Wmartin

New spa owner, I received it about the end of August. Recently there has been a slightly bad odor and the water is as clear as it has been. I have a Sundance Optima with Ozonator, filter and cartridge I use test strips that check water about twice a week since I am new. Readings stay in acceptable ranges: 1)Ph 7.2ish, Readings were always low at first but when I fix Alkalinity the ph has been fine 2) Free cholorine .5-1 in the beginning weeks (since I have an ozonator and use shock I was told this was okay) Then I started using more cholorine as the water turned less clear and started having an odor 3) Alkalinity stays around 80 4) ppm Stabilizer 30-50 Any suggestions? THANKS

Can I ask some questions since this is a post on the Optima? My optima was just delivered 3 days ago. Day 1- The instructions in the Sundance manual said to put a whole bottle (8oz) of the Stain-X (Metal Control), so I did. There was a starter bag of shock that I put in as well. I tested the water and the PH was low, I added 1 oz. The spa guy on the phone (service dept) said I should add a little shock every day I use the tub and Id never have a problem. I accidently put a little (1/2 a cap) Sani-Chor in instead of shock. Day2- The next day I tested, the PH was still low I added 1 more oz (It was recommend never to over do, you dont want to go from low to to high etc). I went to the store to ask operating questions and the salesman said I shouldnt have used Sani Chlor, thats why I have they little "box thing" in the filter. I bought some shock, but the salesman said putting shock in everyday would be over kill, maybe 2-3 times a week if it was used everyday. Day 3 (today) Ph still low, same reading of around 6.2 so I added 2 oz today. My other readings on my strip are: Free Chlorine- 0-.5 its suppose to be 3-5, what should I do? ph registers low 6.2 so I added 2oz Total Alkalinity- in ok range around 80 Cyanuric Acid- registers low around 0, it should be 30-50. What should I do? Use info- It is new so my wife and I are going to use it at night 5-7 times a week before going to bed. In addition, I have 4 children ages 2.5 to 8 that will climb in during the day (we will set at 98deg (and watch them like hawks). When and if my buddies come over, lets say 3 guys and me, should I shock it with a capful before or after? This is a lot, thanks if you can help out?

It really stinks when you are really clear and people misrepresent themselves. For the retailer not take any portion of the responsibility is wrong regardless of the loose relationship with the sales people. The retailer is still making $$$ (and the retailer has a legitimate grip they can take up with their rep, its not your job to do that, your not the retailer!).

Man, how simple and effective is this I am putting my hot tub on a composite deck material called Ever Grain, its like Trek. Anything I should be concerned about? By the way, the deck support is mega beefed up, so its structurely sound, just checking in the decking material. Thanks

I purchased my Optima for $8500. It has an Ozonator and included Leics covermate and lift, Spa Kit Purity Nature II, durastep and delivery. I think I got a great deal but it wasnt a normal situation. At a home show I went looking for a hot tub. Inclined to get a Sundance, I was disappointed by the chilly reception I received in the booth. I went to other booths to learn and listen and ended up buying a Master Spa LSX. Great people, professional guy (I dont care what others say about Master this was my experience). I didnt get everything I wanted to get done at the show so I went back the next night. With my new found knowledge of spas I went back to the Sundance booth to compare/justify my decision. A manager introduced himself, I shared my story, he apologized for the experience and talked to me about the spa even though I made a purchase. His boss and him basically said asked me if they could get me a great price, I said sure since I had to wet test the Master (there was a 3 day grace period on the sale), thus a low ball $8500 offer. During my wet test, my shoulders couldnt get under the shoulder jets of the Extreme seat in the LSX. I called the Master retail, got credit on my down payment immediately, called and bought the optima.

Turn ons -I really look for an education. I bought my first spa and I didnt really know what I was doing. The sales people I narrowed it down to were the ones that offered me the best education. - Good atmospere (clean store, proper appearence of employees) Turn offs - Denegrating the competition - Poor listening. Service- Everyone says they have better service then the competition. Its one of the most overused lines in retail. name 1 retailer who doesnt say it. Cite examples, service guarentees (48 hour service calls), ways the company has stuck up for there customers with the wholesale vendors, etc). Knowing the competition- If a consumer is leaving your store to go to a competitive store its okay to stick up for your product. If I left a Sundance dealer, and headed to a Master dealer, its okay to say "Its a very good spa as well, but here is some differences 1) they count every orfice in there master blaster foot massage as a jet, so they may say the have a lot more jets, but I think we are very competitive. 2) Make sure you can fit under the shoulder jets and the people who will be using the tub can fit as well, 3) Filtration.... 4) Ability to move around the spa, Master is in compartments, Sundance is more open. The Master guy can say 1) We have more jets and the foot massage should count 2) We believe in our therapy advantage and have compartments 3) We think foam filled is not an advantage... etc Its not okay to say 1) That is a bad company, did you hear about the rebate scheme, 2) Customers always complain that shop keeper is a real jerk, 3) That company had much better products in the past, but they are now living on their past reputation with poorer quality Financing didnt matter to me, but Id be a 12month same as cash guy before anything else

