Hot tub, part 1

All winter, I’ve been thinking how much fun it would be to sit in our hot tub. I’ve never owned a hot tub, and the one that came with our house has been sitting there, dry and empty, for six months. Mocking me.

I called a local hot tub place about a month ago to see if they could send someone out to help me start it up, make sure everything’s in working order, show me how to mix the chemicals, yada yada. But the guy said he couldn’t help me, because all non-essential businesses are closed in Montana.

Last week, on our bi-weekly trip to Kalispell for shopping, I saw a (different) hot tub store on the road and pulled a quick U-turn. Pepper and I went inside– it was open– and talked to the owner. Apparently he thought his business was essential, because he said it would be no problem to come down and help us out. Or, we could just buy a shiny new hot tub right off his sales floor! After a bit of salesman-ey talk, he finally sort of shrugged and said, “You know, I don’t really need to come down to help you. Just fill it with water, turn it on, and see what happens.”

Brilliant!

If it works, I’ll head back to the oh-so-essential store and get the chemicals I need; if not, then I haven’t paid someone to drive 45 minutes each way (trip charge!) and tell me it’s busted. After coming home, Kyra and I went to work. First we cleaned out the interior, which wasn’t actually all that dirty but had a bit of sandy residue everywhere.

Then I plopped a hose into the tub and cranked up the water. Ahh, fresh well water from 265 feet underground, always at a constant 55 degrees.

It took a while.

Finally, as the water level neared the top of the highest jet, it was time to turn it on.

The jets spurted to life and blew bubbles, just like they should, and I was thrilled. I set the temperature to 100 degrees, put the cover back on top, and walked away. The manual says it takes 18-24 hours to come up to the target temperature.

Unfortunately, when I returned a few hours later, the water was still 55 degrees. After a bit of troubleshooting, I discovered that the main pump motor wasn’t running. I thought it was fine, after it started up initially, but maybe it burned out for some reason. In any case, I called the hot tub place and they said I should bring in the pump so they can take a look. We’ll do that tomorrow.

And hopefully in a couple of days, there will be a Hot tub, part 2 post celebrating our success.