Hydro Spa 815
Outback
2006
220 hard wired with ozonator
Top pad control

Hi. I have learned from you guys that my heater is out, after I paid a yahoo 85$ to come out. He was going to charge me another 300$ to fix it.

Ok for my question. He told us that the reason the heater went out was because the PH level was to high, is this possible? If so, how do I fix it?

The PH itself will not cause a problem with the heater element, but what happens is the heater will "bake" the water around it, and with high PH, the calcium dissolved in the water is high, and when it is baked at the element, it starts to deposit on the element. Over time this will keep the element from heating the water efficiently, and will over heat the element and burn it out.

Test your water every other day, if not daily, and make your adjustments as necessary. You want to keep the water as near PH 7 (neutral) as possible.

We see many, many elements ruined by low PH (high acidity), not too many ruined by high PH, though it occaisonally happens.

Why is the tech a yahoo?

Okay, that being said. How do I fix the HI PH problem? What chemicals, I am using bromide caps in floaters. We call the George and Gracie.

Have you considered PH down? (sodium bisulfate)

What happened? You mention you learned from this site the heater was out, after you had hired a tech. What did the tech tell you was wrong? If you learned from this site and not the tech it was the heater, I'm curious what his $300 High PH repair consists of, and if you've tested the water yourself.


A few questions

How are you testing your water?
What behavior did the bad heater exhibit?
Who are George and Gracie?

He gave us many reasons that the spa wasn't working. And was going to charge us until he found it. One of which was electrical. My neighbor is a licensed electrician and installed the electrical portion of this project and had already inspected his work. The additional 300 was to empty the tub and install the entire system. He also told us that the ozonator was not working. The manufacturer of the spa told us that the ozonator was probably fine since it only comes on twice a day and only lights up when on. The guy just didn't instill confidence in me. The manufacturer told us that even a novice could install the heater in about 1 1/2 hrs. I don't know, but I think that a pro wouldn't take that long. Do you guys make 150 and hour? We just received the heating element and will find out today if it is the problem.

Thanks for the help and input.

Hey guys,

The heater is working it took less than 1 hr even for a novice. It is very cold here in Dallas so I don't know how long it will take for the water to be warm enough to use, but it is heating. Sorry about the rant, but I work hard for the $'s I spend and hate to be taken advantage of, and I think that the spa guy was trying to take advantage of me. I am a girl and can do many things myself with a little guidance. As far as the ph I will check some of the other posts to see what I need to do to keep it where it's supposed to be.


Thanks