9
Rev 13
8.
Control Adjustments
8.1
Temperature
The spa pack will be equipped with a digital control panel. It can take over a day to bring a large tub up to
temperature, especially if the water coming out of the faucet is very cold.
The digital temperature control system eliminates the trial & error process of setting the temperature and
keeps the water to remain at a much more constant temperature of +/- 1° F. The human body is very sen-
sitive to temperatures around 98.6° Fahrenheit (37°C). When the temperature is only some 3-4 °F (2°C)
above this, the time you can be immersed in the tub is limited. For safety reasons, all manufactures of
Digital controls are required by law to limit the upper temperature to 104° F (40°C). Below 98.6° F
(37°C) the water will still be comfortable however it will not feel hot. Since your body can now dissipate
heat you can stay in the tub for extended times, without becoming “drained”.
If the digital panel is switched from
St
andard to
Sl
eep mode the control set-point will be
20˚F (11˚C) below the actual setting. This is useful if the tub will not be used for a while.
Our hybrid heat hot tubs, equipped with gas heaters use the spa pack to supply 230 volts to the gas heater,
and a normally open contact that closes when heat is demanded. The gas heater’s own thermostat is in that
situation disabled. The exception to the external temperature regulation method is if you are using one of
our cottage propane systems. In that case there is no external digital control and the gas heater’s own
thermostat is used.
8.2
Cold Water Start-Up
If a tub is being filled with quite cold water, which is below the “freeze protection” temperature of the Spa
Pack, the system may behave strangely to you (this is especially true if your spa pack is set to the LOW
current mode). The code for freeze protection (for example IC) should be flashing. In such a condition,
the spa pack will cause the pump to run at low speed and also turn on the blower circuit (even though no
blower is used). Then if the LOW current mode is set to be on (for example with a VS501Z, A10 up) the
heater will then not come on. This will result in having only the pump heat available to raise the water
temperature and this may not be enough. If you live in a cold winter climate, to avoid this condition, you
should use a 40 or 50 Amp breaker so that the spa pack can be set to HI current mode. This will allow the
heater to come on when a freeze protection condition occurs.
If your service is 30A and the low current DIP switch setting must be on, then to get around the problem,
temporarily switch A10 to Off (down), but be sure you don’t touch the jets button. This will allow the
heater to come on and not trip the 30A breaker. After the IC condition has cleared, the A10 switch can be
switched to ON (up) again.
If you are doing a fresh fill after the tub has sat drained over the winter, thaw any ice in the bottom of the
tub using a fan style electric heater placed on a seat, with the cover on. Then fill to the 5-inch level
through the top of the filter using warm water. Then replace filter top and close (push in) the skimmer
valve. Keep the cover on and then turn on the power. As the water is warmed by the heater keep adding a
little more water such that you can keep the sensors above 45° F (7° C).
