Corona Discharge Type Ozonator (we prefer)

The CD Ozonator shown below are made by Del Zone. In addition to the advantages of Corona Discharge ozone technology, these ozonators save money because the Corona Discharge chip uses less energy (no lamp, ballast, or starter) than an ultraviolet generator and the chip costs less to replace. They use solid state electronics to eliminate voltage spikes that can upset spa-pack electronics or trip the G.F.C.I. Finally, water backup into the ozonator will not harm the unit or trip the spa's G.F.C.I.

From Delzone, called the "Optimized Ozone Generation and Management System". Basically its design to avoid or eliminate "off-gas". Off-gas is the ozone gas that is released into the air instead of utilized in the water.

A constant challenge has been to make the bubbles of ozone gas release in the water to be effective instead of just being released into the air. The "off-gas" is a waste of ozone gas but it also affects the spa cover and other plastics in the spa.

Good question and we are not going to tell you which to buy. But consider this: the "bulb" design has been available for a long time and proven itself. Some of the troublesome problems with bulb and spas has been solved.

CD type ozonators are becoming universally accepted and used by OEM. They DO operate at lower voltage but the end result is you probably can't tell the difference. UltraPure has a 3 year limited warranty which is good. Qzone is made by one of the leaders in the spa electronics field. Spa Eclipse is what Jacuzzi Hot Tub uses on all their new spas.

Most useful/effective? Both type of systems will show you diagrams showing their design works better and longer.

Last Word? I have the Spa Eclipse in my spa simply because the CD chip is replaceable. But the end is, you decide.

Ø AMP plug. This is a flat plug commonly used on Jacuzzi's 1995-2001

Ø J&J plug

You need to ID which connection your spa has and the actual voltage the ozonator is. WARNING: Just because the spa is running on 220v doesn't make the ozonator 220v!

Ozonators: Although ozonators have been used for close to two decades in spas, this decade saw an explosion of its use in the hot tub industry.

Simply explained, there are two major ways to produce O3, which is ozone gas. One would think that making ozone gas would be troublesome because isn't that one of the major problems pollution creates? You will have to talk to experts about that; but the assure us this is different. The two ways is by glowing UV bulb and a Corona Discharge chip/chamber.

What happens is this device create ozone gas. The water movement sucks the ozone gas into the spa's water. The ozone gas is an oxidizer. So it likes to kill organic matter... The same stuff you kill with your sanitizer. It does this is a mild less smelly way. Most people don't smell the gas but it gives a sweet motor kind of smell. The ozone kills and dissipates. End of organics; end of gas. Dead stuff gets picked up by the filter and you clean the filter. Result: clean water.

Jacuzzi has embraced this approached. Most Jacuzzi spas with ozonators ONLY work when the low or #1 pump is on. Also, most boards are designed to turn off the ozonator when anyone touches the topside for 30-60 minutes. After that time, the board will turn the ozonator back on. Typically you use less sanitizer or even need to only "shock" the water weekly and use no sanitizer. You still must balance Total Alkalinity and PH but your weekly use of chemicals can be severely lowered. Because of this, the wear/tear on your spa can lower since you are not allowing the spa's water chemistry to drift to extremes.

The life of an ozonator is a challenge. A rule of thumb is thinking you normally will get 3-5 years of service. On some CD models you can often just replace the CD chip or chamber. On bulbs you usually replace the whole unit. You can purchase testing kit to check ozonator output but most who see the positive affects of their working ozonator and clearly see when the amount has dramatically lower or stopped.

FYI: You don't HAVE to have or HAVE to replace your ozonator. Its a real plus but the spa will operate without. If you stop using yours, you will need to tend to your sanitizer  to make sure you don't allow too many organics to grow. Remember, the ozonator is a sanitizer so if you don't use it, you will have to replace with chemicals.