Dr. Hot Tub

QUOTE(TinyBubbles @ Dec 6 2007, 12:07 PM) Your last post was reasonable and offered your opinion. I have, however, on many occassions seen you call people's tubs junk, etc. Now saying a $4,000 tub is different than an $8,000 is far different than calling something junk or trash. An example is earlier in this thread where you are delighted that there will be more tubs out there to repair. How is that statement constructive? Does it do anyone any good? I try to figure out why people say such hurtful things on this forum, but for the life of me I can't figure it out. You yourself just said that your budget is limited at this point. What about other people who's budgets are limited but still want to own a spa? I have stayed out of the fray, until yesterday. When 8 innocent people are gunned down while Christmas shopping, things are put into perspective. Do you really need to call names or put down someone's spa? I thank God that my loved ones are still here and I pray for the families that lost their's yesterday. Unless the money is coming out of your pocket to buy these "junk spas", what do you care? You could offer your advice in a kind way and tell them whatever spa they choose that you hope they enjoy" I said I am delighted that cheap tubs are out there since all I do is fix hot tubs. What else should we call a tub that is not well made, very inexpensive and will fall apart before the warranty does? Only thing that comes to my mind is cheap! This year after three years of doing this full time I just netted one million after taxes/payroll(3 people) and expenses. As I look backwards at what we did and fixed in 08-09, the tubs we fixed were overwhelmingly hot tubs that are cheap. So that poor person that spent 4k on an entry level hot tub by the end of their third years has spent another 1500-2200 in repairs. I stress over and over and will call names each and every time I see a manufacture cut corners and build a piece of crap. So the only thing I have left to say to you is THANK YOU! Your a proponent of cheap tubs and they make me a lot of money! Keep on urging the low end and ignoring those of us that work on these things for a living have to say.

I see one of these every 3 days. This should be a Gecko spa pack. IF it's newer 3 years old or newer it will not have a pressure switch. If it's older then jump the pressure switch with the power off and then turn it back on and see if the temp goes up. It's almost always the Heater. Turn the GFCI off. Open the pack, disconnect the two heater connections. Test for continuity then for resistance reading of 11.2-.8 if it's the 5.5kw. up to 14.6 for the 4kw. If it's not the heater then replace the temp sensor.

Can't say enough more then what he said. I have seen 9 of these nightmare tubs and refuse to work on them unless I can gut them. The Gov. needs to step in, in a hurry!

Thanks everyone. I have worked on a few hundred of them already and was looking for exact info on ohm readings etc. The local dealership would have been mind recently if I had known they were for sale. They are very expensive and very much behind in everything so I am getting a lot of their business. A tub is a tub of course but there are so many boards that give different readings at various points. I am getting into circuit board repair now and amazed at how many Hotsprings heater boards I already have in a short period of doing this. Backyards is great for retail parts but I have several dealers across the country that sell me parts at 10% above cost. It's just no one wants to give up the instructional stuff for fear of getting sued. Next month I will havea computer that can read all circuit boards so it will no longer be an issue.

I would get it. Even if that dealer closes tomorrow someone else will open a Sundance Dealership I know. The Hot Springs Vanguard is good too but you won't get near that price. I sold my dealership on the other end of the state to move to the coast and re-open but then the economy went soft and I have been waiting for it to get better. I sold Sundance and Masterspas. I have a Masterspa LSX also and wouldn't trade it for nothing. Th is forum usually has not had many good things to say over Master but I never had any problems with the dealership and will take them on again. No one out there has a jet design that is even in the same league as Sundances bearing free jet. Do look at D1, Marquis and Jacuzzi also.

Personally I would stay away from both!

btw you do not need to buy the whole heater assembly for that spa pack. Just order a 5.5kw heating element, preferably a tefal version which will last longer. Replace your pressure switch at the same time. Should cost you no more then 50 bucks for a regular heating element and 100 for a tefal and pressure switch. You will need a 3/4 " open end wrench to remove the element.

As a former Sundance dealer your getting that tub almost at cost! WOW! I was selling it in '03 at $8200.00. I looked at Bullfrogs with the thought of selling them recently and passed. I will take Sundance away from another dealer in this new area when I start up. A great product. Personally I do not think those two tubs can compare to each other very well. I also want to mention I do not think you can beat Sundance's jet technology. I got in this because 80% of my spine is fused and so for me it has always been about therapy not novelty.

I use a flat bed car hauler 40-50 times a year.

Hello everyone. I am now getting a huge number of repair jobs for Watkins products and I rarely work on them since I have had very little experience with them. Does anyone have charts for instance to help me determine what is wrong with the sensors or heater as far as what resistance values I should be getting. I do not want to be a "part replacer" and would rather know them backwards and forwards like I do for Gecko and Balboa. If you have their info on repair I would love it and appreciate it and I know my customers would even more. Thank you in advance!

This link gives the info you are looking for, but basically skin absorption is minimal (5 µg/kg/day) and levels for first symptoms is pretty high (600 mg/kg/day). You couldn't even drink enough pool water high in CYA to get the daily amount to see any effects. Thanks.. I have new computer and lost all of my data. There are a few other medical studies going on and I have not relocated them. Thanks for the new link.

Does anyone by chance have any links or info on what a high CYA level does to Liver function?

I have to say...I worked on many Infinity/Keys and all of their other name tubs knowing: A. I would most likely never get paid($7k to date) and B. I would have these customers as soon as they go bankrupt yet again for non-warranty repairs.! I love low end tubs and the buyers that buy them since they can only see that it costs 3-5k up front and that the long term cost of repair usually is more then if they had bought a premium spa to begin with. I can't tell you how many times I have been at my local Costco and mentioned to someone looking to buy one of the piece of junk spas only to be called months later to fix their new tub.

I work on them often since our local dealer is not well liked. To me they are nothing more then an entry level spa. Some of the prices I have heard for their parts kept me up all night. I usually rip out their OEM equipment and put in Generic Balboa spa packs so they can save money in the future. Why not save a bit more and get into a premium line?

Great Job James! It made me smile and reminded me of many of the calls I get from people in dire need all over the world finding things I have wrote. Recently a man from the Netherlands called me at 3 am forgeting about the time difference. It was a pleasure helping him out over the phone (blown fuse) and I was asked by my lady if anyone else does this and I told her I am sure someone does. Now I know for sure someone else does. There are so many nightmare stories about our business so it's nce to see a nice one for a change. Keep up the great work everyone.