Heat & Filtration Settings for Your Sundance Spa

We all want to enjoy warm, clean, clear hot tub water, and heat and filter settings as well as regular filter maintenance all play a significant part in making it happen.

In this blog we will give you instructions on how to set your heat mode & filter cycles.

Default Temperature Setting

The default temperature setting on a new Sundance Spa is 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Simply use the arrow up or down buttons to adjust to your desired temperature.

You can adjust your display to show Celsius rather than Fahrenheit if desired on all models except the Splash Series.

For the 680 series, Press the Menu button until you see “Pref”. Press the up or down arrow to enter menu. Display will now show “F/C”. Use the arrow up button to toggle between Fahrenheit and Celsius. Press the menu button to confirm your selection.

On  780 series spas, scroll through your menu until you see “Temp” and use the arrow up/down buttons to adjust from “F” to “C” and press jet 1 to save your settings.

On 880 & 980 series spas, go into the settings menu, scroll through until you see “Units” and tap. Then select your preferred unit of measure. Once selected, press the “Return” button to go back to the main menu.

Heating Modes

On the Splash Series, the 3 heat modes are “Standard (ST)”, “Economy (EC) & Sleep (SL). Standard mode is the factory default setting, which allows your spa to heat whenever required to maintain the set temperature.  Economy mode will only allow heating during the programmed filtration cycles. Sleep mode works in the same manner as the Economy Mode except the thermostat setting is automatically lowered by 20 degrees.

This mode is best suited for extended leaves from the house when it is not important to maintain constant water temperature such as vacations or business trips. It is not recommended for use during the colder months though, when a higher temperature should be maintained.

For 680 Series Spas there are 2 heating modes: “Ready” & “Rest”. Ready Mode allows the heater to heat at all times in order to maintain the set temperature. Rest mode enables the heater to heat only during a programmed filter cycle. We recommend using the “Ready” setting.

On all other Sundance Spas (780, 880 & 980 series), there are 3 different heat modes available:

“Economy” mode will allow your hot tub to heat only between the hours of 5 PM and 7 AM. These hours are not programmable.

“Day” mode will allow the water to heat only between the hours of 7.00 AM and 5.00 PM. These hours are also not programmable.

“Auto” allows the heater to heat at all times, in order to maintain your preset temperature.

We recommend setting your spa to “Auto” so that the water is always warm and ready for you to use.

If you ever notice that your hot tub water temperature has dropped, but there are no error messages displayed on your control panel, you should check that the spa is set to “Auto” mode.

If it has been changed to “Economy” or “Day” the water temperature will gradually drop until the next heat cycle comes on later in the day.

Here are the instructions for setting the Heating Mode on your Sundance Spa.

Splash Series

To adjust the heat settings, follow the instructions in the manual (See page 16). We recommend you leave the heat setting to the factory default “Standard” mode.

680 Series 

Press the “Menu” twice to enter the Mode Menu.

Use the arrow up or down button to toggle between “Ready” & “Rest”, then press the Menu button to accept the new setting and return to the main menu.

780 Series

Press the “Menu” button and use the temperature up or down buttons to find “HEAT”.

Use the temperature up or down buttons to select “ECO – Economy”, “DAY” or “Auto” and then press “Jet 1” to confirm and activate the setting.

880 & 980 Series

From the “Settings” menu, use the arrow up or down arrow buttons until “Heat & Filter” are highlighted in dark brown and then touch “Heat & Filter” to continue.

Now select your desired heating mode by pressing “Auto”, “Economy” or “Day”. Your selection will now appear in dark brown, which confirms your selection is active.

Filtration Cycle Settings

It is advisable to have your filter settings set for the maximum time of filtration, especially when the hot tub is new or the weather is particularly cold.

Here are the instructions for adjusting your filtration cycle settings.

Splash Series

You can select between 1 & 8 hours every 12 hours. To adjust the settings, press the temperature arrow (up or down) and then the jet button to enter programming mode.  Once in programming mode, use the arrow up or down to select the filtration time (F1 = 1 hour every 12 hours to F8= 8 hours every 12 hours).

680 Series

You can program up to 2 filtration cycles on the 680 Series. Filter Cycle 1 has a default start time of 8:00 PM for 4 hours. To change this setting, follow the steps below:

Press the Menu button until you reach the “Filter Cycle 1” menu.

