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Dave Luck

Hi, I'm making a hot tub and want to heat the water indirectly by running a couple of lengths of pipe along the bottom of the tub.

I'm heating indirectly because of the chemicals and because I'm taking the heat from the common buffer store.

I thought about pex but I'm not sure that plastic pipe will radiate the heat quick enough or what its resistance to chemicals is, which leaves me with stainless.

Can I use normal copper fixings and normal solder or do I have to go specialist?

Cheers

Dave
 
Hello mate. Sounds like a horrific accident waiting to happen I'm sorry to say. I wouldn't want to tread on a hot heating pipe got burns written all over it. In addition you are looking at stagnation if the water isn't circulated, filtered or heated correctly. There's nothing wrong at all with the inflatable hot tubs like lazy spa that do it all for you. I just think you are going to wind up wasting money and having a massively insatisfactory tub at the end.
 
Pipes will be out of harms way so stepping or sitting on them.

Circulation and filtering all taken care of so no stagnation or water borne disease issues.

Got a pop up spa. Its OK but not what I want.

Just need to know about them fixings is all.
 
Pipes internally or externally?

You'd be better pumping through a plate heat exchanger if you can.

As for solder? You won't solder stainless.
 
As for solder? You won't solder stainless.

wrong you can solder ss but it needs special flux and solder and ss fittings
 
Yeah, I had a look at the heat exchangers and then cried when I saw the prices.

A nice gentle increase in heat is OK with me so I was thinking about running the pipes internally and just let that heat get sucked out by the water. Let convection and circulation do the rest. You know pseudo Roman style. ☺ not the most efficient system but nice and simple. The heating water will run at about 12 degree delta and seeing as the spa water needs to be a Max 38 degrees can be run off my solar panels in the summer. Don't ask about winter, you won't like the answer but it involves my new pellet boiler and the dumping my spare heat from my buffer...

All the joins will be outside of the spa and not in contact with the chlorinated water so could I use copper compression fittings? Or is mixing the 2 a complete no no? ( different expansion rates or whatever?)

Assuming stainless is the way to go if I get the socialist solder and fittings is it like soldering copper? Easier/harder that kind of thing.
 
Yeah, I had a look at the heat exchangers and then cried when I saw the prices.

A nice gentle increase in heat is OK with me so I was thinking about running the pipes internally and just let that heat get sucked out by the water. Let convection and circulation do the rest. You know pseudo Roman style. ☺ not the most efficient system but nice and simple. The heating water will run at about 12 degree delta and seeing as the spa water needs to be a Max 38 degrees can be run off my solar panels in the summer. Don't ask about winter, you won't like the answer but it involves my new pellet boiler and the dumping my spare heat from my buffer...

All the joins will be outside of the spa and not in contact with the chlorinated water so could I use copper compression fittings? Or is mixing the 2 a complete no no? ( different expansion rates or whatever?)

Assuming stainless is the way to go if I get the socialist solder and fittings is it like soldering copper? Easier/harder that kind of thing.

if your planning on running via an unregulated heat source eg panels or boiler i would use a blending valve (similar set up for underfloor heating) but i wouldnt want the pipes in the tub as you could come in contact with them
 
You definatley will not be coming into contact with the pipes

Not sure what you mean by unregulated heat sources? Thermostats, pressure release valves and over heating protection will be in place if that's what you mean?
 
You definatley will not be coming into contact with the pipes

Not sure what you mean by unregulated heat sources? Thermostats, pressure release valves and over heating protection will be in place if that's what you mean?

on the tub circuit or just your heating (house)
 
Plate heat exchangers can be picked up for about £50 - £80.
 
on the tub circuit or just your heating (house)

Both, I'll be fitting another tdc and timers etc for controlling the water temp and running pumps for the tub and the tub circuit will have its own safety mechanisms in addition to what is already in place for the heating.

Now back to the fittings. What can I use?
 
Both, I'll be fitting another tdc and timers etc for controlling the water temp and running pumps for the tub and the tub circuit will have its own safety mechanisms in addition to what is already in place for the heating.

Now back to the fittings. What can I use?

you have a few options

solder costs a bit
press fittings not to bad but you need to hire a gun
tig welded costs a bit
 
QUOTE=ShaunCorbs;829523]you have a few options

solder costs a bit
press fittings not to bad but you need to hire a gun
tig welded costs a bit[/QUOTE]

Blimey, so is the soldering doable from a competent diyer? Are the principals the same as copper? I don't mind ballsing up a few joints while practising but if it's a bit of a black art then I'll have to rethink my options.

Sorry for the questions but I'm having a panic moment thinking that I might have to call in a professional!
 
Interesting but it says braised with copper? I'll have to send them a note to see if any of that comes into contact with the spa water.

