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Technical Jargon
for Hot Tubs and Spa Pools
Insulation
Techniques
Insulation isn't just about keeping the hot tub hot, perimeter insulation
creates a protective insulated wall around the spa cabinet. It only locks
the heat inside just like your home, but the pumps, heaters, and plumbing
are also insulated.
Pumps that are over insulated could risk over heating so many full foam
spas have foam on just three sides of the hot tub and nothing on the 4th.
This way the pumps are cool, the pipes around the equipment are also cold,
and so is one wall of the spa.
Some hot tub manufacturers spray about 10mm of foam onto the spa shell.
This insulates the shell slightly, but not enough as it may leave all
the pumps and pipes exposed to the elements. What happens when the heater
and pump are activated? the freezing cold water that has been sat in the
pipes could be foreced back through the jets! Expect a shock of freezing
cold water about your bare person!
Foam can degrade and break down into a yellow dust over a period of time.
Where it is sprayed as a 10mm layer onto the back of a shell, be mindful
that as the shell heats and cools, it also expands and contracts. This
means that the movement could cause pieces to crack and fall off.
A solution to the above is for some manufacturers to support the shell
by turning the hot tub upside-down and pumping the entire spa with foam.
It makes perfect sense but in the fullness of time the foam may brea down
and start to sag, equally if there is a leak or other problem, access
will be difficult.
Hot
Tub Heaters
Heating is a very important issue. If a hot tub is described as having
a 'Heat Recovery' system, it generally means it has no heater! - The water
around the pump is heated from the hot pump, so it sounds good and appears
to be economical but at the same time as it is taking the heat from the
pump, and it also cools it, so surely cannot generate sufficient heat
to bring the temperature up to the comfort required. It may be good for
maintaining temperature when the spa is not in use, but as soon as the
cover is opened and the jets are turned on, you will feel the temperature
drop.
The same applies to smaller 1.5kw electric heaters because they will struggle
to keep-up in colder weather.
So what is an adequate heater specification for a hot tub?
If the heater is specified as 5 or 5.5kw, it is a safe bet that it was
are generally quoted for the US market where they run on 110v. The system
is likely to have been modified rather than designed specifically for
the UK market, it may not be reliable.
A UK hot tub heater ought to be between 2 and 3.5 kw but it isn't unusual
to have a 6kw heater in a large hot tub or swim spa.
Acryllic
Hot tubs
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