Press the arrow up button to enter the menu. The display will now show “BEGN”

Use the up or down arrow to program the start time of the cycle. Press the menu button once the desired hour is selected to move to minutes. Use arrows to adjust minutes if required and press the menu button to confirm and move on to the cycle length. The display will “RUN” & “HRS”. Press the up or down button to enter the menu.

Use the arrow up or down button to program the hour(s) duration of the cycle. The press menu to adjust minutes if required.

Press the menu button. The display will show ” F1 Ends at *your set time*”. Press the arrow up or down to accept the changes and return to the main menu.

Filter Cycle 2 has a default start time of 8:00 AM for 4 hours. To change this setting:

Press the menu button until you reach the “Filter Cycle 2” menu.

Press the Up button to enter the menu. Display will show “ON”. BY selecting “ON” the display will now show “BEGN” and you can proceed to the programming steps shown above for Filter Cycle 1.

We recommend keeping the spa on the factory default settings, as we suggest a minimum of 8 hours per day of filtration, especially in colder climates.

780 Series

Press the “Menu” button to enter the settings menu, and select “PF” for Primary Filter. Use the temperature up or down buttons to select your desired start time, then press “Jet 1” button to confirm and activate setting.

Next, use the temperature up or down buttons to select the duration of time that your circulation pump and ClearRay Active Oxygen Water Purification System are in operation. Press “Jet 1” button to confirm and activate setting.

The factory default setting is 8 hours of filtration. We recommend adjusting your spa to filter 24 hours a day, to get the maximum benefit from your MicroClean Filtration and ClearRay Active Oxygen systems.

Once your settings are confirmed, scroll through the menu to “SF” to set secondary filtration level.

There are 3 options for secondary filtration – “HOL – Holiday”, “LT – Light Mode” or “HVY – Heavy Mode”. The factory default setting is “Holiday”, so that secondary filtration is turned off. “Light” activates two 10 minute cycles (8 AM and 8PM) every other day. “Heavy” activates two 10 minute cycles (8 AM and 8 PM) every day. The time and duration of these cycles cannot be adjusted.

Use the temperature up or down buttons to make a selection, then press “Jet 1” to confirm and activate the setting.

880 & 980 Series

Press the “Menu” button to enter the settings menu. Use the arrow buttons to Select “Heat & Filter”.

Press “1” for Primary Filter. Adjust “Start Time” as required and press the check mark button to confirm and activate the setting.

Next, adjust the “End Time” that determines the number of hours per day that your circulation pump & ClearRay Active Oxygen Water Purification System are in operation.

Press the check mark button to confirm and activate the setting. Press the “Return” button (Top right hand corner) to go back to the “Heat & Filter” menu.

We recommend running your circulation pump for 24 hours per day. To do this, set both “Start Time” and “End Time for 12:00 AM.

Back on the “Heat & Filter menu”, Press “2” for Secondary Filter, and select “Infrequent”, “Frequent” or “Away” mode. The factory default setting is “Away”, so that secondary filtration is turned off.

“Infrequent” activates two 10 minute cycles (8 AM and 8PM) every other day. “Frequent” activates two 10 minute cycles (8 AM and 8 PM) every day. The time and duration of these cycles cannot be adjusted.

Select your desired setting but touching the button of your choice (your selection you will now appear in dark brown). Once selection is complete, press “Return” button to go back to Heat & Filter Menu.

SmartTub Cellular Control

All of the cycles and settings for heat and filtration can be made using the optional SmartTub Cellular Controller, so you can adjust your hot tub from anywhere at any time using your smartphone or tablet!

Heating and filter cycles described in this blog are for 2018 and newer Sundance Spas (Not available on the Splash Series).

For more information on how to set your heat and filter settings, please visit any of our six locations (Burlington, Hamilton, Mississauga, Oakville, St. Catharines & Vaughan).

The Sundance Spa Store is a provider of high quality Sundance Spas and Finnleo Saunas who service the GTHA & Niagara Regions.

We deliver and service our products in cities such as Cambridge, Waterdown, Carlisle, Grimsby, Stoney Creek, Brantford, Binbrook, Caledonia, Smithville, Vineland, Pelham, Crystal Beach, Wainfleet, Port Colborne, Beamsville, Thorold, Brampton, North York, York, East York, Woodbridge, Etobicoke, Nobleton, Caledon, Georgetown, Toronto, Milton, Orangeville, Halton Hills, Welland, Markham, Richmond Hill, Niagara On The Lake, Fort Erie, Thornhill, Niagara Falls and many more!