medicineman

IPG was only a customer of Leisure Bay in Florida. Leisure Bay sold spas to IPG. This stopped in 2010 approx.

Do not use clarifiers with disposable filters. The pores of the filter are fine enough to grab the debris without the addition of a coagulant. If you are having cloudy water, more likely it is from a lack of sanitizer.

.. or maybe just have your factory set it to 30 minutes from the start? Seems that a 15 min timeout is pretty short as a default? Anyone who has owned a spa for a while (I have owned six) knows that jet timing is irrelevant as most people will sit on the jets for less than 10 minutes per spa usage. On the rare occasion (once or twice per year) that most people need continued therapy, you can easily push the button again. After this long, your back will be numb from the beating anyway....

People... please understand that salt water (bromine or chlorine) is having issues for a lot of manufacturers. I have personally tried 3 different units on our spas (for 6 months each) and have had limited success. That being said, we sell 700 swimming pools a year on salt and have no problems. There are problems here that need to be figured out by people much smarter than you (or me). Until that day, do not put much faith in this technology for spas. Or, if you buy a Porsche, expect to pay the serviceman for the big stuff........(and learn how to change the oil yourself).

Yes, I agree with the R-Value theory. Remember, under the spa you have the spa shell layer, fiberglass layer, spray-foam layer, air layer and cabinet layer. All of these have measureable R-Values. As the spray foam layer increases, the R-Value under the spa increases dramatically. Closed cell polyurethane spray foam under a spa has and R-Value of 6.25 per inch. Spa covers are around R4 per inch. This means that 3 inches of foam under a spa will roughly equate to the R Value of a 5-4" tapered cover. If you add the shell, the fiberglass and the cabinet, you add more R-value. Now the cover immediately becomes the weak point. This, coupled with fact that heat DOES rise, makes having a good cover a solid argument. That being said, I have seen some spas made in the deep South that have no insulation under the cabinet whatsoever. WTF....

I have used trichlor pucks in a floater for 20 years and have had NO issues. + Non-chlorine shock + PH adjustment THATS IT! BTW my water looks like drinking water and smells fresh & clean.

Arctic bought Apollo. If Costco hurts them, then Apollo will go the way of the do-do bird. Arctic will likely not be affected.

No matter how the chlorine (sanitizer) is added to the spa water. You MUST have a chlorine residual to safely bathe in a spa. This means that you need to have a reading in the OK section of the test strip. If the test strip is white, your salt-water system in not functioning (properly). Get it fixed or add powdered chorine. Once your spa water shows no residual, you have only a few days before the bacteria will grow and your water will turn cloudy.

Try the leak sealer first......if it does not work.....start digging. Remember, your foam will be saturated now. With reduced R Value, you may want to replace the foam anyway.

I need a job like Tom's........sitting on a computer all day... haha Darcy Amendt, the CEO of Arctic Spas, is no idiot. I just hope the Costco deal does not come back to bite him in the ass. (as it has done other CEO's). Ultimately, the smarter move was to make Costco purchase from an entirely seperate corporated entity. This way, if they want out, they can fold it. This does not solve the service NIGHTMARE that is coming for Apollo though. I wish the service dept. good luck and a prescription of Valium.

Arctic used to use waterway 4 hp and now they use an Italian built 5 hp I think......(maybe still 4hp though). Blowers are usually 1 or 1.5 hp. This customer is mixing up the information. The only 1 hp water pumps are on small, round "plug in" 110 volt spas.

Actually, Master Spas looks like a great line of spas to me. Very innovative in their mold design. And EVERY spa manufacturer at one time has used "road shows" to sell their spas. It is very popular.....just go to your nearest state fair and you will see hundreds of spas. The advantage of "road shows" is that you generally will save slightly more than dealing in the showroom as the seller is motivated to turn over units to help pay for the cost of the show (rental of the venue etc). I would certainly not be afraid of buying at a show. After all, Master Spas (the corporation) will be ultimately responsible for your (their) warranty. Please keep in mind when you read forums (ANY SPA FORUMS) that there are spa saleman (LURKERS) answering most of your questions. "Don't by SPA 'A', they suck. I would buy spa 'B' instead. It is MUCH MUCH better. (Oh ya, I forgot to mention that I work for spa 'B' company.....) You get the point, I'm sure. BTW, I sell Coast Spas. Not Master Spas. Oh and to get back to your original question.....the quality of the spa cover has more to do with the cost of heating a spa than what is underneath as 'heat rises'. Most quality brand names these days will be fairly similar in cost to operate.....and fairly economical as well.

I don't believe any Canadian company would sell any spas if they did not warranty them in the snow belt. Were you smoking crack when you said this....? Post a copy of their warranty.

If you shim, you need to shim the entire spa. Especially under the footwell. I would rip 2x4's to the required angle and space them on 12" centers under the spa. Glue them to the substrate (PL400) if you are worried about them moving when you reposition the spa. Trust me, crooked water looks retarded (especially when your friends notice it). And every time you look at it, you will be thinking, 'Why don't I fix that problem?"

A plywood bottom is better that no bottom. You are not putting the spa directly on the ground anyway. Most people will put the spa down on some form of substrate (concrete, patio stone, interlocking bricks) anyway. Also, how many people pick up their spas in 15 years and say..... Oh that plywood looks a little 'funny'...unless they are replacing their spa. And then it doesn't really matter. You do need some kind of floor to keep out rodents though.......