| The soothing, hot bubbling water and hydro-therapy
action of a spa provides another dimension for your enjoyment, either as a focal point or
to compliment the total swimming pool experience. Before you know it, your stress will
float away with the bubbles and steam of your own backyard sanctuary. Whether it’s a
stand-alone spa, independent spa or a spillover spa, each spa will have its own unique set
of pros. Which one is best suited to your requirements? There are two main types of spa "set-ups":
 Spas that are referred to as "Stand
Alone" are "Self Contained" and come with their own "Spa
Pack", a unit that combines a filter, heater and various pumping systems and is
housed within the spa skirt or "surround". These spas are commonly utilized when
the client desires to use the spa all year long or extending past the desired pool
operation period. This system utilizes an electric heater, which takes much longer to heat
than a gas-fired furnace. It is for this reason that the spa water would be kept at or
close to the desired temperature for use (normally between 101 and 104 degrees F.)
otherwise heat recovery would take to long, often hours or even days long if the water is
at room temperature. Keeping the water hot all the time means using a spa cover for
insulation against heat loss and evaporation. Attention to the chemical balance and
sanitization of the spa water is paramount as the constant heat promotes more bacteria
build up. State of the art sanitation and filtration methods are very successful in
keeping the water purified, however changing of the water should be done every month or
so, depending on usage.
 Spas that basically act as a water vessel or
"Shell" and rely on an exterior filtration system. This
exterior filtration system is usually the pool filtration system or a modified version of
it or a dedicated pool-like style filtration system, for the spa. These spas can also run
all year long but extra consideration must be given to the support equipment to protect it
against extreme cold weather and freezing. It is because of this, that these types of spas
are commonly used when the client desires to not use the spa all year long and shut it
down when the swimming pool is winterized. As these spas normally utilize a gas-fired
furnace to heat the water, the recovery time is quite fast. Therefore, one would typically
only heat the spa when they wanted to use it. Heat rise of 80 degree water to 105 degrees
could be accomplished in five to ten minutes. The between use "cool down" period
allows the disinfectant in the spa water to be more effective as it isn't fighting the
extreme temperature and the effects of it. As well, changing of the spa water is less
daunting because the dump/fill/heat cycle is only minutes long.
Although any type of spa can be set up to be used in
either of the above noted applications, typically:
We at Lido Pools and the Aqua Terra Design Group have evaluated the many spa manufacturers
within the industry. We believe the following compilation to be the best of the best,
within their unique and specialized niche. |
