My electric is out...what do I do?

Republished from last December.... Here in Ohio tens of thousands are without electricity due to ice laden trees and power lines. If you are one of those unfortunate folks, there are some things you can do to protect your hot tub from freezing. First a disclaimer. This is a generic explanation on how to winterize a basic hot tub. Plumbing varies by make and model and some have quirks that you will have to work around. Hiring a professional hot tub repairman to do this sort of job is you safest bet. Lets get on with it: First, you will have to drain all the water out of the shell area. Using a shop vac hose will be the fastest way to siphon it empty. Opening up the pump couplings is another method, but can be messy. Second, squeegee the seats out and bucket out the foot well and towel dry any reaming water. Getting the reaming water in the foot well is explained in step four. Third, if possible, open the lowest plumbing coupling to drain remaining water from the equipment. Four, remove the filter and put it away. Using a flexible neck funnel, start pouring RV antifreeze in until you see antifreeze (not just water) coming out of the suction intake(s). Stop once you see the antifreeze. Five, proceed to furthest and uppermost jet (In terms of the plumbing, not necessarily the opposite corner), and pour antifreeze into the jet nozzle until you see antifreeze. Work you way around from highest to lowest. You will notice that the closer you get to the filter, the less antifreeze you need. The reason you want to start out with as little water as possible in the foot well is simple. RV anti freeze gets its claim from being nontoxic. It is at maximum freeze protection at full strength. Automotive antifreeze needs to be mixed with water to reach max. protection. **Should your hot tub have an air blower, you will need to take extra care and towel dry everything. You may need to adapt the funnel to fit the smaller jets used in air blowers. Air blowers use a check valve to prevent water backing into the blower motor when it is off. Therefore, the manifold that is plumbed in-between that check valve and the actual jets are highly susceptible to freeze damage. To complete this project you will need: A hose (the larger the diameter, the faster the siphon) 2-4 gallons of RV antifreeze, a pail, towels and a flexible neck funnel. Print now for future use. Gary www.spafixer.com