mike p
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Posts posted by mike p
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Looks like Mars is going to be redder than usual tomorrow night along with the full moon. Something to look for while soaking, except of course Santa and his reindeer. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good (and clear) night.
Might be rudolph...what direction in the sky should we be looking...I can't get any Eastern views from my backyard.
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Well even if Costco spas are poorly insulated I just fixed mine for under $20...if that is what it takes to become as efficient as a spa say 500 or 1,000 dollars more than I am still ok with it.
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A 6 HP pump would require over twenty amps at normal load. That is about 4500 watts at 220 volts - compare it to three 1500 watt room heaters running full blast or 75 light bulbs of 60 watts each.
If things are not designed well, or if a dirty filter puts more load on it, or if you can shuttle a divert valve to flow through a single large jet - in other words as the load on the motor goes up - the amps will spike.
That will draw a lot of amps - and that equals a lot of money. The good news in this regard is that there isn't a 6 HP pump available in the pool and spa industry, so you may not really have the size you were told - or the size it is even marked.
Also - I'm sorry to say that brand of tub is not well insulated, so I would agree with your statement above that you might want to investigate supplimenting the insulation.
I bought some insulation today and insulated the tub I really think it will make a difference, i used pink insulation i found at home depot for $10 for a roll of 40 feet. Its rated R-13 and i put it in insulation towards the tub (brown paper toward cabinent). Left out the insulation near the pump and electric.
I think this will hopefully help me dilemna...i think the motor HP is either 4.5 or 5 maybe not 6...the manual is in the files.
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What type of spa is it? How many pumps and what is the actual power of the pumps? Are the pumps 1 or 2 speed? How many amps are required to run it or what size breaker is required? We are just about to purchase a spa and are also interested in the power usage.
Its a costco Tub made by Keys Backyard its the Discover Ecstasy 6 person tub.
It has 1 pump speed and the pump I think is about 5 or 6 HP. I have a 50 amp breaker which i think is pretty standard.
It is a pretty empty shell inside the cabinents so I think I will insulate sometime this month.
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The blower to run gas heat (if it is forced), uses alot of electricity especially if it is cycling on and off. If you can pull out your electric bill from a year ago it is the best way to compare and find an average kwh change. I have figured my tub is approx. between 13kw-15kw a day to run. Our electricity is expensive here in the northeast, so i guess it depends on your local rates. unfortuantely, there is a price to pay for the enjoyment of the spa, but i would not be without it.
Well I did just move here about 11 months ago so don't have a comparison. But in SC in a similar sized house my power bill for November-December was 79.
Should I keep it on STD mode?
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So I Have anxiously been waiting for my first power bill to come. I got my hot tub in early November right when my billing cylce began and I just got the bill for 1 full month of Electricity since owning my Hot Tub.
My Last three electric Bills were as follows:
September: $236 (AC was cranked)
October: $137
November: $95
Then December came and it was $177!!!!
That's a pretty big difference... I keep it on economy mode (101) and turn on to STD just about every night to I can soak for 20-30 minutes or so then it goes back to economy. I did have Christmas Lights on but that could only have been maybe $5-$10.
Any help???
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Do you keep your bromine floater in all the time?
I use to take it out every once in a while but then I'd forget to put it back in for a day and my bromine would be low and I would have scum line.
What do you guys do?
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I really need some hot tub steps but want to know which kind to buy. I really think those 60" look nice cause they go across the whole tub almost. Do yal use plastic or Wood..which is best? My hot tub cabinent is kind of a cedar wood.
Any recommendations? Prices? I want to pay under $200
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Does anyone know of an affordable outdoor LCD/Plasma tv setup? I am looking to be able to watch tv outside in my hottub. I've heard of a company called Sunbright, but their tv's are extremely expensive. Also, does anyone know if these tv's can even function in freezing temps during the winter?
Thanks
Eric
Last week on a flight to Atlanta I was reading those cool sky mall magazines and found a outdoor LCD television it was about 20" and was on a 5 foot stand. But the price was $1490
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Costco has a couple of spas available. Considering the Discovery Nirvana (on sale for $5,699.99) and the Discovery Arcadia ($5.599.99). Any suggestions? Is the Discovery decent? Thanks
Gary I just bought the discover ecstasy for $3499 from costco. The driveway drop off is tough but I paid the two guys $50 each and they took it through my yard to the back (about 100 yards). It is a great spa and we just love it. My electric bill should be here in about 3 weeks and I will share with yal how much it has changed. But it does look like (after seeing under the cabinent that the tubs aren't insulated great. Its too hard to pass up. The pump is 6.2 hP and has 47 jets and a light. The only comparable tub with these features I could find was close to 5k.
