250 gal spa I run my saltron mini for an hour multiple times per day. (2x’s in the summer & usually 3/4 times/day in the winter when we use it more).
This keeps the fc steady instead of having a lot at once & then not enough when I may be ready for use. I accomplish this with a simple mechanical timer.
The controller is set to 1 hr & when power is lost & then restored by the timer it automatically comes on & runs for the allotted time.
for any bather load higher than 1 clean person for 30 minutes I add liquid chlorine or dichlor afterwards (depending upon my cya needs at the time)
If its alot of use (multiple people for an hour +) I add a little during so I don’t risk fc falling too low.