The place I moved into has a hot tub that is very dilapidated. I will be ripping it out and getting a new one. Well, new to me anyway. I just went outside to see what size heat exchanger it had, and there are just two hoses (maybe 3/4") that come from the copper supply and return on the side of the house. Someone decided to take the exchanger with them. So now I am faced with a dilemma. I am renting this house, so I want to be as cheap as possible. I am willing to buy a used hot tub, knowing I will leave it here. But the price I am seeing for tube and shell exchangers is ridiculous. How would the plate exchangers do? I am willing to use electricity to heat the tub when we have the cover off.
Also, I saw that I can use a zone controller for temperature regulation. Is that just a valve that bypasses the exchanger? So I could adjust the valve to divert say, 40% in a loop back to the OWB instead of the exchanger?
I don't know if they plumbed this system the best possible way.
Mine goes OWB-> Hot Water Heater -> Furnace (Water to air) -> Hot Tub, than starts its return to the OWB to be heated and start the cycle again. There are shutoffs for the hot tub,(at the wall the pipes go through in the basement) so I could in theory control the flow of supply or return to the hot tub, but that would effect the flow on my entire system.
I see jimr said I could expect 1000 to hook up the tub, I hope to come in at the 200 or less mark, since the 1" (Maybe bigger) copper lines are already in place and snaked through the basement.