how to get a hotter hot tub?

[SteveB]

"terry" wrote

Kill someone, then lie about it. Sounds like a plan to me.

Steve

[KLS]

[cut]

I'm late to the party and have no suggestions for your situation. I am, however, amazed that your wife can tolerate (nay, enjoy!) such high temperatures. We are in western New York, too, up on Lake Ontario, and we keep our outdoor tub at 100 or 101F, even when the temps are in the teens. I just don't like the water that much hotter because then I can't stay in there, and what's the point of running this hot tub if I can't have a nice long soak? I will say that our hot tub gets so hot during the summer (it's in direct sun all day) that we no longer run it in July and August. Time to fill it up soon!

A thought: are these other tubs you've been testing out fully insulated on all five sides? Ours is a Beachcomber, with the motor OUTSIDE the tub (it's in the step platform), so we have insulation on all four walls plus the floor, and the temperature drops very slowly when the cover is off. Great water circulation and temperature retention. I wonder if these other tubs have even temperatures throughout or are hot just near the thermostat/heater.

[JJ]

Thanks to the few of you who posted suggestions. I was afraid there might be some people warning me off of higher temperatures, but I wasn't prepared for the mass of posts.

Thanks to the person who posted the link at

it doesn't give any advice about hacking the thermostat, it does confirm that I'm not totally crazy to want the temperature hotter. And I don't think I'm in the running for a Darwin award or likely to be put on trial for murdering my wife. If we get too hot, we get out for a while or turn the temp down.

From the first paragraph on that web site: "Even today, in Japan, many public bath houses have water up to 115 ºF"

As it is now, my wife takes tubs at least 3 times a week in our indoor jacuzzi tub (wich won't comfortably seat two) with initial water temperatures at about 112 - measured with a thermometer. So, setting the temp above 104 would not be anything new.

We're looking for a smaller sized hot tub - and with the amount that my wife likes to get in the tub, it might be more energy efficient to keep a well insulated hot tub warm than to be continually heating up the 45 ºF well water at ~40 gallons a pop.

If anyone else would like to post their advice on the easiest or most effective way to get around the 104 degree cap, please do so.

Thanks.

-JJ

[george]

You can have water a bit hotter than 104 by having your tub do it's filtering cycle right before you go in. In other words, if you plan to go in at 7PM, make sure that is about when the filter cycle finishes. The heater on many tubs runs during that cycle regardless of temp, so if the tub is at 104 before the filtering, it will be a few degrees higher afterwards.

One other point... Don't get a smaller tub thinking it will save a lot on heating costs. It honestly won't. It's much more important to get a tub that is big enough to stretch out in comfortably. You don't want to be cramped or have to always have your legs bent. Get IN the tub (Even the empty one on display) you plan to buy and see how it fits. I have never heard of anyone who later wished they had bought a smaller tub!

[ECB]

On mine (Gecko controller), you can get to 106 by holding down the temp-up button after you've set it to max temp. Good luck!

[Paintedcow]

This message is from Thu, 23 Aug 2007. See here:

By now, the OP probably burned down the house.

[Stormin Mormon]

Example dot com. Another moaner, using a web forum. Who has no clue what a usenet is.

[Rick Dodridge]

replying to SteveB, Rick Dodridge wrote: get off the cross SteveB we need the wood

[Highoctaneconcentrates]

replying to Mike Dobony, Highoctaneconcentrates wrote: Can some one say squar people safty net binky grone ass men hot springs can kiss my ass hope thay get sued when some one dies in my tub thats 110 ??

[Highoctaneconcentrates]

replying to Stormin Mormon, Highoctaneconcentrates wrote: Sue me sue me im rich

[Ed Pawlowski]

No problem, Stormy does not need money where he is. Everything is free.

[michaelafelde]

for some individuals 106-108 has more therapy value 20 min in 106 w a gallon of water to drink while sweating i come out cured! how come the water heater or washing machine isnt maxed at 104 ? same deal as the seat belt or helmet .should be a choice

[michaelafelde]

on older tubs with analog function its no problem. turn the temp sensor scr ew counterclockwise bout 1/4 a turn .the hi limit screw turn clockwise bout a 1/4 turn. any tub with a digital system regulated to 104 max is difficu lt to tweak if do able at all. sensors circuit boards relays are all very s ensitive components with precise voltages, milivolt voltages, watts,ohm rea dings resistors etc. if one little thing is off kilter the computer will fr eak out. engineered that way. best way is just get an old pre 104 tub

[michaelafelde]

i tried that on a new softub and .... well the temp decreased!less than 100 degrees. 2 nu parts[probes]later im still stuck w 104

[JimPips]

replying to SteveB, JimPips wrote: Who died and made you class monitor? We're adults, we don't need you to waggle your finger. Seriously dude, if you can't answer the actual question, keep your subjective morality to yourself - in small words, STFU.

[Tom8838]

Hi Nick. I know this is a really old post... Fast forward to 2021 with a replacement controller from "Spa Guts".

I found all the right materials and made a couple of tiny "extension cords with resistors". I made them carefully and even used heat shrink tubing. When I added them in the hot tub says that it's an error on sensor A. I tried it with both 1.2k and 2.2k resistors. So, I'm assuming the computer is sensitive enough to know something just isn't normal, so it just doesn't play.

So, abandoning this approach, is there a way to put some material on the sensor itself to make the water not register to be quite as hot as it actually is?

Thanks for any input on this.

Tom8838

[Dean Hoffman]

Would an immersion water heater be an option?

[Tom8838]

Hi Dean, Thanks for the reply. Yes, that is an option. I got one and it does work, but it takes 2-3 hours to get it there. So, at least I can get it to the right temperature, but I was hoping to make it a little more automatic if that's possible. You can't just decide you need to get in, you have to plan it, which isn't always an option with a 2-3 hour lead time. First world problem, I know.

Thanks for you input.

[Dean Hoffman]

I suppose you've thought about using water heater controls. Have you looked at 120 volt water heaters? One other thing that comes to mind is tank heaters for livestock. Those are intended to keep tanks more or less ice free so Bossy can drink in the winter. Animals are more sensitive to stray electrical current than humans by the way. There's a separate article in the National Electrical Code for livestock buildings.

[alehkhi]

i just did this with the balboa m7 heater on a new tub.. and 100 on the readout is 110 in reality..i used a 2- 3k resistors as described above....i may swap out for a 3.9 resistor