How to heat up an inflatable hot tub faster?
Heating an inflatable hot tub to the highest temperature setting (104F – law limited) can take up to 48 hours depending on the outside temperature and insulation quality. Is there anything you can do to make it heat up faster?
Well, heating such a large amount of water takes a lot of energy, and how much electrical energy you can use is limited. We’ll have to take a look at other options for speeding-up the heating process.
How to speed up the heating?
1. Insulate the hot tub (cover it!)
There’s not much you can do about the insulation of your inflatable hot tub walls (air acts as an insulator there), but you can definitely use an insulating cover!
A typical choice for an inflatable hot tub is an inflatable cover, creating an insulating air pocket. If you feel crafty, you can make your own polystyrene cover for even better insulation.
The insulating cover will dramatically reduce heat losses, both by radiation and by evaporation.
Of course, the bigger the temperature difference between the water and the outside air, the more important this is.
When setting up the hot tub, use an insulating layer under the hot tub. A wooden deck will insulate much better than concrete. Even an old rug will reduce the heat losses through the bottom of the spa.
2. Fill it with hot water (But be careful!)
This can drastically reduce the heating time, or even make it non-existent. However, be super careful to not exceed the maximum hot tub temperature (usually 104° Fahrenheit) as it might damage it. If you pour boiling water onto the vinyl, it might melt.
Never fill your hot tub with boiling water, unless there’s already enough colder water to dissipate the heat. In that case, make sure to not pour the hot water near the inflatable hot tub walls.
3. Use a solar heater
During hot summer days, a solar heater connected to your hot tub filtration system can rapidly speed up the heating – for free! Disadvantage – requires the sun.
4. Use a wood-burning or gas water heater
This might be more expensive to set up, but can save you some money in the long run, if the wood or gas is cheap in your area. A normal inflatable hot tub heater runs on electricity and is limited in how much power it can take. You can bypass this with your own heater in the circuit.
Check out how did this guy improved his lay-z-spa:
Anything else?
Unfortunately, speeding up the heating process means dumping a lot of energy at once into the water, which is no easy feat. Your options are limited. My advice? Plan ahead! 😉
Comments
Comments on this blog post
The article doesn’t mention how to make air bubbles hotter
Hey! Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, I don’t have any idea on how to make them hotter. The blower sucks in the outside air, so you would have to somehow manage to get a warm air to the intake.
Hi, i want to use an inflatable hot tub throughout cold Canadian winters (down to -25c or -13F let’s say). I have access to a 240v 30a circuit, can i bypass the small 120v built in heater with a 240v 4-5Kw water heater to better maintain heat while in use with bubbles going?
If so, what gpm flow does it need to handle for these built in inflatable spa pumps so it doesn’t burn up the heater element? What size of piping to run to not impede flow/pressure?
If this is possible can you recommend a 240v heater you think could work in this application? I am able to do wiring/electrical. Thanks in advance for your input!
We set up our inflatable hot in our basement. When we were in the temp went down is that normal?
Absolutely, the air bubbles cool down the hot tub.
If I warm the air coming into the tub will that work