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Dawill

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  1. So, when I purchased my first hot tub ~1month ago it came with a leisure time spa minerals stick and the dealer showed me how to maintain it. Pretty much told me to ignore everything but alkalinity and ph on the 4way teststrips he gave me and said to shock it with dichlor every week or 4hrs of use, whichever came first. Said the ozonator + the spa minerals would do all the sanitazion and all I needed to worry about was oxidation. I tried their method but I get cloudy water after ~1hrs use and it keeps getting cloudier until i shock it. After shock it clears up but I get a nice foam on top of the water, not sure if that is normal. I've gone through and read some of the different methods of dichlor + bleach and what not, but I'm not sure if I can switch to bleach with the spa minerals or not but I'm also concerned about getting my CYA to high from dichlor. Also I was told nothing about MPS for shocking, so I'm a little uncertain on what to do. First off is the spa minerals the same thing as the leisure2 stick? Can I follow their directions? The leisure time directions are worthless and just say keep ~1ppm free chlorine and shock as needed. Everytime I have checked my spa my FC is pretty much zero unless I recently shocked it and then it will be 10+. Also should I invest in a test kit instead of these strips? How often should I be testing my water and is it normal for having ph drift up over time? I use ~2tsp of spa down in my 450 gallon tub a week but still haven't opened the spa up container.
  2. I paid just over 8000 for 61 jets w/ dual foot blasters (62 version with footblasters). It has ozonator, lights, waterfall + pillowfall, cover, coverlifter, stairs, delivery + startup chems. Total was 8036. This is the whole reason I went with artesian, the comparable spa in other brands was several thousand more. I even considered the costco spas but at $5k + tax + $250 for somebody to move it to my backyard, it just wasn't worth it in my opinion. I believe I got the much better spa and dealer support for maybe 2k more. I've had it for a few weeks now and love it. The lounger is nice but my 2 favorite seats are actually the one with the shoulder jets and the other right next to hit which has the high back/neck jets. Only issues I have had with it is keeping the chemicals just right. It has a nature 2 stick and it took me a few cloudy water episodes to get a good routine down as I was skimping too much on chlorine. If you are interested I can give you my dealer contact here in Austin, TX. He says he delivers around the world. Local dealer is probably better, but maybe you can get some negotiating leverage by getting another quote .
  3. One last question I do have on my hot tub is do I have them add a circ pump? Its like $150 upgrade which isn't much but the dealer is strongly recommending me not to do it because here in texas the heat from the circ pump will keep your spa well above 100 during the summer and said it will be unusable. He suggests I just run the main pumps for a few hours a day on low and that should do fine. With say 100F ambient during the day and the circ pump running would my spa be too hot come evening? The artesians give an option to have a circ or not while I noticed most the other brands its standard. Given the dealer has 40yrs experience I don't want to doubt his advice too much but I figured why not get a second opinion since its a cheap upgrade.
  4. I did not pour it myself. I was told the rebar is from left over highway rebar which I believe he said was 1". Maybe I'm misquoting. How thick the concrete is I cannot say. He is somebody I trust so I'm not too worried about it.
  5. I live near Austin, TX and I'm getting an Artesian Grand Bahama. I spoke with the dealer he said they could create some kind of wood base for it to level it for $100-150 and it wouldn't void my warranty. I'm not too worried about the weight on the patio as I could probably park a bus there for 20 years w/o any problems. Its over 4" thick concrete w/ 1" rebar (don't ask) and has flag stone just on top of the concrete for aethstetics. My plan is now to either build a platform myself or have the dealer's people do it. Not sure if I'm motivated enough to do it myself to save a $100.
  6. They didn't have anything to wet test. All their tubs were dry except for the amore bay. Also it was a big sales plays that does pools,spas, gamerooms, etc and I couldn't get anybody to help me so I just gave up and walked out after 20min. They had stacks of D1 spas on pallets and a bunch of maxx spas inside and some outside under a tent that screamed sale. Just felt more like a push through as many hot tubs as possible kind of place. The other 2 places were just hot tubs, and maybe saunas. I was easily able to get help/support. At the Artesian dealer I was speaking to the owner himself, and the clearwater I'm not sure as he could have easily been but it didn't come up in conversation. I'm an engineer so I like to know just about everything about each spa. Spent a good 2hrs at the artesian and over an hour at the clearwater dealer. I live in Austin, and we also have a hotsprings, and a jacuzzi dealer along with some other minor brands, but nothing from the hot springs line up excited me, and the jacuzzi dealer has only been there for a couple years so I didn't bother.
  7. Well, first off I would like to thank all the regular posters on this forum as it definately helped me what to look for and value when I was buying a hot tub. I have decided to go ahead and buy a 2010 Artesian Grand Bahama 61 jet w/ dual foot blaster & 3 pumps. The artesians seem to be fairly customizable and I added pillow fall, waterfall, stainless jets, led lights,ozonator, & ionizer. It comes standard with a cover, steps delivery, and startup chemicals. I also added a cover lifter. It came out to $8050, which based on what I was seeing from the other dealers is a steal. The same dealer also carried sundance and I wet tested the cameo but was not impressed at all. The grand bahama blew it away and was significantly cheaper. I also went to the clear water/bullfrog dealer and thought the bullfrogs had no water pressure at all, felt about the same as a shower head, and the clearwater st. andrew was decent, but was smaller and more expensive than the artesian models. I also checked out the d1/maxx dealer but all they had for wet test was an amore bay which was way out of my price range and the rest of the inventory didn't impress me as much as the artesians. Not only did the artesian model feel more therapeutic than the others I wet tested, the dealer also seemed to be more knowledgable, friendly, and experienced. He wasn't really pushy at all and even recommended I go check out the other dealers around town and gave me a few pointers on what to look for. It was actually a fairly pleasant experience and I'm glad I brought my bathing suit as I would have had no idea just based on looks which would have been best. I plan on finishing up the purchase on tuesday and got my electrician booked to come wire me up. Hoping to have everything up and running within a month. Artesian dealer even said they could create a shim for the hot tub as needed since I have some uneven flagstone on my patio and it wouldn't void warranty and would only cost me for materials. Just curious if anybody else has any comments on Artesian? I haven't seen to many posts on the forums about them, but they seem much better priced than the competition and the dealer was going in depth on how well built they are. I know he is probably somewhat biased but it definately sounded less salesman like than the clearwater dealer. Also I noticed the clearwaters are perimeter insulation but they vent them so you don't get thermal creep from the motors in our hot climate. Thought that kind of defeated the purpose of the insulation in colder weather, but what do I know.