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Hey Biggz I just bought a patio heater from Home Depot for $99. It is incredible, you know when your in the tub with sub freezing temps and its great from the neck down but your head is freezing. This heater (which is about 7 feet tall) puts enough heat into the area that you feel comfortable. I also put our towels down at the base of the heater (too far to burn) to keep them from getting too cold. If I recall you are in a screened in pool area so it might not make sense for you but what the heck.
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My Hot Tub is on my deck about 2 feet from my house. Should I place it on a pad (do they make hot tub pads to lay Hot tubs on?) It just seems that when I have the filter/pump on I can hear the humming in my house. Pretty subtle but wondered if any of your Deck Hot tubbers have a pad under yours?
Thanks!
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I would also go in the Screen porch. bugs are awful in Florida and could damper your soak.
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What filtration cycle do you stay in?
Poll
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Hey Biggz...Lowes/Home Depot has those patio heaters you can get which will warm up anything around it. There's one on sale for $99 at lowes
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Anyone have good luck with putting a propane patio heater next to your tub? My thought was that one of those would work well to warm the towel rack and dressing area. From my limited online research they appear to use a lot of propane so refilling tanks will be a monthly or more often task. We live in norther Utah so we get pretty cold in the winter.
Would appreciate any feedback on the subject.....Thanks!
Funny thing its in the Black Friday Sale at Lowes Home improvement for $99!!!!
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For you bromine users do you use the floater and pretty much have it in the tub when not in use?
Also do you do your chemicals weekly or daily? I just got mine 5 days ago and tend to check it daily and add stuff to it..am I going a bit too far?
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I have a Key backyard Discovery Ecstasy 4 button control. There is 1 button for the pump. If I am in the hot tub i sometimes want to turn off the pump and sit in silence but I can't turn the circulation pump off. It goes to circulation pump then jets and does not turn off. The heater is not on either..the temp is fine. I have tried switching to sleep or economy and it still stays on.
It find that it is off during parts of the day but I want the freedom to turn it off when I want when I'm in the tub.
My handbook says the hot tub has a 2 hour filtration setting (i checked to make sure my setting is on F2, not 4 or 6)...which means it will circulate/pump for 2 hours every 12 hours. perhaps I was just in the tub during that 2 hour period? Will hot tubs not let you turn off pump if it is in its "filtration cycle?
Thanks
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YAH! My new hot tub is on the deck and installed. See my two pics below I bought the Discovery Ecstasy from Costco for $3500. It came in under 3 weeks (website said 4-5 weeks). My big challenge was if/how I could get it to my back yard and up to my deck (3 feet off ground). But the Truck drivers with a pallet jack helped bring it back all the way to my backyard deck. I then got 5 of my buddies to help lift it and slide it onto my deck after I had taken the railings off (very easy-took about 5 seconds). I paid the truck drivers $50 each and they were very gracious. It took almost 30 minutes to get it back there as the pallet jack could only lift the hot tub and pallet a few inches off ground. My electrician came the next day and I cooked it up to about 102 and got to my first soak around 9pm! It was amazing. What a great hot tub. I am still understanding the chemicals but it seems to be ok so far. Ask me anything!
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Got the hot tub set up. We will be using it daily for the next month atleast...what mode should i keep it in when not in use?
Sleep mode or economy and should i drop the temp down to 90 or so? We typically like it at 101 degrees F.
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If I use Spa UP then my alk and cal will go up but my ph will go through teh roof. I need to lower my ph but up my alk and calc???
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This looks like a pretty good article about moving a hot tub.
http://www.spadepot.com/spacyclopedia/setup.htm
Use a piano dolly, or something like that to take it across the lawn. Then you'll need several people, and probably some lifting straps, to help you get it up on the deck.
Can your deck handle the weight of the filled tub? Or are you sinking it in the deck, and placing it on a pad underneath?
Thanks for the link. No we are placing it on the deck We have 4 concrete re-inforced pillars, it can hold an F-150.
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My hot tub is coming in two weeks and it will be dropped off at my driveway. Obviously I will try to bribe the driver to help me carry it to the back yard and up 5 stairs to my deck. But what if there is only 1 driver. Can two people carry a 650 lb hot tub? I guess I could get some neighbors to help too. What are some options I have to get it into my backyard?
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I just bought the costco Discovery Ecstasy and was wondering if it came with start up chemicals and if not where/what are the best to buy (retail or online).
Thanks
Placing Rubber Mat Under My Hot Tub?
in Portable Hot Tubs & Spas
Posted
I currently have my hot tub on my deck (about 4 feet off ground) and it is about 2 feet from my house, Whenever the filter cycle is on you can hear the vibration of the filters inside of the house and I was wondering if there is a rubber mat or something I can place under the hot tub that will absorb some of that vibration/noise so it is not so apparent inside my house....any clues or ideas how to fix this?
Thanks