Interestingly, Brakebill stumbled upon retrofit salt chlorine generators for spas when he started looking for alternatives to traditional chlorine at the onset of the chlorine shortage. He found a salt chlorine generator specifically for spas that is easy to add to spas and hot tubs.
“I tried the salt chlorine generator product and installed it on a spa to test, and it has been working great now for more than two years,” says Brakebill. “I was actually looking to hate it initially because I’ve been disappointed with so many similar products offered in the past, so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered I loved it, and as do my customers.”
Brakebill explains he has continuously had a problem with chlorine and bromine floaters in spas, because they make water caustic. He says the floating devices are an issue for short-term rentals, as kids play with the units, and some users even toss them out of the spa without checking—virtually rendering them as ineffective in hot tubs at rental properties.
“Those floaters can actually be dangerous for children, and additionally, the system isn’t measuring the water’s need for sanitizer, so I find the bromine tablets cannot keep up with demand, while the chlorine tabs in those floaters keep adding chlorine, even when the spa water doesn’t need it,” adds Brakebill. “The big deal about the salt generator [I found] is that it not only generates chlorine using salt, but it also measures the chlorine levels in the spa water and turns off automatically and stops making chlorine once the spa water has enough chlorine sanitizer.” He says this is a real game changer for spas on rental properties.
When determining the best system to sell and install, the first element to consider is a “boost” function. This feature will help bring chlorine levels up after use, as needed. Another important component is an automatic chlorine detection feature, as it will help prevent over-chlorination of the spa or hot tub water. This is particularly valuable with high bather loads, which is common in short-term rentals.
The ‘boost’ feature
Salt generators are intuitive, making it easy to put a note next to the spa or on the spa cover telling renters to hit the “boost” mode at the end of each day—which is much more convenient to ask of a renter, rather than asking them to test the spa water and add chemicals.
“The mechanism is a small box that I typically mount on the spa with two screws, or I’ll mount on the wall right next to the spa,” says Brakebill. “The device has an easy-to-understand panel with indicator lights, so users know when to give the spa water a boost after heavy use. It also indicates when table salt needs to be added to the water for the device to generate chlorine. It’s so simple: you mount it, plug it into an outlet, and place the cell over the edge and add the drops directly into the spa water, so it starts working immediately, and the spa has a working salt system in five minutes.”