  8. Old thread, but I've been looking at the Antigua as well lately. Seems like a nice tub. I'm getting quoted 6995 for the 52 jet version. LED lights are another $150, and you pay extra for waterfall, footblaster,circ pump, etc. However it does include ozonator,delivery, cover,startup chemicals. Seems to not come standard with some of the frills other brands come with, but honestly the only upgrades I'm thinking about on it are the pillow fall, footblaster, circ pump and maybe the led. I didn't remember the price on all that but they are all $100-200 each. Probably another $700 or so. Either way $7700 is way cheaper than I have been seeing for comparable tubs here in Austin. Anybody else have any experience with Artesian? I checked BBB and they got an A- rating. Only manufacturer I saw with A+ is D1, so I'm thinking they can be that bad.
  9. Alright.. Thanks for the info. Looks like I'll probably just create a base for the spa next to my patio with pavers or possibly concrete if I'm feeling ambitious.
  10. I have a concrete & rebar patio which was then covered with oklahoma flag stone a couple years ago. I am wondering if I could put a hot tub on it. My concern is the rock is rough so obviously there are uneven spots in the patio although it appears to be "fairly" level over the span of 7ft or so that a spa would sit on. I need to borrow a large level before I know exactly how level it is though. I had a few questions in regard to placing a hot tub on the patio. First, is it safe to put something under the spa like a thin sheet of plywood that is the same dimensions as the hot tub? Under the 4k lbs of the hot tub I assume it would mold to the uneveness of the rock. Or could I simply put the hot tub directly on the rock? Or is there something else I could use between to the two? Second, what is the max drop over the 7-8ft span I should verify to ensure its level? I didn't specifically mention a hot tub when I had it made, although I know its strong enough for one, I believe its probably slightly tilted to allow drainage. Whats an exceptable drop over the span of the hot tub? I'm trying to avoid pouring another concrete pad just for the hot tub as it would encroach on where I would one day like to have a pool, although I realize it might be unavoidable.
  11. I actually have a few questions. First off whats the difference between what you sell @ sam's and what's at costco. From costco I'm most interested in the csxi80, but I'm also a member of sams so wanted to see what they had and if it was the same. Second, more technical question here. I saw on another thread there is a 15min cutoff for the jets when you run them on high. Now if I could easily kick them back on I wouldn't consider it a problem, but the idea of having to get up to goto the control from across the spa sounds like a hassle. Since I'm gettin this spa for some relaxation, I'm actually thinking more about other brands because of this. So are there any solutions to have run longer or restart it easily? Also is there any reason for this 15min time mechanically? Does it put extra wear and tear on the motors etc that it is best to let it recover from? Third question is more about jet pressure. I also read another post about the 1 pump for the captains chairs and one for the rest of the spa. So I'm a little concerned about jet pressure, although to be perfectly honest I'm getting the spa for my upper back/shoulders so I assume I'll be in these chairs 90% of the time. However, is it easy to turn off seats or the waterfall if they are not in use/wanted and will it boost the jet pressure in the remaining open jets significantly? I really like the price point and features of the csxi80 on paper, but there are so many mixed messages out there and I can't wet test it, so I'm very hesitant to pull the trigger on it. I've started looking around at dealers, specifically D1, Hotspring, and Jacuzzi and their price point is definately much higher, but I can at least check them out and I would rather pay the extra money to get something I would enjoy than pay less for something I will regret later. Anyways just my little comentary there . Do you guys have a dealer search or know if there are any costco's that carry the spa in store? I'm curious to atleast sit in it dry to see how the captain's chairs fit. I sent an email asking about a texas dealer, but got the response of there is none. I know costco's return policy and all, but it isn't free to return a 1000lb item.
  12. So I believe I have finally talked myself into buying my first spa. I have been reading these forums for a few months and had a few questions since I'm a little overwhelmed with all the choices out there. First off my primary reason for getting a spa is I have upper back/shoulder problems from being on the computer too much. So I'm looking for something more therapeutic than recreational. Although I'm sure I'll have guests in it occasionally, so flexibility is needed and I'm probably looking for a 6 person tub (fits ~4 adults comfortably). I'm really looking for something that has shoulder jets though. I saw the strongspa at costco.com, the csxi80. Not really sold on something I can't sit in myself and although they have a great return policy, I know it it's a hassle to return a 1000lb hot tub. So I'm looking for other options as well. I live in Austin, TX so any brand with dealers in that area would suffice. Are there strongspa dealers in the area? I believe the csxi80 is the vienna 80, so I wanted to check out that model if possible. Also any other suggestions for brands/models with good shoulder/neck/upper back massage/jet features? I don't necessarily need all the fancy lighting and waterfall stuff, and I'm not looking to spend a fortune, although I am willing to spend what is necessary to get a spa that fits my needs.
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