Hot tub pros and cons?

[kgizo]

We have a covered patio we rarely use and DH suggested getting a hot tub. I did some quick research and it seems like they are fairly easy to maintain by adding chemicals once a week and changing out the water 3-6 mo, and aren't energy hogs as they use foam insulation. Anyone have a hot tub? Is it a pain or do you love it? My only other concern is motor noise. It wouldn't be relaxing for me if it had a loud motor.

 

[Arcadian]

We had one in New England, it was a MUST for that area. Ours was outside on a deck...a heavily reinforced one!

We had a Tiger River Sumatran 4 seater. We did not have lots of bells and whistles but it was a solid tub. I think the highest heat was 104F, and the jets were good and strong.

Kinda funny but this is the exact model we had
http://www.aquasun.co.uk/hot-tubs/hotspring-tiger-river-sumatran/

If on a deck, make sure its reinforced with concrete. If you don't, your deck will sag from the weight. in fact any floor you put it on will need to be structurally reinforced to prevent sagging. Otherwise do it on a concrete pad with a gazebo cover.

Once a week throw some Chlorine in there, (including in summer) in summer we turned it down a bit because it wasn't in use much. We drained it roughly twice a year for a real cleanng. We were the only 2 that used it so more would have been overkill. Chlorine granuals should be extremely cheap by the bucket. I would get mine from amazon.

On the refill use Metal Gone (Leslie brand) because more often than not you're going to be using hose water to fill it.

For draining, we used a plain jane garden hose that drained into a drain pipe on our property (we had to install it for other reasons but worked well!)

The only time we added shock was if the water looked cloudy. Lots of different ones out there. I forget the brand we used but it was the pool places store brand. Did a good job.

One other thing you may have to worry about is calcium buildup. If you have hard water, you're going to be prone to this. Spa Defender (Leslie brand) does a good job. Use after changing water and after that ONLY if you see white flakes n the water.

Once it hit 10 years, we lost the heater. The place we purchased from did the fixes as they were about a mile from us. In all, they did a great job with those types of things (I believe they charged us 200 for the part + labor) and we had to replace the jets as they lost ball bearings. We did this ourselves. We also replaced the cover once because SOMEBODY (not me) destroyed the first one shoveling snow off. Our repair costs were very minor considering the age of the tub when we sold the house. But they also got a year old heater...lol

There will be a lot of things you can do yourself to make your lives easier, like the exterior jet pieces, and any covers can be purchased off the internet for cheaper too. Also you dont have to go overboard with the whole cleaning kit. we did the most basic stuff we could get away with. You will want to check PH especially on refill. after a while you might not do that either (we stopped after year 3...lol)

When you purchase you will need to know what type of electric voltage you need. Ours was minimum 220 line If I thought I could do it, I would have done 240 hard wired. Heating water on 220 from a clean fill could take 24 hours or more . on a 240 maybe half a day. Larger one may well require 240 lines If 220, you will need to add a GFI rated outlet outside if you go with 220 plugged in, and a breaker in your main box. I'm more comfortable around electric than him so it was my job. However, the reality is, have a licensed electrician do it for safety's sake.

Do read up on the different spas, and really don't do a bunch of bells and whistles unless you really plan on using them. Just remember Entropy always wins, and the more moving parts, the more stuff that can break or needs to be fixed.

 

[soxfan]

We had one in NH. I'm planning on getting one here too. Pros: everything. Cons: nothing. I miss my hot tub!!!!!!!!

 

[lovedogs]

This thread is very well timed, because I am trying to convince DH to get a hot tub! Even though we live in southern CA

I use my spin bike 5-6 times a week, so I'm sore a lot and think I'd love having one. Thanks so much, @Arcadian for sharing your experience! We are looking into a refurbished hot springs brand as well, since they have excellent reviews.

I'd love to hear thoughts from others!

 

[kgizo]

@Arcadian and @soxfan - thanks so much for your responses. Arcadian, really appreciate the info about repairs and maintenance. I've done a little research and its already overwhelming so your post has been a big help.

@lovedogs, Good luck with DH!

 

[kenny]

I'd guess both pros and cons have hot tubs.
They have money.

 

[chemgirl]

We had one at our old house and I loved it. We only lived there for 2 years and I can't remember the brand or anything. It was actually really easy to maintain and our water consumption wasn't crazy (well except for that one time DH walked away while filling it and left the water running for 12 hours). We would have one if our current neighbourhood didn't have a ban.

Just a word of caution. If you live in a rural area make sure you have a very good cover. My sister is taking her hot tub out after the third dead animal situation. Sooooo gross.

