Arctic Spas McKinley User Manual

1.8 Denitions of Terms
TERM DEFINITION
Alkalinity
Total Alkalinity (TA)
A measure of how stable the pH is (a measure of the total levels of carbon-
ates, bicarbonates, hydroxides, and other alkaline substances in the water).
TA is referred to as the water’s “”pH bu󰀨er””. In other words, it’s a measure of
the ability of the water to resist changes in pH level.
If the TA is too low, the pH level will uctuate widely from high to low. Fluc-
tuations in pH can cause corrosion or scaling of the spa components.
Low TA can be corrected by adding Arctic Pure, Perfect Balance to the spa
water.
If the Total Alkalinity is too high, the water will be more susceptible to scale
and high pH. High pH may be di󰀩cult to bring down.
Note: Salt systems naturally drive pH levels to increase.
High TA can be lowered by adding Arctic Pure, Adjust Down to the spa water.
Once the TA is Balanced, it normally remains stable, although some sanitiz-
ers, and the addition of more water with a high or low alkalinity will raise or
lower the TA reading of the water.
Potential Hydrogen
(pH)
The pH level is the measure of alkalinity.
pH is measured between 0 and 14 denoting various degrees of acidity or
alkalinity.
Neutral water has a pH of 7.0 Water below 7.0 is acidic and becomes more
acidic as it approaches zero.
Water above 7.0 is alkaline and alkalinity increases as it approaches 14.
When the pH of water is 7.0 or below, chlorine will act primarily as a sani-
tizer. At this level, it is very e󰀨ective at killing bacteria.
At 7.4, chlorine will act equally as a sanitizer and oxidizer.
Above 7.8, chlorine will act principally as an oxidizer.
The pH of chlorine is 11.7.
Spa water is considered balanced if the pH level is within the target range,
between 7.2pH to 7.6pH.
Adding chlorine either automatically through a salt system or manually, into
spa water with high pH, above 7.6pH, will further increase the pH level and
dramatically reduce the e󰀨ectiveness of the chlorine as a sanitizer. This must
be avoided by rst reducing the pH level into the target range 7.2pH - 7.6pH.
The chart below reects the loss of sanitizer e󰀨ectiveness/sanitizer e󰀨ective-
ness based on the spas water pH level:
pH Level Sanitizer (Chlorine)
Loss of E󰀨ectiveness
based on pH Level
Sanitizer (Chlorine)
E󰀨ectiveness
based on pH Level
6.0 pH 4% 96%
6.5 pH 10% 90%
Understanding Spa Boy®
Owners Manual - Spa Boy®
7676

Arctic Spas McKinley Specifications

General

Brand	Arctic Spas
Model	McKinley
Category	Hot Tub
Language	English