Thanks to the link gives me them option of another option!
 
QUOTE=ShaunCorbs;829523]you have a few options

solder costs a bit
press fittings not to bad but you need to hire a gun
tig welded costs a bit

Blimey, so is the soldering doable from a competent diyer? Are the principals the same as copper? I don't mind ballsing up a few joints while practising but if it's a bit of a black art then I'll have to rethink my options.

Sorry for the questions but I'm having a panic moment thinking that I might have to call in a professional![/QUOTE]

depends you any good at brazing/silver soldering ?

but the cost of fittings is high
 
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Compression fittings will be fine with stainless steel. A lot of houses were fitted with stainless during the copper shortage early 70s. Try not to kill yourself. lol
 
Compression fittings will be fine with stainless steel. A lot of houses were fitted with stainless during the copper shortage early 70s. Try not to kill yourself. lol

Thank you!

Re not killing me self - I'll do me best!
 
If you do - at least get christmas out the way 1st !! [emoji12]
 
Thank you!

Re not killing me self - I'll do me best!

Hospitals are always hanging out for people like you to practice their skills on.
They don't want you to die either.
The body has to be functioning for them to perform skin grafts and plastic surgery.

You never know - they may name a new procedure or technique after you, probably not though, it will be named after the doctor that performs or perfects it on you.
 
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Hospitals are always hanging out for people like you to practice their skills on.
They don't want you to die either.
The body has to be functioning for them to perform skin grafts and plastic surgery.

You never know - they may name a new procedure or technique after you, probably not though, it will be named after the doctor that performs or perfects it on you.

Not sure what to make of this reply given "the people like you..."

Can't tell if you're trying to be funny or just being a bit of a dick.

If you're being funny ha, ha, ha

If you're being a dick my response is the forum is here to give advice to anyone who asks. If you're unhappy about non professionals asking questions then don't respond and complain to the moderators that they should only allow professionals to post.
 
Hospitals are always hanging out for people like you to practice their skills on.
They don't want you to die either.
The body has to be functioning for them to perform skin grafts and plastic surgery.

You never know - they may name a new procedure or technique after you, probably not though, it will be named after the doctor that performs or perfects it on you.

Come on guys poor Dave's getting treat like he's just joined ISIS. He only wanted some advice on stainless steel fittings.
I also think its a mad idea hes doing, but have enjoyed reading the enthusiasm he's shows in the 12 posts hes made.
 
Come on guys poor Dave's getting treat like he's just joined ISIS. He only wanted some advice on stainless steel fittings.
I also think its a mad idea hes doing, but have enjoyed reading the enthusiasm he's shows in the 12 posts hes made.

Thanks ( I think )

They said the Wright brothers were mad...so anyway I'll bite why do you think building a hotub is mad?

Construction is pretty easy ( look up gunite pools ) the controls and switching are fairly easy, pumping / cleaning the water is easy. Heating a bit more problematic ( hence the questions) asI'm desperately trying to avoid going down the electric inline heater. But if I have to then I have to.

Having followed Nostrums link I've found d a nice little titanium heat exchanger for a very reasonable price. The only problem is that means another pump running. Where as running stainless I'd only have 1 pump running.

Whichever way I go I've got to do is get hot water to it which I think I have a number of options.

To my mind the hot water circuit is nothing more than a very big inefficient zone, that will probably suck out more heat than I expect. But that's OK cos then I'll strive, adapt and overcome and just whack in an inline electric heater and get wind burn when I stand next to the Meter!

I really fail to see how having a pipe circulating hot water through water is any different to having a pipe circulating hot water on a ch circuit if the same type of safety features are used on each circuit.

You'll just have to take my word on the fact that you are not going to come into contact with the pipework in the tub.
 
Well put Dave. I was being sincere about my last post, I have found now your 13th posts more interesting and entertaining than probably the first 100 posts I made. let me quote William Blake about enthusiasm “excuse my enthusiasm or rather madness, for I am really drunk with intellectual vision whenever I take a pencil or graver into my hand.”
That to me sums you up Dave. I would change the pencil to hot tub and graver to stainless steel pipework, But please take my post as genuine. Now getting back to your last post.
"I really fail to see how having a pipe circulating hot water through water is any different to having a pipe circulating hot water on a ch circuit "
Hope you see the funny side but I cannot get the image of a guy sitting on the rim of an electric kettle with his feet touching the electric element saying what you have.LOL
Had a few drinks and unlike Blake I'm drunk with Budweiser Sat here wishing I had a hot tub.
 
Nope, take your point.

However, don't mess about - think 3kw immersion heaters...I guess just a bigger version of your kettle vision.

But then that's me - always thinking bigger always looking for the vision thing

Cheers :santa5:
 
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