Portable hot tubs

[fisherofmengirly]

Has anyone heard of this? Has anyone seen one in real life? I''m wondering if they''re any good, or if they "pop" like an inflatable pool (kiddie pool).

I saw some websites online, but I mean really, are they going to say their product is a hunk of junk?

Probably not.

Any real life stories will be SO appreciated!!

 

[LegacyGirl]

I''ve never heard of this. How in the heck would they be portable?

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 2/17/2008 9:32:38 PM
Author: LegacyGirl
I''ve never heard of this. How in the heck would they be portable?

Well, they are supposed to be semi-soft, semi-hard sided, so that if you want to move it to another location, you can. Meaning, if you moved or got a new deck, etc., it could go with you. I saw one one time at a home and garden show; I don''t remember it very well (this was several years ago) but it''s come to mind here lately with the house hunt. I was hoping for a jetted tub, but if we didn''t get one of those after all, it may be cheaper to get a portable hot tub, if they work!!

 

[Elmorton]

Fisher, I''ve been wondering the same thing! DH and I loooooove the idea of having a hot tub and the portable ones are a fraction of a price.

I doubt they would pop...but would they leak?? Stand up to weather with 4 seasons??

Have you looked at any consumer review sites? I''m off to search...

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 2/17/2008 10:05:50 PM
Author: Elmorton
Fisher, I''ve been wondering the same thing! DH and I loooooove the idea of having a hot tub and the portable ones are a fraction of a price.

I doubt they would pop...but would they leak?? Stand up to weather with 4 seasons??

Have you looked at any consumer review sites? I''m off to search...

Yeah, let me know what you find out! I didn''t even think to check that!

Gosh, I''m a smart one!!

 

[Fancy605]

I''ve been in one before. A friend of mine (M) has an uncle who is in the hot tub business. He sells them and repairs them and what not. Anyway, when I graduated from high school, one of my other friends had a graduation party, and M and his uncle loaded up a portable hot tub onto a truck and brought it over. It actually worked pretty well as I recall. And after the party, they drained it, loaded it back up and went home. I''m not sure how long the things last or anything. But basically the way it was explained to me is that it is sort of like the difference between an in ground pool and an above ground pool. Of course this was 8 or so years ago. I wonder if I can e-mail M and see if he would recommend any specific model.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 2/17/2008 10:52:06 PM
Author: Fancy605
I''ve been in one before. A friend of mine (M) has an uncle who is in the hot tub business. He sells them and repairs them and what not. Anyway, when I graduated from high school, one of my other friends had a graduation party, and M and his uncle loaded up a portable hot tub onto a truck and brought it over. It actually worked pretty well as I recall. And after the party, they drained it, loaded it back up and went home. I''m not sure how long the things last or anything. But basically the way it was explained to me is that it is sort of like the difference between an in ground pool and an above ground pool. Of course this was 8 or so years ago. I wonder if I can e-mail M and see if he would recommend any specific model.

If you can get in touch with your friend, that would be awesome!

Thanks for the information!!

 

[Fancy605]

Okay, so my friend says that they can last anywhere from 10-20 years depending on the quality (which is about as long as a generic outdoor hot tub). Most of them are made of fiber glass, and it will wear out eventually, but you should be able to get a lot of use out of one if you take care of it (You may have to have it repaired or have parts replaced once in a while). Basically he told me that when it comes to these things you tend to get what you pay for, so a good quality tub may last for a long time where as a lower end one may not work after just a few years. His #1 recommendation would be to have one custom made, but since that can cost an obscene amount of money, he also game a more realistic recommendation for a good resource: http://www.atlantaspa.com/ That just happens to be in GA (Didn''t you mention moving to GA?) I am actually from GA too. Apparently this Atlanta Spa place carries all sorts of brands sizes, shapes and whatnot so you can at least get an idea of what you want. Then maybe you could search for a deal elsewhere (I have no idea how their pricing compares to other places).

 

[CrownJewel]

That''s so cool! How much do these things cost? Fisher, when you get one, make sure to invite us all over!

 

[joflier]

If its the same thing, it looks like its inflatable ( i dont know if it is or not) but I saw it in the SKYMALL magazine on the plane, and it was $899 there. So probably even cheaper online.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 2/19/2008 10:51:24 AM
Author: Fancy605
Okay, so my friend says that they can last anywhere from 10-20 years depending on the quality (which is about as long as a generic outdoor hot tub). Most of them are made of fiber glass, and it will wear out eventually, but you should be able to get a lot of use out of one if you take care of it (You may have to have it repaired or have parts replaced once in a while). Basically he told me that when it comes to these things you tend to get what you pay for, so a good quality tub may last for a long time where as a lower end one may not work after just a few years. His #1 recommendation would be to have one custom made, but since that can cost an obscene amount of money, he also game a more realistic recommendation for a good resource: http://www.atlantaspa.com/ That just happens to be in GA (Didn''t you mention moving to GA?) I am actually from GA too. Apparently this Atlanta Spa place carries all sorts of brands sizes, shapes and whatnot so you can at least get an idea of what you want. Then maybe you could search for a deal elsewhere (I have no idea how their pricing compares to other places).

Awesome; thanks for that info, Fancy.

I do live in GA and this weekend there is a home and garden show, so I''m trying to talk Paul into going to that, so we can see if there are any up there. The only time I''ve actually seen one that was portable, it was at a home show. It was not the blow up style I''ve seen online around lately, though.

Thanks again! You rock!!

 

[Fancy605]

Date: 2/19/2008 6:49:07 PM
Author: joflier
If its the same thing, it looks like its inflatable ( i dont know if it is or not) but I saw it in the SKYMALL magazine on the plane, and it was $899 there. So probably even cheaper online.

Oh gosh, I have never seen an inflatable one. Just fiberglass/wood ones. The "portable" part is that they don''t have to be connected to the plumbing of the house and everything. They are self sufficient.

 

[firebirdgold]

I''ve got a friend with a hot tub that looks like it was inflated, so maybe it''s one of those? She loves it and uses it all the time. Hasn''t had any problems that I know of. And she didn''t need a special pad for it. just plopped it on her flagstone patio.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

There is a homeshow this weekend; I''ll have to see if any of the vendors are in the "know" about any of this...

Of course, it''d be a good idea to have a house before I start adding things like hot tubs to it, huh?

(That was Paul''s advice about the situation; "Jen, we need a place to put one first, right? You think the balcony of this apartment''s gonna work?" Gotta love him!)