I've heard of people using diluted hydrochloric acid, liquid chlorine and Vinigar as chemical supplements in thier tubs. Has anyone else heard of such substitutions? I find it curious that the spa chemicals are reluctant to name specifically what the chemical agents are on the packaging. Could it be that there are less expensive additives we could use than the pricey pool and spa chemicals? :confused: I'm not going to try anything to save a few pennies but if there're some real deals out there that would work I'm in..

Hey everyone !! My first post here... Here's the problem: I inherited an old (15 years+-) spa and have some issues with a joint I am trying to stop coming apart. This joint is right after an elbow that is connected to the heater outflow. The previous connection came loose after filling the tub, heating the water and running the pump. The connection at the time was a PVC flexible hose to a PVC hard pipe. It looked to me upon disassembly that the stuff that was used before was almost like a clear silicone - not sure about that. I purchased some PVC cleaner and cement from a local spa store - IPS Weld-On P68 Primer and IPS Weld-On 700 Plastic Pipe Cement). After installing the new connection and (of course) filling and reheating the spa it let loose again (my downstairs neighbors still won't talk to me). So I went after it again today and removed the flex hose out of the equation and replaced that with some PVC pipe that I cut from an old washing machine drain pipe that is no longer used. The pipe is black in color, if that makes a difference. And again today the fitting came loose after refilling, reheating and powering up the spa. The temp was almost at 100°F and the glue seemed to appear as if it had melted. The time between when I glued it and when I filled the tub was aprox 2 hours. The heat was almost up to temp at another 3 hours after that. I then looked around the net, found your forum and decided to post my Q to you spa and tub Gurus. I read about the flex PCV pipe glue, but I have now taken that pipe out and have just a straight PVC to PVC joint (keeping in mind that one of the pipes is a different color ie black). So, what am I doing wrong here? The glue won't stay glued - it seems to get soft when heat is applied, and the pressure from the pump loosens the joint. I did make sure I applied a liberal amount of cleaner to the joint. I am at wits end here,, my GF is sick of my promises of tubbing and all my downtairs neighbors won't talk to me. Thanks in advance for any help. :wall: :mad: :eek: