CG Air

CG Air hot tub blowers and spa air injection

An air blower is what turns a bank of quiet hydro jets into the bubbling air bed and neck strips that most spa owners associate with a hot tub. It takes air from the plant room or cabinet, pressurises it and pushes it through the air manifold into the air channels moulded into the shell. Here you will find CG Air blowers for portable spas and built-in pools, including the Millenium series and a heated version that tempers the incoming air before it reaches the water.

Which models are listed here

The range is small and specific, so it is worth knowing what separates the three units before ordering:

• ME700-230 – a 700 W Millenium blower aimed at portable spas, where cabinet space is limited and the air channel network is relatively short.
• ME-230/50 – the 900 W Millenium blower, the stronger option for shells with more air outlets or longer runs of air line between the blower and the manifold.
• SLO-3-90 – a 900 W air blower with a 300 W heating element, so the air entering the water is warmed rather than drawn straight from an unheated cabinet.

If a spa was supplied with a heated blower and it is replaced with an unheated one, the bubbles will feel noticeably cooler on the skin and the water surface will lose heat faster during long air cycles. That is the main reason to keep the heated version where it was originally fitted.

Identifying the right replacement

Blowers are rarely marked on the outside once they have spent a few years in a damp cabinet, so work from what can be measured and read:

• Rating plate – note the wattage and the supply voltage and frequency before anything else. A 700 W and a 900 W unit are not interchangeable in every installation.
• Outlet size – measure the diameter of the blower outlet and the flexible air hose that leaves it. The hose must seat properly and be clamped; an undersized adaptor restricts airflow and makes the motor work harder.
• Mounting footprint – check the base dimensions and the position of the fixing points against the space in the cabinet or plant area.
• Heater or no heater – a heated unit has its own supply requirement and wiring; compare the existing connections before swapping between types.
• Control – confirm how the blower is switched, whether from the spa pack, an air button or a separate relay, and that the replacement suits that arrangement.

Installation points that protect the unit

Most blower failures are installation problems rather than manufacturing ones. The unit must sit above the water line, with the air line rising to a high loop before it drops to the manifold, so that water cannot siphon back into the housing when the blower stops. A non-return valve in the air line is the usual second line of defence. Water ingress is the fastest way to ruin a blower, and it is almost always traceable to a missing loop or a failed check valve.

The air intake needs clear, reasonably dry air. Blocked or dusty intakes raise running temperature, and an intake that sits in standing water at the bottom of a cabinet will not last. Soft mounting pads reduce the vibration transmitted into the spa frame, which is where much of the perceived noise comes from. After fitting, run the blower for a short cycle at the end of each bathing session if the control system allows it, so residual water is cleared from the air channels.

Common wear and what to check first

A blower that hums but moves little air, rattles, trips a breaker or smells hot is usually at the end of its service life. Before replacing it, check that the air line is not kinked or scaled, that the jet air controls are open, and that the air channel outlets in the shell are not blocked by biofilm or scale. A restricted channel makes a healthy blower sound laboured. If the airflow is strong at the blower outlet but weak at the seats, the fault is downstream, not in the motor.

CG Air at PoolParthub.com

Here we stock the CG Air Millenium blowers in 700 W and 900 W and the 900 W unit with integrated 300 W air heater, covering the three most common requirements in portable spas and built-in hot tubs: a compact unit for short air circuits, a stronger unit for larger shells, and a heated unit where bubble temperature matters.

Keeping these three together on one page makes it easier to compare wattage, heating and mounting before ordering, rather than guessing from a faded rating plate. If the existing blower cannot be identified, note the wattage, the outlet diameter and whether the original had a heater, and match from there.