 

[Arcadian]

We had one at our old house and I loved it. We only lived there for 2 years and I can't remember the brand or anything. It was actually really easy to maintain and our water consumption wasn't crazy (well except for that one time DH walked away while filling it and left the water running for 12 hours). We would have one if our current neighbourhood didn't have a ban.

Just a word of caution. If you live in a rural area make sure you have a very good cover. My sister is taking her hot tub out after the third dead animal situation. Sooooo gross.

We only had a couple of raccoons try but never succeed because we locked the top down after use. They never figured out how to open it (unlike the trash)

 

[Arcadian]

@Arcadian and @soxfan - thanks so much for your responses. Arcadian, really appreciate the info about repairs and maintenance. I've done a little research and its already overwhelming so your post has been a big help.

@lovedogs, Good luck with DH!

You're welcome! It CAN be confusing! When we got ours we had to be pretty much set on a size because of the space we had. Bigger looks great but really, unless you're having parties all the time, not necessary. And of course a spa place will want you to go with all the wizbang stuff!! The only time I noticed mine being noisy was when it needed the heater replaced. It was a horrible buzzing sound when it was off. But brands matter so check customer satisfaction on a few and then go see them in person. Talk to your spa person about maintenance contract and what it entails. Very important as some might not include a whole lot of nothing. Warranty of your spa also important.

Oh I did forget to talk about the filters. We had 2 that we rotated. Ours ran roughly 45 dollars each but some others can be pricey. When you're cleaning your tub, you will want to take out, clean and then soak your filter. Never run the tub without a filter. like...never. Our filters when we rotated lasted for several years. We finally bought a new pair maybe year 5-6, I can't really remember, and thats only because somebody (not me) let one sit outside all winter. Yep. So you can hang out with 1, but 2 that you cycle makes life so much better.

You might want a scum ball to skim the water but we always showered prior to getting in, so it wasn't needed (these catch oils and lotions that float on the water and just help to keep it clean)

Tubs can evaporate a bit of water over time. Watch the levels for sure. If its evaporating too much, or if taking on water if its outside, its a definite cover issue.

After the first 6 months with one, you get USED to it. Frankly its too darn hot here, I'd never use the darn thing, but if I were still in NE, I'd have one for sure.

 

[naivemelody]

Another vote of confidence for hot tubs! Ours was our first major purchase after buying a house, and we love it! I did a fair bit of research and worrying before the purchase, there are whole forums about it like PS for diamonds haha. Got ours from Nordic Hot Tubs in the end; spendier than the Costco offerings but it struck me as something where it's worth paying for quality. Wasn't really tempted to get any of the cheaper ones other than Costco just due to general shadiness.

Any kind of paved patio should be fine; I asked all worriedly if it was ok to put ours on pavers and it's definitely fine.

Maintenance seems simple enough so far (only had ours less than 2 years) - we just do everything on the recommended schedule and use spa test strips and it seems fine.

The motor isn't loud. Outdoors it sounds like a good-quality (quiet) dishwasher. Indoors I can't hear it at all.

The electrical is really something to think about, as Arcadian said. Ours was able to have a normal 120V plug, which was a huge saving on setup since otherwise we would have had to get an electrician to run a new line from the front / laundry room to the backyard - most people don't have 220+V accessible in their backyards. Of course less voltage has its downside in terms of power, but they assured us the jets are equally powerful, it just can't run jets and heater at the same time. We haven't found that to be a problem, we keep it pretty hot so we don't mind if the heater isn't always on while we're in it.

 

[lovedogs]

wanted to come back and report that DH approved the hot tub purchase! Hooray!

We got a refurbished Hot Springs from a hot springs dealer, which comes with a 1 yr warrantee (parts and labor). I am thrilled that we were able to get such a well-known and trustworthy brand without paying the $$ of a new one.

We got the electrical line installed for $450, which is really reasonable, and the hot tub itself is going to be delivered on Wednesday of this week. YAY!

 

[kgizo]

Congrats @lovedogs!

I was hesitant after DH suggested it, but after hearing everyone's feedback that they are easy to maintain I got excited. Now DH is waffling bc he may not want to lose the patio space. It's still hot in TX so I'm going to see if he doesn't change his mind when it is cooler.

@naivemelody, thanks for chiming in. I think there is an opportunity for some company to rationalize the hot tub industry. The prices are hidden, its challenging to compare quality as the focus is on aesthetics and layout, and it is hard to find reviews bc so many manufacturers are regional (no Nordic in our area). The Costco ones have the most reviews and they are very positive, but it seems like most post after 2 months and I would love to see reviews 2-3 years later.