Sorry to be repetitive to Guzz post, I started it before his post, then got busy, and finished after Guzzs post. Here is a follow up question for the industry guys: for spas with timers, do people usually swing temps as wide as 98 to 104? My only concern was the energy expense of doing having the temp set at 98 all day but starting at 6-7 having it ramp up to 104 by 10ish, then go back down after midnite (thinking Id spa before bedtime which can be from 10-12) Thanks

I bought my spa for therapy first, but with 4 kids under 8 years old, I wanted to make sure they would be able to enjoy it as well. The danger of kids in the spa was over heating, this can be avoided for having tempatures lowered to 98 deg for the kids. The kids can stay in there all day if the temp matches there own body temp. I bought the Optima with the new heating box (whatever) that can heat the water up quickly. The employee said I can set a timer so during the day it can be lower temp, but as it reaches my spa time (which I think will be at night before bed) it will heat up to 103-4. We are going to try this approach and monitor cost. If the temp can be lowered to 98, there is no problem at all

I knew, great question, I need some recommendations myself. We bought a fixer upper home and have an addition going in this spring. With that we are building a new deck and the I thought, if we were ever going to do it right, now is the time to get a spa and build a "spa wing" so it doesnt cut into our needed deck space. Our kitchen and family room exit 1 story up in the back yard. The deck and the spa will be 10-12 ft off the ground. 1) I would like to sink the tub, but would it be hard to do maintenance? 2) I bought a Sundance Optima, and service space recommendations for that model? 3) If you have access to the front panel, is that enough, how would you get to a leak in the back? Since this deck is being built knowing we have a tub coming in, what recommendations would you have for the design 1)Drainage 2) Filling it with water? 3) any other? Thanks

Skidrow Sorry I cant help you. I think I got a great price o an Optimus at 8500 US.

Sharkman, you have great passion for your job and your line, good for you. If you dont mind me saying this, as soon as your source became a disgruntled consumer/s, the facts stop, it then becomes heresay. I will buy into FACT that there was a parking lot sale, that the dealer sold Master. I would hold Master partly responsible for there choice of distributors if there ends up being improper business practices however we dont know what Master really said or did about this. FACT is also you sell against Master Spa so some could say you have a biased opinion, so dont be overly sensitive if I add a slight caveat to your opinion. What about the consumer, didnt they ask about the dealer when they handed over the deposit payment? Did they go to a parking lot at a bowling alley and give some 2k for a spa without asking questions? Why would they consumer walk into your shop for help? Did they get rude with Master first?, who did they talk to? Here is another Fact, I dont know what happen but there are two sides to every story and in the middle there is probably the truth Last fact- the bashers have side tracked another post - this subject is on jets

Windsurfdog, great post. Your dead on. When I was asking about the pros and cons of Master Spa a month ago I couldnt believe the unprofessional blanket character opinions about the brand and dealers of Master, particularly from industry people. After researching the rebate situation (which many Master dealers didnt participate in), I felt like Master was okay as a company, regionally their dealers needed to be judged on an individual basis like all brands. The guy in the Pittsburgh market was great. In addition, a guy on here, his name is Greg in MI I think, is a Master dealer who allowed me to call him and talked to me about 20min even though he knew I was buying it in Pittsburgh, classy and informative not cheesy. As for jets, I have no probem with Masters advertised jet count because they explained it to me. Should the master blaster count as 1 jet, with all those orfices? Either way, as long as it is explained I have no problem. Wet testing is the way to go to figure out jets and therapy. I was surprised at the power and therapy I got from the Sundance Bahia, the Maxxus was obviously great too. The Master LSX had a terrific extreme therapy seat, but I couldnt fit into the other seats with the shoulder massage (6ft long torso). I couldnt see pulling the trigger on a high end spa and have to go from the extreme seat to the 4th seat of that spa if I was switching seats. In addition, but a secondary reason, with 4 little kids, the open style of the Sundance is a better fit.

Amanda is right on, there is a balance on both sides to figure it out. I went in to wet test a Sundance Optimus. The several store retailer in the Pgh market has water in all the same Sundance models in all there stores, the Maxxus (bigger and $$$$), the Bahia and Cameo. I made the best of the situation, if the Maxxus wasnt good enough, Id know the Optima wasnt either. Since the Maxxus past the test, the Optima was still in the running. My concern was that the extra pump the maxxus may have made the difference in the test. I said Id still need to try the Optima because it wasnt the same regardless of his explanation about the small 3rd pump. He said he would fill it for me but it would take a day or two to set up, no problem. But as I got out of the tub, I saw the filled Bahia and thought, if that has less pumps than the Optima, and it is good enough for me, then he wont have to fill it up. The Bahai was great, I told him I was all set and didnt need to fill up the Optima. Retailers need to run there business, the guy knew I was a serious customer so maybe thats why he offered. But I dont blame Brulan for his position, he needs to stay in business for himself and the people who work for him, its his choice.

I was glad I wet tested the two spas I was considering because I didnt fit under the shoulder jets of one of the models. If I didnt wet test it, I would have bought it. I would have had the tub crane lifted to the 2nd story deck to find out I didnt fit into the best corners of the spa (Master), would have been a bummer. The model I did choose (Sundance Optima) also had a better foot massage placement than the Master for everyone in the tub. I wouldnt have thought that before.

Amen to Jack L and Amandas reply