Hex92

I will echo the previous poster's comment. Conduit is cheap compared to the frustration of pulling wire. I was able to run wire for my tub in 3/4 liquid tight flexible tubing, but I didn't have a run longer than 15 feet. When I ran #6 to my garage last year I used 1.5 inch conduit since it was a longer run (~45 ft) with 3 - 90 degree turns. I put a puller box (or whatever they are called) in so I didn't have to do the entire run in one shot. Another nice thing was when I needed to run a #12 wire back to the house this year for a light switch to control lights on the garage from the house I was able to pull it through the same conduit. And if it hasn't been mentioned already, use wire grease. Lots of it.

FIRST SOAK TONIGHT! It took a little longer to get the spa delivered than the original estimate, but it finally showed up today. The high was 49 today and it was 39 by the time we got in the tub (@100F). We took a nice looong soak. Almost 45 minutes. Everything is great except one jet seems to be in its slot a bit cockeyed so we can't adjust it, and the guys who delivered it were missing something to hook up the ozonater. But that turns out to be a good thing since they are coming back to hook up the ozone they can fix the jet at the same time. The wife and I played with the jets, checked out the seating, played with the lights, drank a gin and tonic and really enjoyed ourselves. Its only been 13 hours since the power was kicked on to the tub, but so far we love it.

They are supposed to be at the house 9am Wednesday morning. It is a straight shot to bring the tub into the back yard and onto the deck - knee high. So I would assume that it can't take more than three hours to unpack, move, level, hook up the power, and fill the tub..... So we shouldn't have to resort to your boiling water method. We won't peek inside until its had at least 8 hours of heating time.

I found the answer to a similar question myself on Yahoo Answers. Assuming the original info was correct I made it specific to my tub..... 6000 watt heater provides 20,400 BTU/hr 1 BTU will heat a pound of water 1 degree F in 1 hour. A gallon of water is 8.33 pounds. I will have 3124 lbs of water SO I need 3124 BTUs/hr to raise the temp 1 degree/ hr So it will take 9 minutes for every 1 degree. So best case scenario it will take 7.5 hours to raise the temp from 55-104. It is supposed to be 44 and windy on Wednesday. So I'm guessing 9 hours.

My tub is going to be delivered Wednesday morning. Approximately how long will it take for a 375 gallon tub to reach 100+ F? Will we be able to use it that night or have to wait till Thursday?

Pristine blue is just copper sulfate. It is an algaecide but NOT an EPA approved sanitizer. You need to use chlorine with it. So what do I do? What should I buy and how much should I add?

My new tub is going to be delivered next week. They will set me up with Pristine Blue system. But it appears that this doesn't contain any chlorine/sanitizer...and from what I read on here that isn't a good thing. I know I want to give the Pristine Blue a try, but I want some real sanitizer too. So what do I do? What should I buy and how much should I add? My tub will also have a ozonator if that makes a difference.

Is this the 220 or the 110 model Bengal? My Tiger River Bengal (made by Watkins, the comapny that also makes Hot Springs) uses about $45 per month @10 cents a KW-Hr., which equates to about 15 killowatts a day. This is with an outside temperature of 30 - 40 degrees. This is a 330 gallon tub with full foam insulation. --Nate

After wet testing at least 7 different tubs my wife made a decision. We tested Hot Springs and Hot Spot tubs and a couple of Tiger Rivers. We had a size limitation. One side couldn't be more than 84" and we wanted to pay ~$5000. Our final three choices were the: Hot Spot Mallorca - I loved the lounger, it blew my wife out of the seat though and it cost $5400. Nice power all around on the tub...maybe too much. Had to take the floor model in a color we didn't like to get that price. It only has a two year warranty. The Hot Spring Jetsetter @ $6000. Great tub. We liked the moto-massage a LOT, great warranty, and Hot Springs makes a good tub that even the competitors complement. But it was a little too small... and more than I wanted to pay. The winner: Vita Reflections Seville. It was a little smaller than the Mallorca - which was a good thing. It had the best balance of power, size and price. The warranty was longer than the Mallorca. We bought it from East Coast Leisure. They have 4 stores in the area, and are apparently are associated with other stores. So they have buying power to get the tubs outfitted different than the standard three levels. I think the name is changing to 'Soria' (I don't have the receipt handy). Ours is going to be the color we want, fully foam insulated, with ozonator, cover lifter, 3 months of chemicals and steps for $4600. It will arrive in 3-4 weeks. Now I have to run power, reinforce the deck and throw up a couple of fence panels to block the view from the street.

I'm in VA (SE) too. The regular price before tax on the tub at the store is $6500. But they said it was the last one of the model year so that is why there is such a good price on it. We wet tested a bunch more tubs at the first store. The Trinidad, Hot Spot Mallorca, Tiger River Sumatran, something I can't remember, and a Hot Spring Vanguard. The wife LOVED the Vanguard because of the Moto-Massage jets. I liked it too, but it is out of our price (and size) range. The Trinidad was nice. It was the first spa we tried. Not much power on the jets, but it fit both of us well - I'm 6'4" and the wife is 5'4". Then we tried the Mallorca. I thought the lounger chair was amazing. I really liked the foot massage it it. The wife wasn't so impressed with it since the lounger didn't fit her as well and she doesn't like the skirt color. The Sumatran didn't do much for either of us. The wife says she wants a spa with the moto-massage or the Trinidad. I would be happy with the Mallorca or the Trinidad. We may ask them to fill the Hot Springs Jetsetter for us. It has the moto-massage and would fit even better on our deck. The dealer called us the next day to tell us that the Mallorca can be traded in within one year just like the Trinidad.... SPATECH: Thanks for the info on the sub panel. I haven't priced them to see what they cost yet.... Damn this is getting more complicated than I thought it would be.

Thanks for the info. We are going to soak test the Trinidad tonight. We have decided that we don't want the Bengal at that price. We went out yesterday and looked at some more tubs. Leisure Bay (rec warehouse), D1, and Jacuzzi. We weren't impressed with any of the Leisure Bay tubs that would fit in our space. The Jacuzzi tubs were too expensive. The Dimension One Seville looks and feels real nice. We were able to try one out (soak) and it is ~$1,000 cheaper than the Bengal and includes all the same extras (cover lifter, steps, chemicals). It doesn't include ozone, but I think I can get him to throw that in when we start negotiating. The Tiger River dealer indicated that they won't go any lower on the Bengal so there is no reason to even get in it. So if the Trinidad feels good we buy it for ~$3,500. If not, we go for the Seville for $4500.

My wife and I have decided that we want a spa. After looking online we went to a spa store today and checked out what they had in stock. We were hoping to find something in the $4000 range that we liked. They had a Hot Spot Trinidad that looked nice that was $3500 which included a cover and starter chemicals, and install. Its a basic tub and I can't seem to find too much info about it from actual owners. They do allow you to trade it in during the first 12 months for 100% credit towards a more expensive spa. The other spa we liked was the Tiger River Bengal. It is a end of year closeout. One left. $5500 with cover + the cover glider system thing, ozone system, steps, chemicals, install. Supposedly it is $1000 off regular price. So is a Bengal worth $2k more than a trinidad? Does the vastly different warranty (1 year vs 5 years) really matter...and is it worth $2k? Should we just look at more places and maybe find out later that we should have jumped on the Bengal? Is $5500 really that great of a price on a Bengal? We haven't wet tested either, but they can fill em up for us next week.