Basic Spa Pool Operation

The premise of this article is to provide you with a basic understanding of how your spa pool actually works, and what you can do to control it! If you’re new to spa pools or even owned one before, this model might work slightly differently to what you’re used to, so it’s important to gain an understanding of why it does the things it does.

Insulate Your Spa

You’ve already done most of the work in this department by selecting an Alpine Spa, as the whole range comes with comprehensive insulation. However, it’s essential to take every step possible to help your insulation do its job, so your heater isn’t constantly working overtime to retain your set temperature. A well-insulated spa pool cover is of critical importance as it will stop water, heat, and chemicals from escaping out the top of your spa. If you haven’t got a well-insulated spa cover, we recommend considering it, available from Spa Supplies.

Quick Overview of Components

Let’s take a look at some of the more common components that may exist in your spa pool.

Touch Pad

The touchpad, touch panel, or topside control panel is the name given to the small LCD control screen that sits on top of the spa pool acrylic. This is the component you will use to gain insight into your spa pool and control the components such as the jet pumps and lights. You will also change the temperature and filtration settings here.

System Controller

Controller, Control System, or Pack is the term given to the brain of your spa pool. This is the central control system where all the components are plugged into, and where the power from your house is wired in to make the spa pool run. It sits inside your spa pool cabinet and doesn’t need attending to, except by your electrician at the time of install. (see your manual for the specific location within your cabinet!).

Jets

These are the physical jet pieces that sit behind your back when you’re in the spa pool, providing you with a massage when your Jet Pump is turned on. In most spa pools, jet pieces turn like a dial to control how much water flows from them. Some jets in the spa such as those in the foot-well or on the wall may be circulation jets dedicated to the filtration line, which are fixed and cannot be altered.

Jet Pump

The pump, jet pump, or massage pump are common names for this water pump that is able to be turned on and off via the touchpad. The jet pump sucks water from the intakes found in the footwell of the spa and pushes it out through the jets to give you a hydrotherapy experience. Usually, jet pumps are single-speed pumps that run at full power when switched on, however, some spa models have 2-speed jet pumps, featuring a low speed and a high speed. Low speed is used for filtering and heating, and high speed is used for hydrotherapy massage. 2-speed pumps

Circulation Pump

The circulation pump or circ is a small dedicated water pump that exists in the majority of our range of spa pools. It’s given the sole duty of filtering and heating the water, and because it’s smaller than the standard Jet Pump, it operates quietly in the background. For models without a circ, the main jet pump in the spa will be a 2-speed pump with the heating and filtering job handled by the low-speed setting of that pump.

Filters

One of the most important components in your spa pool, the filters are responsible for cleaning debris from the water. The filters are screwed into place inside a ‘filter box’ or ‘skimmer’ on the side of the spa pool. Filters get dirty often (as that’s their job!) so make sure you clean them weekly. Filters should be replaced every 6 months. Quite often you’ll find most water care issues are just down to dirty or old filters.

Valves (Dials)

Valves (or dials) are knobs that are situated on the top edge of the acrylic. They are used to control various water features of the spa, giving you the ability to control pressure. Examples of the valves are the diversion valve, air venturis, and waterfall valve (select models).

Sanitisation Systems (Ozone & U.V)

A spa pool generally includes at least one automatic sanitising system (sanitiser) to help assist with controlling the levels of bacteria in the water. The most common system, and included in all of our spa pools by default, is the Ozone system. Ozone or 03, is injected into the filtration line and oxidizes bacteria, helping reduce the amount of overall primary santisier such as Chlorine that needs to be added manually. Other automatic sanitisers we include in select models are Ultra-Violet Chambers, using the power of U.V to kill off bacteria, providing even further protection against bacteria.

Automatic Spa Pool Operation – Your Smart Spa! 

You might sometimes wonder why your spa pool makes a certain noise, or perhaps you’re confused about small bubbles coming up from the foot-well. Let’s learn about these functions. 

Heating 

Your spa pools’ default mode (called normal or standard) will automatically heat the spa pool “on-demand”. This means when the water temperature drops below the touch pads’ set temperature, circulation will kick in and begin heating the spa back up. Once it’s reached the set temperature, it will switch itself off. By default, most models are pre-set to 38deg

Filtering

If your spa pool’s already at its set temperature you might find yourself wondering why it’s still circulating – this could be because it’s in a pre-programmed ‘filter cycle’. Filter cycles are programmed for a duration of time to allow the spa pool to filter and clean. 

Instinctive Pumps

Your pumps will turn on at certain times automatically, such as at the beginning of a filter cycle to mix up the water properly so it can be cleaned. Without this, water sits stagnant in the plumbing and does not get a good chance to be treated. If pumps are turning on at unwanted times, you can set up snooze timers on SpaNET models or dedicated filtration periods with Balboa models.

Ozone Bubbles

Puzzled as to why there is a constant stream of tiny bubbles rising to the surface of the water? This is your automatic ozone sanitiser in action, however, what you’re seeing is technically the end of the process. As water passes through the circulation line of your plumbing, ozone is injected and forced through a specialised mixing chamber, stirring up the 03 with the water, giving the best opportunity for oxidation of bacteria. Once it’s done, the small bubbles of leftover ozone & oxygen pass through the pipes and emit through a jet or drain valve in the footwell.