Strange chemical smell when running air jets

[Andrew Montreal]

Hi all,

Our spa is a Jacuzzi J-475, which has the Clearray system that uses both UV and ozone. I use the dichlor/liquid chlorine method for sanitation. We have had it for ten months.

Regardless if I’m in the dichlor mode or the liquid chlorine mode, there is a strange chemical smell, but ONLY WHEN USING THE AIR JETS. And only for the first minute or two. If I simply turn the water jets on, there is the usual light chloramine smell. Even then, the chlorine smell is not that strong. I just have a sensitive nose. But turn on the air jets and BOOM, there’s that smell… a smell that reminds me of back in the 80s and 90s when trucks used to drive around the suburbs and spray neighbours’ lawns.

The chlorine level is a beautiful 2ppm. The chemical balance is spotless! I mean right up there in the ideal saturation zone:

Calcium hardness: 150ppm
Alkalinity: 80ppm
pH: 7.6

It’s not a chemical disbalance. I even emptied and refilled the tub twice this month, both times doing a purge with AhhSome as well. It’s not related to that process either because it was there before that.

The first time I smelled it was last November when I first switched to liquid chlorine. The first time it was INTENSE!!!

Anyone familiar with this smell? It’s a strong acrid smell but it is not chlorine.

Anyone know what it is? My uneducated guess is that it is the smell of ozone somehow being released from the water when the air jets run. Maybe there is a leak somewhere inside the body of the tub and ozone gets in from the clear system into the air jets? I know this sounds ridiculous, but I don’t know what it could be. Perhaps it’s some other chemical that is produced by some other combination?

Thanks for your input.

Andrew

 

[Bperry]

Hi all,

Our spa is a Jacuzzi J-475, which has the Clearray system that uses both UV and ozone. I use the dichlor/liquid chlorine method for sanitation. We have had it for ten months.

Regardless if I’m in the dichlor mode or the liquid chlorine mode, there is a strange chemical smell, but ONLY WHEN USING THE AIR JETS. And only for the first minute or two. If I simply turn the water jets on, there is the usual light chloramine smell. Even then, the chlorine smell is not that strong. I just have a sensitive nose. But turn on the air jets and BOOM, there’s that smell… a smell that reminds me of back in the 80s and 90s when trucks used to drive around the suburbs and spray neighbours’ lawns.

The chlorine level is a beautiful 2ppm. The chemical balance is spotless! I mean right up there in the ideal saturation zone:

Calcium hardness: 150ppm
Alkalinity: 80ppm
pH: 7.6

It’s not a chemical disbalance. I even emptied and refilled the tub twice this month, both times doing a purge with AhhSome as well. It’s not related to that process either because it was there before that.

The first time I smelled it was last November when I first switched to liquid chlorine. The first time it was INTENSE!!!

Anyone familiar with this smell? It’s a strong acrid smell but it is not chlorine.

Anyone know what it is? My uneducated guess is that it is the smell of ozone somehow being released from the water when the air jets run. Maybe there is a leak somewhere inside the body of the tub and ozone gets in from the clear system into the air jets? I know this sounds ridiculous, but I don’t know what it could be. Perhaps it’s some other chemical that is produced by some other combination?

Thanks for your input.

Andrew

You havent logged a CYA test in 4 months so itd be wise to measure that. 2ppm chlorine sounds way too low.

 

[Andrew Montreal]

You havent logged a CYA test in 4 months so itd be wise to measure that. 2ppm chlorine sounds way too low.

2ppm isn’t low when using the Clearray system. Jacuzzi even dares to suggest 1-2ppm. I stay in a safe zone of 2ppm.

Before that, I was clearly using too much chlorine. In less than a year, the inside of the cover has been bleached a new tone of white as a result. I decided to bring it back.

As for the CYA, it was at steady 30ppm up until three weeks ago when I emptied the tub. It then slowly made its way back up to around 30ppm as I added the dichlor. But I just re-emptied it four days ago so it’s back to minimal levels.

As such, I don’t suspect it’s related to CYA levels. This smell existed when the CYA was higher and also now when it is lower. Same with the chlorine levels. The smell was there when chlorine levels were high and right now chlorine levels are low and it still occurs.

 

[Bperry]

2ppm isn’t low when using the Clearray system. Jacuzzi even dares to suggest 1-2ppm. I stay in a safe zone of 2ppm.

3ppm is the bare minimum when CYA is 40. The manufactueres do say that kinda stuff sometimes but it doesnt work that way and often leads to unsanitary water, which is where odd smells tend to come from.

I might guess the air intake might have something contaminated in it, but I’ve never smelled ozone so it sounds like a reasonable guess without knowing more.

 

[Andrew Montreal]

P.S.: I should mention that most often it is only one person in the hot tub at a time, once or twice a day. And it’s usually a soak of about ten to fifteen minutes. Occasionally it is both my darling and I at the same time. Also, we both wash thoroughly before entering.

 

[Andrew Montreal]

3ppm is the bare minimum when CYA is 40. The manufactueres do say that kinda stuff sometimes but it doesnt work that way and often leads to unsanitary water, which is where odd smells tend to come from.

I might guess the air intake might have something contaminated in it, but I’ve never smelled ozone so it sounds like a reasonable guess without knowing more.

My apologies… I meant to say a CYA level of 30ppm. I edited my post.

Fortunately for us, the water has SEEMED to remain sanitary since going down to lower chlorine levels. By that I mean there have been no clouding or other oddities. Is it okay? I don’t know for sure but it seems to be.

And as I said, that strong chemical smell was there even when I was hitting the water harder with the chlorine… Regular levels of 4-5ppm.

That doesn’t SEEM to be the issue, but I won’t pretend to know what it actually is.

 

[Andrew Montreal]

Perhaps is it the smell of chloramines but at a very high concentration?

 

[wireform]

After a purge even 2 ppm chlorine is harsh without any CYA. I'd ditch the ozone and just balance the FC with the CYA to see if the smell goes away. Just so you know ozone eats your chlorine too. I have many pools which proved it , some just have it non powered and some have had it removed but all with better results.

 

[Andrew Montreal]

After a purge even 2 ppm chlorine is harsh without any CYA. I'd ditch the ozone and just balance the FC with the CYA to see if the smell goes away. Just so you know ozone eats your chlorine too. I have many pools which proved it , some just have it non powered and some have had it removed but all with better results.

With a Jacuzzi, would it be as simple as turning off the Clearray system to see if it makes a difference? I ask because it has both ozone and UV. I imagine I would want both of them turned off for the test.