One of the best feelings in the world is delivery day for your new hot tub! Your shiny spa has just arrived and is perfectly in position. But wait! Before you can relish your first soak, follow these five simple steps to prepare your new hot tub for enjoyment.
1) Fill the Spa
The first step is the most obvious – water! Grab your garden hose, remove the hot tub filter, and drop the nozzle inside the filter compartment. If your spa model has two filters, you only need to remove one. Fill until the water is parallel with the neck jets.
Why not place the garden hose directly into the spa well? It puts you at risk for airlock, which is when trapped air pockets prevent your jets from functioning. When water goes straight into the plumbing, however, it pushes out air.
Plan for around an hour to fill your tub. Garden hoses have an average flow rate of 6-8 gallons per minute (gpm) depending on their length and diameter. So if you have a 270-gallon hot tub and your hose is 7 gpm, it will take approximately 40 minutes to fill completely.
2) Have an Electrician on Standby
Once your tub is filled, then it can be connected to electricity. This is where you need a licensed electrician with hot tub experience. While there are a few spa models that plug in, most need to be wired and appropriately connected to your breaker.
Waiting to power your tub until it’s full also prevents a huge no-no – running a spa without water. Remember that the pumps and heater are engineered to work when there’s circulating water. Turning them on without water could fry these electrical components.
3) Add Metal and Scale Control
We provide Brilliance Metal and Scale Control with your startup chemicals. It’s great for protecting your hot tub against stains. As a bonus, it uses a soy protein that makes your water feel silky.
Add 0.5 ounces for every 150 gallons. Jets should be running to help with circulation, though you can pour the liquid formula directly into the center of your tub water. Then wait a minimum of 30 minutes. Ideally, we recommend north of 60 minutes – give your chemicals time to fully do their job and stabilize!
4) Add Sanitizer
Now it’s time to add sanitizer. We recommend the FROG @ease In-Line System. It features two cartridges: mineral on top and chlorine on bottom. Set them to four on startup and set a timer for 15 minutes.
Next add your shock. This can be the FROG Jump Start, which is a single-use packet, or chlorine granules (follow the manufacturer’s directions for measurements). Both products will help establish a base chlorine level.
5) Set to Heat
Fair warning – this part may be the most tantalizing! Remember you just filled your hot tub with tap water. Depending on the time of year, it could be pleasantly cool to downright icy! All those hundreds of gallons of water need time to become steamy.
Expect 12 hours or more for your water to reach around 100 degrees. For our Marquis and HotSpring brands, we see an average heat rise of several degrees per hour. For example, if your tap water is 50 degrees, that could take around 16 hours to double to 100 degrees. Factors like your number of gallons and the heater output to even the ambient air temperature can make a difference. Use your hot tub cover while the water is warming up to trap heat inside.
From here, there’s nothing left to do but sink into your new tub and enjoy your first soak. We recommend commemorating this special occasion with a good drink, fun snacks, and your favorite tunes. It’s time to celebrate!
New to owning a hot tub? These beginner posts will help you feel like a spa pro in no time: