Hot tub brand

[CCR]

Any advice on purchasing a hot tub? I've been looking at Artic Spa and the reviews are so mixed. Anyone own one and can share their experience?

 

[theo]

Any advice on purchasing a hot tub? I've been looking at Artic Spa and the reviews are so mixed. Anyone own one and can share their experience?

When researching spas a decade ago, my personal conclusion was that there was Dimension One and there was everyone else somewhere behind them.
That being said, there was not exactly a plethora of other brand choices in our particular neck of the woods either. We bought a D1 Triad II, used and enjoyed it for 11 years before selling it prior to moving (buyers wanted it disconnected and gone before closing for some unknown reason, so we complied). Sold it for peanuts (less than 10% of what we originally paid, but it was 11 years old by then too). Also did not have to lift a finger in its' removal or transportation, so there was some value in that too. That tub weighed nearly 700 lbs. empty and was snugged into the corner of an elevated deck. Not an easy installation or removal.

Don't know the Arctic Spa brand you've mentioned, so can't intelligently comment on same.

D1 prices are certainly high --- bordering on obscene, actually. I got a break by buying a floor model, but it was still very expensive IMO.

 

[Passepartout]

When I was researching hot tubs, my personal conclusion was that there was Dimension One --- and there was everything somewhere far behind them.

Interesting. We must live in a parallel universe. We, also bought a Dimension One spa-a 1999 model in 2000. It has not exactly been totally trouble free, we having replaced 2 covers, and the heater once. The display panel has gone dark, but is available online for about $300. I'm not sure if they are still made- the place where I bought mine has disappeared into the mists of time.

Jim

 

[Roger830]

We have had a hot tub for 19 years that was built in the winter by a company that sells swimming pools in the summer.
He bought the shell and components, built the cabinet.

It has been pretty much trouble free. I replace the heater element about 5 years ago and a relay, both purchased on ebay.

It's my understanding that generally the components such as pump, piping, controls are standard equipment purchased by the hut tub manufacturer.

 

[dougp26364]

We use to own a hot springs spa. Not a lot of issues except when mice decided it was a warm spot to live and chewed some wires.

 

[easyrider]

Our Hot Springs finally developed a leak after 12 years. Very reliable and easy tub to own, imo. We used the heck out of the hot tub for a couple of years but every year after we bought it we used it less and less to the point that I will likely get rid of this one and not replace it.

Bill

 

[Elan]

IME, Hot Springs has always been considered the premier spa brand. I've had a Warm Springs spa for the last 19 years. It's been great, but Warm Springs was a local manufacturer that's been OOB since the early 2000's, so I'm on my own as far as maintenance and repair. As was mentioned above, there's nothing particularly unique about spa brands other than their design. The control panels, heaters, pumps and jets are all manufactured by the same small group of companies (Balboa, Waterway, etc) . I've replaced the circ pump twice, and each of the main pumps once since I've owned the unit. Pumps are around $150-$300, depending on HP. Spas are quite easy to work on.
My only advice would be to buy a spa with a circ pump and adequately sized filtration. I don't think the name matters that much other than perhaps for early ownership warranty issues.

 

[theo]

We also bought a Dimension One spa-a 1999 model in 2000. It has not exactly been totally trouble free, we having replaced 2 covers, and the heater once. The display panel has gone dark, but is available online for about $300. I'm not sure if they are still made- the place where I bought mine has disappeared into the mists of time.

Fwiw, I believe that those covers are not actually Dimension One products at all ("Sunline" maybe?). We replaced same once too. Our tub had two separate displays --- one for the "massage sequencer" (selects 5 or 6 different jet sequence patterns) and one for temperature / heating / filter status. I replaced both displays (once each) during our 11+ years of ownership, easily done. The sequencer display was about $350, the temperature / heating status display was about $100 iirc. I attributed their failure to being exposed to the sun's heat in the summer and New England temperatures in winter --- but fail they certainly did.

Loved and used that tub when we had it, but don't actually miss it at all now that we don't have one.

 

[Elan]

I'm about to buy the 3rd cover for my spa. First one lasted about 14 years. The replacement about 5. There's no reason they couldn't easily be made to last a very long time, but they're not.
As far as the control panel going dark, that did remind me that I once replaced the small backlight bulbs in mine. Got 'em off Amazon or eBay for a few dollars.

 

[CCR]

Thanks for all the advice. We have a Hot Springs dealer near us and we'll go check them out and look for Dimension One tubs too.

 

[DJensen]

We purchased a CalSpa last November and enjoyed a good soak almost every night of the winter (Minnesota). We shopped CalSpa and Jacuzzi, both had similar features but CalSpa had better price. Our initial thought was a small (2-3 person) tub since a family of 4 with one son going off to college. We ended up with a spa that can seat 7 and love it. The kids will have friends over and good size for them to enjoy. I would suggest getting the feet blaster or massagers in the bottom of tub, very relaxing. Maintenance so far as been the chemicals 2 times per week and rinsing the filter 1 time per week.
Only glitch we had with both refills is that we have well water to fill the spa. All is good to the point of adding first measure of chlorine, it turns a translucent brown. It must be the iron in the water. We just rinse the filter multiple times and it takes care of it from there.

 

[easyrider]

I found the leak on my Hot Springs Tub. It was a hose washer that wore out in the plastic valve cap. The valve wasn't all the off either. This likely happened the last time I drained the tub for a good cleaning. Years ago I changed the water frequently as in every month or two. Then I went to every 3 months and now Im changing the water every 6 months.

Bill

 

[nightnurse613]

We thought about adding a spa to our pool as part of a remodel; then we thought about just adding a separate spa but we had NO IDEA how we felt about a spa. So we bought a La-Z-Spa. On a good day about $300. Plugs into a 15 amp circuit. Heats to 104+/- and blows bubbles of air (NOT jets). Takes about 30 minutes to assemble. It's been fun and lasted about a year until it developed an unseen leak. Replaced the tub portion ($150) and never looked back. Good enough for us poor folk even if I have to replace it every year for 10 years!! Check out Amazon!