LOCATION OF THE EQUIPMENT
The second locating consideration is the equipment. With our standard hot tub system the equipment will take up an area up to 3' wide by 5' long. The equipment can be squeezed into a smaller area, but know that this can make basic maintenance and any future repairs a bit more difficult.
As for where to locate the equipment, the possibilities are great. National code (your local code may differ) requires the equipment to be located at least 5' from the tub unless separated by a permanent solid barrier. Many, if not most people locate it much further than that. One of the advantages to a hot tub over a portable, or self contained spa is that you're not sitting on top of the equipment having to listen to it while in the tub. Where, and how far away to locate the equipment is up to you, but the following should be kept in mind;
- If located more than 50' from the tub, the pump and piping should be upsized so as not to experience pressure loss in the jets from greater friction loss.
- If the heater is located more than 5' below the water level of the tub, a simple adjustment to the heater will need to be made. If located more than 10' below the tub, a special flow switch will need to be installed to prevent the heater from operating when the pump turns off.
- If the pump is located above the tubs water level, it could loose it's prime causing water circulation to stop and possible pump damage to occur (please let us know if this is how you're installing your pump so we can provide a different pump and valves to help prevent this).
- If the equipment is more than 20' from the tub it may be advantageous to insulate the pipes to help lower heating costs.
- With a long pipe run there tends to be quite a bit of water in the pipes. If the pump hasn't run in a few hours, and you get in the tub and turn on the jets, all of that 'cooled' water will need to be flushed out (against your back) before hot water starts bubbling from the jets. Remembering though to turn on the pump 5 minutes or so before getting in the tub easily overcomes this.
- A gas heater requires a certain amount of clearance above it for safe and proper operation. Our standard gas heater needs a minimum of 61" of total vertical space for installation (25" tall heater plus 36" of clearance).
- The filter in our standard hot tub system requires a minimum vertical height of 50" for basic maintenance (smaller and shorter filters are optionally available).
Below are some pictures of the basic layout of our standard hot tub equipment package as well as the required dimensions needed. These are only a few of the many posible layouts and depending on your own situation and imagination your final results may differ. Remember when designing and installing your equipment layout that occational maintanance is required and the more accessable things are, the easier it will be.
Some thing to note. The heater (100k BTU) stands 25½" tall, however it also REQUIRES a minum of 36" of clearance ABOVE it to a combustionable surface (reguardless of whether it's installed indoors or outdoors). The actual dimensions of the heater (100k BTU) are 15½" x 14¼" x 25½" tall. The 150k BTU heater (optional) measures 21½" x 18" x 31¾" tall and also REQUIRES a minum of 36" of clearance ABOVE it to a combustionable surface.
The filter stands 30" tall and requires an additional 20" clearance above for maintenance access (a total of 50").
The TOTAL FOOTPRINT of this layout is 58" x 29" with the PAD SIZE of 54" x 18". The gas line enters the heater on the lower left side, and the electrical line on the right.
The TOTAL FOOTPRINT of this layout is 32" x 39" with the PAD SIZE of 32" x 24". The hole in the lower right of the heater is where the gas line enters.
A basic plumbing schematic can be found HERE.
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