WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AIR JETTING

BATHS OF DISTINCTION | ENGINEERING & EDUCATIONAL GUIDE

Pro Tip for Warmer Bubbles Turn on your air blower while the tub is filling—it's completely safe for the equipment. By letting it run while the tub fills, the air warms up by more than 20 degrees, delivering bubbles at a cozy 105-110°F.

Air jetting delivers pre-heated air pushed from a high-performance blower through dedicated tubing into the bathtub water. Individual injectors or micro pin-holes are strategically positioned along the floor or sides of the tub shell to create a full-body massage.

Types of Air Bubble Systems: Plusses & Negatives]

Air jetted tub systems generally fall into two categories: Individual Injector Systems and Pin-Hole Systems. Below is an engineering comparison of both design approaches:.

Individual Injector Systems

• Targeted Hydrotherapy: Injectors provide more targeted and directed massage streams.

• Non-Return Valve Hygiene: Individual injectors equipped with a non-return check valve at the body prevent 99% of water from entering the air lines.

• Unvalved Systems: Injectors without internal valves allow bathwater to drain back into and fill the air lines.

• Aesthetics & Feel:

• Some designs feature prominent button covers to disperse air. While less minimalist visually, you rarely feel them while bathing due to natural water buoyancy.

• Flat-faced injector designs sit almost flush with the bathtub surface, providing a sleeker look.

• Hygiene & Purging: During automatic purge cycles, 100% of residual water can be blown out, leaving air lines completely dried for maximum hygiene.

Pin-Hole Systems

• Seamless Look: Tiny holes drilled through the tub shell sit completely flush with the surface.

• Higher Jet Density: Pin-hole systems are fed by a central air bladder surrounding the tub walls, allowing for a higher number of air outlets.

• Water Backflow: Unlike injector systems with non-return valves, pin-hole systems naturally allow bathwater to enter the surrounding air bladder.

• Hygiene Consideration: Unless the central air bladder includes a dedicated drainage port at its lowest point, residual standing water will remain in the bladder, which can compromise long-term hygiene.

Essential Maintenance: Automatic Purge Cycle

Both individual injector and pin-hole systems can be programmed with an automatic purge cycle. Thoroughly drying out air supply lines or bladders is essential to ensure long-term hygiene and ongoing bathing comfort.

Heated Blowers: Are They Effective?

Whether fitted with a dedicated heating element or warmed naturally through motor operation, air temperature leaving the blower typically ranges from 80°F at start up to 110°F within 5 minutues. This output temperature is often warmer than a freshly drawn bath (98°F-99°F). Filament heaters - housed inside a blower - turn off and on and become inactive when the blower reaches a certain temperautre, natural blower heat is deemed as equally efficeint.

Why does the air feel cooler when bubbles burst on the skin?

• Thermal Loss in Transit: As air leaves the blower and travels down supply tubing, ambient room temperature cools it down.

• In-Cavity Blower: Mounted close to the tub shell, air travels a shorter distance and loses minimal heat.

• Remote Blower: Placed farther away, heat loss through extended pipe runs is significantly higher.

• Thermodynamic Dissipation: When a bubble travels through water and bursts against the bather's skin, it rapidly releases energy and heat into the water column.

Engineering Design Balance: Air Volume vs. Thermal Loss

There is a direct correlation between air volume and water cooling: the more air introduced into the bathtub, the higher the water cooling effect. Designers and engineers must strike a careful balance between maximizing bubble density for therapeutic massage and minimizing thermodynamic heat loss from the bathwater.

Water Temperature Impact: Baths of Distinction Test Results

Engineers at Baths of Distinction tested heat retention across different blower configurations over a standard 20-minute bathing session: Please Note - the blowers were allowed to run for 5 minutes before testing took place

Note: While air bubbles slightly increase rate of heat loss, allowing your hot water to run for a minutes or so should restore the bath to your desired temperature.

Extended High-Temperature Bathing Solutions

For long, high-temperature air bubble baths, the most effective solution is combining the air bubble system with an independently controlled low-pressure water heating system.

• A 1000W water heating system will increase bathwater temperature in an average-sized tub by over 3°F in 20 minutes.

• Once your ideal temperature is reached, the heater can easily be deactivated.

• All approved water heating systems feature an automatic safety cut-off at 104°F.

Published by Baths of Distinction - High-Quality Bathtub Manufacturing & Engineering Guidance