Ask 'Dr. Spa' Q & A Message Board

: Neil, as long as it is Sodium Bromide and not sodium chloride it is ok
: at that purity.Being a pool supply store makes me wonder if it is
: sodium chloride, which is what they use for chlorine generators in
: pools.It should also be in small granules like table salt.Using
: sodium chloride with the genesis system I have been told will damage
: the electrode.there are other products which have Sodium Bromide
: mixed with water at 35%.The companies I know of are spa boss and I
: believe brom-aid.Up here in Canada it seems thats how they are
: supplying it.I have used the concentrate for my last two fills.I'm
: told that it is less hassle shipping it in liquid form then
: crystals.I use approx.8 litres for a 1620 litre tub.

: regards, J.C.
: :

Finally some really good info out there on this system... thank you so much for taking the time to write this out. :)

Am I understanding correctly that the Tru Blu Product is the same as the Spa Boss Brom-Aid? I was given two bottles of Spa Boss Brom-Aid and four jugs of Tru Blu when we initially set up our hot tub 2 years ago. I still have the two bottles of Spa Boss Brom-Aid, but I have no idea what they are for... was never explained to me. The bottle seems to have little info on it other than to add 125ml for every 1000l of spa water. It also states it needs to be used in conjuction with another product called Energize? Can you explain what these two products are and what they do?

We are getting ready to drain the tub and refill and I'm wondering if I need to go purchase more Tru Blu or if I can just use this Spa Boss Brom-Aid instead of the Tru Blu.

We also had black soot in the tub... the pump broke and did not run for approximately two days. We had our dealer come out and replace the pump (back in March in Canada, Brrrr) and he mentioned that the salt cell (which I'm guessing is the electrode) would need to be replaced. That part of the tub was not easily accessible and it was a very cold day out. He told me that the salt cell replacement could wait until it was warmer out and so we chose to go that route. If I'm understanding correctly, the pump breaking caused the Bromine to not be dispersed and it sat in the electrode breaking it down... which caused the black soot in the tub and is why the electrode/salt cell now needs to be replaced. Am I correct in this thinking?

Once we had the pump motor replaced, the soot filtered out and my water is back to perfect levels and crystal clear. I've just been testing with the basic test kit that came with the tub. pH 7.6 - 7.8 and Br 2.0 TDS is 2117ppm as of today (has not been drained/filled since last August). I use shock after a heavy bather load (ie friends come over - very rarely) and ph down as needed... again not that often, maybe once every other month. The tub truly is virtually maintenance free for us and I like it this way.

We will have them replace the salt cell/electrode and I will make sure it is the new updated version. Ours is original from 2 years ago when we had the tub installed (july/07)... running an Arctic Spa Summit with the Genesis system. Is the tub required to be drained for the salt cell/electrode to be replaced?

Thank you again for taking the time out to help people like myself with this... I've learned a hundred times more just reading this thread than any conversation with the dealer. For some reason they don't always like to educate customers... perhaps it eats away at their profits if I can self diagnose the issue and avoid paying the $60 call out fee for my tub that's under warranty.