The case for keeping it running
A hot tub is at its best on a cold night, and a modern covered spa is built to run through winter. The shell is insulated, the cover holds the heat in, and the heater only cycles a few hours a day to hold temperature. Many Hunterdon County owners use their hot tub more between November and March than they do in July.
The cost is the electricity to hold temperature, which goes up in the coldest months, plus routine care. Water still needs testing and balancing in January, so either you keep up with it or you have a service do it. TrueBlue provides Spa Care year-round on the same biweekly ($135 per visit) or weekly ($100 per visit) schedule, and the cover gets checked on every visit since a cover that fails in winter costs real money in heat.
The case for winterizing
If you will not use the spa between the first frost and spring, running the heater for months to keep water you never get into is wasted money. Winterizing also makes sense for a vacation home or any property that will be vacant, since a power outage during a cold snap can freeze an unattended hot tub in a day or two. And if the heater or a pump is already down and the repair is not happening before winter, draining and winterizing protects the plumbing until it is fixed.
A proper winterization drains the spa, removes the residual water, blows out the plumbing and jets, drains the pumps and heater, loosens or removes the fittings the manufacturer specifies, and adds freeze protection. TrueBlue does this as a Spa Closing starting at $299, and reopens the spa in spring with a Spa Opening.
The one setup to avoid
The thing that breaks hot tubs in New Jersey is the middle ground: a spa left full of water with the power off, or with the heater off and the breaker on, through a hard freeze. The water in the shell freezes slowly, but the water in the plumbing lines, jet bodies, pump housings, and heater freezes fast and cracks whatever it is in. The leak shows up in spring.
If you are going to stop using the spa for the winter, either keep it running at a reduced temperature with the cover on, or drain it and winterize it properly. Do not just turn it off.
A quick decision guide
- You will use it at least a few times a month: keep it running, and keep up with the water care.
- You will not use it until spring: winterize it before the first hard freeze, usually late October through November here.
- The property will be vacant or you travel for weeks at a time: winterize it. An outage you are not there to catch is the risk.
- Equipment is broken and the fix is not before winter: drain and winterize it to protect the plumbing.