Help for Your Hot Tub

The number one cause of the ACE® system not working is because of salt levels. The ACE® system is designed to operate in the 1,500-2,000 ppm salt range. If you have an LCD panel you can access the status indicator screen in the water care menu. The YELLOW-GREEN-RED scale will usually tell you what you need to know. Text us with a picture of the status indicator screen along with the salt level determined by a salt test strip with a current date stamp and we can help troubleshoot your system.

Salt levels of 1,500 ppm will usually suffice for a new salt cell and then work your way up over time to 2,000 as the special coating on the plates is depleted. DO NOT go over 2,000 ppm as it is possible for corrosion damage to start.

Salt chlorine generators have a salt range they are made to work in. Let's use 1500-2000 ppm of salt. Let's also assume the water is at 2000 but the system is not working. In this example the system is new or a new salt cell was installed. A new salt cell is much more sensitive than an old worn out one and would ideally work at the 1500 ppm level.

This is a common problem which is easy to fix. The special coating on the chlorine generator cell plates is much more sensitive to salt levels when new. As the cell ages, it is normal for users to add more salt to keep their system working. If the tub hasn't had new water when cell was changed, there are more total dissolved solids which makes the water more conductive. This means the salt level can be within range but still be a little high for the new salt cell. Simply drain some water and top off with fresh water to get salt level to the lower end of the manufacturer's recommended salt range.

Salt cells sense the conductivity between the plates. The conductivity is affected by age of cell, salt level and water temperature. The required minimum for proper reading of salt levels is 95 degrees F or 35 degrees C.

The salt indicator lights will only be on when chlorine generation is happening. The system runs on a 3 hour cycle, of which it will only be on for a portion of the time based on the output level set. The indicator light also shows if salt is high (red), low (yellow) or green (ok). If yellow and red lights are on at the same time, this indicates salt is very high or cell needs replacing. No chlorine will be produced in this condition.

When one of the lights is on continuously, that indicates the system is in the chlorine generation portion of the 3 hour cycle. If the light is flashing, that indicates the system is in BOOST mode.

The white light will come on and flash when power is applied. 1-10 flashes indicate current power level. During normal operation, the white light will also flash every 10 seconds indicating the system is running.

The Hot Tub Wizard® is tested before shipping. It is also one of the few systems that offer a method of quickly disconnecting the salt cell so it can easily be cleaned of scale and replaced when it has reached the end of its life. That means you don't need to take the box apart to change the cell which could lead to water damage.

Make sure the salt cell connector is firmly connected. When connecting the salt cell make sure you press the fitting on the cell into the end coming from the control box until you feel a click and that should enable the cell to start working.

This is usually caused by a faulty power supply, but it could also potentially be due to a short circuit in the electrode hardware. Replace the power supply with one that has the same output. This should be 5.0V-2.4A for The Hot Tub Wizard and The Hot Tub Wizard-CD. If the problem persists, replace the electrode cell.

This could be a hardware issue with either the power supply or the electrode. The power supply might be nearly dead or otherwise outputting a lower voltage than it should. You might still see a few bubbles coming from the electrode in the water in this case. Otherwise, the electrode may be faulty or simply out of life. Test the output of the power supply using a multimeter. If the output is correct, then the electrode is likely the problem.

If your system maintains chlorine levels above 5 ppm lower your output level. If your chlorine is under 2 ppm raise the output level. Change in output level should be done 1 unit at a time until you reach a level between 2 and 5.