Softub Fun

 As with anything second hand like this it is useful to do a trial run. You find out lots of issues this way and rarely is anything perfect. I had a few leaks, which were expected as things bedded in. Mainly from the water hoses. They're on the old side and are probably far from ideal. I've got a couple of 2.5" (57mm) x 3" silicone intercooler turbo straight hose connectors - Car stuff, but appears to be recommended on the Facebook Softub Owners Group  for a few quid each, it's worthwhile. The Softub is roughly in situ here. The location is actually a little off and the square foam tiles I had from my prior set-up isn't ideal. I have a 12mm thick round one on order. Thicker the better for both comfort and insulation purposes. It's a little on the large at 196cm round when the T-220 is 180cm. I could cut down, but i'll probably pack the front of the feet on the redwood surround and leave it oversized. If you are not using a surround it would work fine ...

Turning on the Softub after filling to just over the filters and the unit just buzzed. Not unexpected to be fair as usually these tubs are sold on for a reason! Getting in wasn't too tricky though and finding the capacitor at the back of the motor was fairly easy and it didn't look in great shape MY capacitor was an oval one made in Mexico. Speaking to a  Cambridge Rewinds  it's an old design and I was unlikely to find one. They did however have a reasonably sized cylinder one to the same spec 20UF, 370VAC 50/60hz - For £12 I thought worth a try I had to thread the old leads carefully through the grommet on the oval cap, but easy enough to do. The new capacitor has a clear cap with a smaller hole, so i removed the grommet from the oval cap as well. I measured the hole in the oval cap and drilled the new round caps' hole to the same size. Everything looks as though it will fit and work fine.  Alas in early testing, before the new capacitor, i ran the motor with the contr...

Disclaimer - Opening the Hydromate will probably invalidate any warranty. You are dealing with electricity around water which is potentially dangerous, could give you a punk hairstyle, kill you and given the tub is left on for long periods of time, catching fire and burning your house down would be bad. If you are not confident about opening the Hydromate, go down the professional service route : Softub UK Softub Midlands Both the above appear to take and refurbish Hydromates. To open My Hydromate I started by watching some YouTube videos, which are a useful resource for seeing what is inside, how things work and what you may want to give a go! This  v ideo gives some details about swapping a capacitor on an older US model , but actually the designs are fairly similar.  This one is about  the control panel removal   - Not directly needed for me, but still useful. This one on   repairing internal leaks   - A common problem and again good ...

 The FIRST thing with a second hand tub is cleaning.  This one appeared to need more than most, though it wasn't actually too bad - The crystals inside (at the bottom of the image) dissolved easily with water and tipped out!  One of the GREAT things about the Softub is that whilst they look awkward, they are surprisingly reasonable to handle and impressively lightweight ( Specs ~ Legend 220  - approx. 32kg) I managed to pull my Jeep up to the wall and move the Softub onto it and over it, without too much hassle and that's on my own. Admittedly I am 6'4" and fair built, but no where near as young as I used to be! Getting the Softub on its side and rolling it, is impressively easy, which is handy for cleaning and hosing out. Need to be a little careful with the hose attachments and take off the jubilee clip fittings. Hot water softens these and makes things far easier!  I removed the 5 jet directors and took them inside to clean properly in the sink. I used a kett...

Buying a Second Hand Softub - T220  This is a bit of a journal to track things happening with my "New" softub - New is in quotes as it is new to me, but far from new. It is a second hand T220 which probably dates from around 2008. Prior to this adventure I had a Lay-Z-Spa Siena  bought as a trial run to see how much i actually used a hot tub. Turned out to be lots and it was great. After ~4 years outside and a lot of use it was getting on a bit. The tub needed topping up with air to use each time as it would go soft over night, the control unit occasionally errored and the top was peeling so I felt it time for an upgrade. I was on the look out for a few options. I really wanted something light as the back garden to my house has a wall that curved round it making access awkward.  My brother recommended the Softub  range and they seemed a good fit. I'm a sucker for a bargain, like reuse and am pretty handy and resourceful so kept my eye on the second-hand market u...