Hot Tub Experiences?

[daugen]

one of the things I'm looking at is the total amp consumption rating. The one proposed to me shows a 50amp requirement. Others require higher amperage, 64 I think I saw on one of them. That's a hefty draw for sure and what if the hvac systems are on at the same time.
I have a 400 amp service so I'm not concerned over the ability to feed a hot tub but it seems this appliance would be the highest draw device on the panel.
Although I'm not sure what a four burner stove would draw with all four burners on plus the oven. Let's turn all that on at the same time too...say for Thanksgiving.

I believe the 4kw heater is the highest consumer, followed by the 7hp pump followed by the circulation pump; the latter using less than one amp.
That's a lot of juice...really surprises me the monthly cost figures quoted are so low.

 

[sd455dan]

And I don't mean what you did in them...:dance1:

but rather have you owned one, and did you learn some
"boy I wish I knew this before I bought this thing" important knowledge?

I'm considering a small three person hot tub for my back porch so I can soak in hot water for
what is unfortunately pretty serious arthritis. Luckily hot water helps immensely.

The ones I have looked at are pretty fully equipped, though I do not want light or music packages.
I want peace and quiet back there, not winky lights and subwoofers thumping the water...
They all say they have enormous insulation, use the latest techniques, have the most therapeutic nozzles, blah blah.
And I have never heard of any of them.

the one that fits the best at the end of my back porch has 225 gallons, a 7hp single pump, 26 outlets in six varieties, and a three year everything warranty.
It has a 4kw heater and is only 60 inches wide so it fits just perfectly, albeit with a house jack and a brace underneath. No way am I putting a ton of weight on one spot on that deck. It's only a three foot drop but...

what should I look for, ask for?
I asked about heating with propane and was told the conversion was not inexpensive and to try the electric first. It was so well insulated the energy cost is low, blah blah. Yeah, maybe for the Sultan of Brunei... So lastly, what does it cost to run one of these things on some kind of set back basis so it isn't kept all the way hot all day? I would use it every day, likely morning and night.

Thanks very much for feedback. Drew

We are on our second hot tub- the first one was a Sun tub,

5 person round with a 1 1/2 hp dual speed motor, 240 vac .

It had numerous problems including being mis-plumbed from the factory.

The worst thing was the solid insulation... the tub developed some leaks in its later years and the insulation made it near impossible to find and fix problems.

Never again...

Our replacement tub is a square one also 5 person with a reclined bench (spa Warehouse) with removable sides and replaceable insulation, 4 hp jet pump and a separate 1/16 hp circulation pump which we run 24 / 7 it also has knife valves which can be closed to work on any of the pumps or heater Without draining the tub ... I much prefer a serviceable tub to the other one.

If I was looking at a new one , would give a Thermo-Spa a good look

 

[Stimw]

I bought a $4000.00 4 person Vita Spa on craigslist for $500.00 that was 10 years old. I have had to replace the heater, $39.00.
I keep the temp set at 98* and I can stay in it as long as I want to. You can feel the heat soaking into your bones!
Buy the best brand that you can afford and skip the FOO FOO accessories.
The bigger the heater the faster it can warm up from being turned off.
I am also using some kind of copper additive to sanitize the water and it works great and doesn't stink.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I got a small one for free about twenty years ago. The upside was free and the equipment was quality. We liked it so much that when I had a chance to get a much nicer one just for the taking I jumped on it. We haven't used it in years and have a standing offer of free for the taking.

The upside is they are very relaxing in the evenings, especially when it's downright cold outside. The combination of snow on bare skin in hot water is a true treat. And when the grandkids were small letting them play in it was a ton of fun.

The downsides are cost of heating, ours has an electric heater, and keeping the water safe. One of my clients explained to me the importance of having the water just right chemically. You slip into the tub and your body oils mess it up and it needs to be balanced back out. Now two of you slip in and it's even worse. Keeping the water safe is a full time job if you want it to be right. With a swimming pool the amount of water lessens the impact of your presence. Hot tub? whole different game.

 

[boggen]

have ya looked at a DIY setup? epdm style liner, with tile work over the liner?

diy hot tub as far as the tub itself, is not much different than a diy above ground pond or pool. same basic liners used, add some tile over the liner. and away ya go.

the main difference as far as tub itself is the drains, and air/water returns on a hot tub. they can get rather fancy.

air pump, water pump, heater, switches, thermostat, control board.

some hard board insulation, along with some spray foam, to insulate it all up well.

heck you could turn a cheap swimming pool into a hot tub.

 

[kenmac]

I can't remember (off hand) the brand I have. It has a circuit board and auto cycles from time to time. Has 2 Motors. I believe 1 is a 5 hp and the other is a 4 hp. I've only had to replace the heater so far. Had it about 5 yrs

 

[RobertN]

- Wire it for full power. We had to use ours temporarily on 115 while our deck was rebuilt. It works MUCH better on 220. For the the multi voltage/current models, unless you wire fore max power, it will not heat while jets are on, heats slow etc.

- Someone mentioned earlier, you get what you pay for. Our last spa was expensive, but lated14 years of heavy use. We could have went cheaper, but it was worth the extra for better build, better insulation etc. Had friends with cheaper ones, last half as long, and they did not use them near as much as we do(my wife uses twice a day for aqua therapy, every day)

- They need the water changed. Ours is smaller round 4-person. 4-6 months on water between changes

- We live in N. Calif, with mild temps in winter. Not sure what you folks go thru in the colder climates. Can you use year round, no freeze issues?

 

[Mace Canute]

Speaking of DIY hot tubs and small ones...several year ago a guy I know was telling us (quite proudly too) about what he scrounged to make his own small hot tub. The City of Saskatoon used to use large garbage containers in the back alleys that were supposed to be sized for four households. When they became damaged for whatever reason, they were switched out and the old ones were stored in one particular City Yard. You could buy these if you wanted (a friend has half a dozen that we cut the top off to make planters, works great for that) so this guy bought one of the least damaged ones to make his hot tub! GACK! I don't care how much cleaning and bleaching you do, all I can think of is all the various different liquids that soaked into that thing over the years...and picturing sitting in a soup of that stuff.

 

[bcp]

Don't get one with molded-in "bucket seats." Get one with "bench seats."

Much easier to relax when you can change position.

And you don't need 800 jets.

Bruce

 

[NativeSon]

Hot Tub Experiences

Wow! the topic of this thread is a little disappointing to say the least.

Charlie