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Home Decorating

Hot Tub auto fill - freeze safe

7 years ago

I know this is off topic for Home Dec, but know there are many very knowledgeable people on this forum and thought I might get lucky and get some advice from some who's done this before.

We have a 8' partially in ground hot tub that we would like to install an auto fill device for that is freeze safe. I've done some research and the sites I've found don't refer to auto fills for cold areas. I cannot fathom that all these ski resorts manually fill their hot tubs!

If anyone has any experience with an auto fill that is freeze safe - I would appreciate any guidance or feedback you can give.

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Comments (8)

Debbi Branka
7 years ago
OMGosh! I don't have an answer for you, but I'm in Michigan and would LOVE to have your hot tub!! It's beautiful!
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pokyhoky
7 years ago
I don't know about hot tubs, but we have automatic fill attachments for our horse troughs. We have to winterize them and manually fill with a hose during the winter; otherwise the hydrant will freeze. (And then the piping could split ....)
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CaroleOH
Original Author
7 years ago
Debbi it is a beautiful hot tub - however, it is also a royal pain in the *$$ during the winter when we want to go away for a week or two and have to worry about the water level falling to low and everything can freeze up. :-(

Pokyhoky - I'm thinking there isn't an option as a retrofit due to the pipes freezing. But thought I'd ask!
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Debbi Branka
7 years ago
Carole, so you fill it manually, with a hose, then the water heats with a heater. So does the water level fall by evaporation? Does it (or can it) have a cover? The heater stays on 24/7, right? Or is your best solution to drain it in the winter, which would stink?
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maire_cate
7 years ago
We have an in ground spa and when it was installed they added a low temperature sensor that circulates the water through the system every 15 minutes so that the pipes don't freeze.

That sounded like a great idea until I realized that if we had an extended power outage the pipes would freeze - and that would be expensive. So we have the spa winterized when they come to close the pool.

Now that we have a whole house generator we could just hook the spa up to the generator but the kids have all left the nest and it wouldn't get that much use.

Do you have a back up electric?
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chispa
7 years ago
Thanks Carole, now I know I did one more wrong thing when we remodeled our hot tub! We have no auto filler either and we are in So. CA which does not freeze. Every few weeks I just stick the hose in there for about 5 minutes to top it off. Pump just burnt out, so I'll probably update the whole motor and controller.

What I should have done when we redid all the hardscape and patio, was to rip out the whole thing, fill the hole and cover it with pavers!
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pokyhoky
7 years ago
But it's SOOOO pretty.... ! ;)
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jlj48
7 years ago
Ours isn't partially in the ground but it is outside and we live in Iowa. We have left it for a week knowing the level was full and it circulates . We have a cover though...
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