Tag Archives: hot tub

Hot Tub Cover

News, outside, ,

The SaluSpa hot tub has been a great addition to Ozuye. But there were some issues with the cover, and the floating air cushion inside.

When I arrived this time, the air cushion was filled with water instead of air. That makes it close to impossible to take it out (due to the water weight) and totally defeats the purpose of the air cushion.

So after getting all the water out and re-inflating the cushion, I discovered a puncture in the inner section. So I patched that and now the cushion is fully functional again.

For future reference; the outer section is not to be inflated, nor unplugged, as the cushion is just the right size with only the inner two sections inflated.

To avoid the cover blowing away, the cord to tighten it is now going under the connections to the pump and heater. To uncover, release the cord and flip the grey cover over to the side next to the pump. Then remove the black cushion and store it so that the wind doesn’t blow it away.

The pictures below illustrate the proper way to place both the air cushion and cover.

A hose that can be connected to the air pump is in the bottom right kitchen drawer. With a little effort it just fits the black air cushion.

the outer section of the air cushion is deflated and plugged

the cover fits the tub nicely once the tightener has been released.

The tightening cord stays under the connections to the pump to avoid it getting blown away by the wind.

Hot tub cover

News

Much to my disappointment I found the Hot Tub in a bad state again; the air mattress inside the cover was again removed and this time intentionally stored under the hot tub deck.

The result is that with any rain, a pool forms at the center, and as the cover then touches the hot tub water, insulation is reduced to a thin sheet of vinyl.

So I engineered the following solution;

This frame is made from pvc charlotte pipe, connected with T and one Plus connnector, forming a dome tent frame.

Obviously that won’t do anything when on top of the cover, but the next picture shows what it looks like now.

Now, when there’s rain, the water will drop off to the edge, where it cannot touch the water inside the hot tub as the cover is a few inches above the water level. Besides lowering my electric bill, it should also keep the white Coleman logo cleaner, as water immediately drips off to the sides. That makes the hot tub a little more inviting than a muddy brown cover pool.

Glueing this frame together wasn’t easy; the charlotte pipe is much more rigid than European PVC pipe, as the walls are 3 times thicker. But using my stove I heated up the pipes to bend them into a curve.

As the great Hannibal used to say ; I love it when a plan comes together.

Hot Tub Gadget

News,

I treated myself to a new gadget. A man can never have too many gadgets. It’s a Bluetooth hot tub thermometer, that is linked to wifi using a base station with display and of course an app.

It has a little display on the thermometer (I’m holding it in place as the bubbles make the thermometer dance around) but the main purpose is that you can see from inside what the water temperature is. You can even set an alert when it reaches a certain temperature.

This was taken after I used the tub for about an hour. It only went down from 100F (37C) to 97 so still very comfy. The additional purpose of this gadget is to have a historic view of temperatures, both in the house as well as the hot tub.

That way I can keep better track of the temperature inside. I could already see the current temperature, but no historic data so now when a guest says it was hot, I can check how hot it really was.

Sadly, they don’t have an API yet, so I cannot link it to the smart mirror.

Hot Tub almost ready for use

Uncategorized

The Hot Tub is in place and I’m filling it with some water, to make sure it stays there. I made an extra outdoor outlet for the tub and for now used the hot water faucet that was already in place on the other side of the house. I will get an extra piece of PEC tube and run a cold water line to the west side, so that it’s easier to refill the tub with cold water.

As you can see, the deck leaves space to have chairs around the tub, and you’d still be able to easily walk around it.

Deck boards in

Uncategorized

It’s always surprising how many screws go into a project. The Hot Tub Deck took almost 300 screws, just for the top boards.

The sisal ropes are also in place.

Each post has its own solar cap light;

The wood (pressure treated pine) is still greenish,but today I bought a gallon of Federal Blue stain, to make it the same color as the rest of the deck.

I will do that tomorrow, after which the deck will be ready to get the Hot Tub installed.

As I was in Wimberley anyway, I did my groceries and checked out the PCR test facility. They have a 24 to 48 hour free test, so if I time it right, I can use that to fly back to Amsterdam. The result is emailed, so if I schedule my test 48 hrs before departure, I should be good. Luckily the 24hr rule only applies to flights into the US.