We just bought a home with a Jacuzzi Z140 spa. My experience level with these things is zero. The spa was operational and full of water when we did our inspection of the house. The previous owner drained the spa before she left the house and sold it to us. We live in a Chicago suburb.

With so many things to take care of in the new house and winter coming up, I would just assume not use the spa until spring. The manual says just drain the water, remove the filter and I'm good for the winter. Is this true? Is it safer for the spa to keep it full of water for the winter?

The manual says many times that the circuit breaker should be turned off before the water is drained. The previous owner didn't do this and power was on without water in the spa for about a week. Is this likely to have caused a problem? Wouldn't a flow sensor detect that water was not flowing and prevent damage to the pump and heater? I'm sure I'll find out the answer to this in the spring, but am hoping that the spa designers anticipated the low water situation.

Thanks, John

First of all, with the spa drained and the power still going to it, the motor would have run dry, regardless of the pressure switch, so your pump seal could be toasted.

Filling the spa and leaving it run through the winter is best, but if you must leave it drained, take at least 1 cup of rv antifreeze and put it down each of the jets, about 3 cups down the filter openings (with the filter removed), and put about a cup or two down each drain. Also, the pumps will likely still have water in them, so you will need to drain each one by removing the drain plug from each. Wouldn't be a bad idea to try to get some rv antifreeze in there too. Your spa may have a drain hose fitting on one of the sides of the cabinet. It would be a good idea to open this and let what ever is left in there drain for a few days before recapping it. If you have a blower on your spa, you will want to operate that for about 10 minutes or better to force the water out of the air orifices throughout the tub. It would also be a good idea to pour about a tablespoon of rv antifreeze down each hole for the air jets.

The reason for all that trouble is simply that spas have hoses going everywhere under it and there are always low spots that just don't drain. You never know where they are, so you protect as best as you can. If water freezes in these low spots or even in the jets, cracks in the plumbing or jets can occur. To remove all that antifreeze in the spring you will need to fill, cycle, drain, repeat about 3 times before filling for use. Some people would say this is excessive, but I've never seen a rupture occure using this method.

Its so much easier to leave them filled, and there is nothing quite like getting into a hot tub during a gentle snow fall on a calm moonlit night.