spa_newb

anyone try using a Covermate II on their HS ? Says it slips under the spa and no screwing into the cabinet.

Yeah I noticed the Cover cradle was actually made by Watkins (Hot Spring). When we asked the dealer he said something about the lower profile ones subject to getting bent or messed up which is why he carries the covermate only, but we take care of our stuff so that isn't an issue to us. I am going to look again this weekend and see if the covermate bothers us, as we have to pick up something at the dealer anyway. We don't take delivery of tub for at least 3 more weeks. This is what the profile of the covermate looks like Maybe it isn't that bad? Will we notice much of a difference? I noticed the Cover Cradle goes for like $340 while the Covermate is $250. Also having a hard time finding the Cover Cradle, no local places carry, anyone know of good online merchant?

The dealer we bought our tub from only sells Covermate cover lifters. My wife and I really wanted a low profile lifter that mounts near or on the bottom of the tub so its not sticking up high. Any suggestions for a low profile lifter that is sturdy and good quality that will definitely fit a Hot Spring Vanguard? I want to order it now so we have it in time for the electrician, who regularly installs these and says he can install the lifter. I am going to cancel our order of the Covermate as it isn't sitting right with us.

Congrats. My wife and I loved the Vanguard after our wet test and bought one for delivery to the house we're buying. We close in less than 2 weeks on the house and hope to get the tub in 3, since it was one the dealer had in stock at the warehouse.

My wife and I asked for and got an electric heated towel warmer that holds 2 on our wedding registry. We're about to buy a tub in the next few weeks and shortly after that put it to the test.

For a "large" house a 100A service is certainly on the low side - maybe because it's an old house? If not then you may be looking at a sub panel, and not the main service panel, which - on more modern houses - should be rated at least 150A or even 200A. If you are indeed on a 100A service then you'll need to run the numbers on whether or not your current demand, plus new tub, will regularly exceed 100A, and thereby trip the main breaker. Check with an electrician to figure this out - increasing your supply amperage can work out expensive. Thanks everyone for the replies. We're inspecting the home this weekend so we'll get the final answer on the electrical box. The house is early 80s, and it is large 3000 sq ft. 100A seems kinda wimpy but I think that is what it might be. My question is would it be smart to just upgrade to a 200Amp setup since I'm adding the tub? I guess I'll find out when I talk to an electrician later.

Hi all I started posting here a few years ago just to get started on learning about this world of hot tubs. Anyway long story short the day is finally arriving where we are ready to get a tub. We sold my condo, we are closing on a house in a few weeks and the light at the of the tunnel is in sight! My questions are as follows: 1)We're wet testing a Hot Springs Vanguard vs a Artesian Cypress Point. Has anyone had experience with these tubs and what should we be looking for when testing aside from the obvious such as comfort and jets? 2)The house we are buying is a large house but it appears to only have a 100 amp electrical box. I am pretty ignorant of electricity, but what will an electrician need to upograde and do to hook a hot tub up? These are our final 2 tubs unless the testing is horrible this weekend. We have looked into many of the brands for awhile and the quality of these two meets what we're looking for. Thanks! Dave

My Fiancee and I have been looking for a future spa, and we looked specifically at Arctic and Artesian. The Arctic uses something other than full foam to trap the heat for its insulation, which differs from most of the manufactures.This supposedly has pros and cons.....The real wood cabinets are beautiful but require maintenance....I believe they had a faux wood material as an option but this cost money (faux wood is default on most other spas). We found Arctic to be among the most expensive when adding in the must haves, such as ozonator and for us, premium lighting. The premium lighting wasn't as cool as the Artesian either. The Artesian blew us away. We currently have our hearts set on the Cypress Point. The fit and finish was phenomenal and the lighting package with light up pillows and waterfall was really cool. It has 3 pumps dedicated to the jets I beleive with independent controls. The only spa we looked at with more than 2 controls. Of course the jets seemed great as well. We have not wet tested anything yet so time will tell. We won't do that until we are ready to actually buy. Current ranking for us: 1)Artesian Cypress Point 2)LA Spas Concord 3)Sundance Chelsee 4)Limelight Pulse We also liked the HotSprings but they seemed a little more expensive and the seating wasn't what we wanted in the models we could afford.

We looked at these same tubs, the Chelsee was in our price range. We also looked at the La Spa's Concord which we liked and was very affordable, and the Limelight Pulse. I can tell you are looking for the non lounger seating for 5 or 6, which is eactly what we want. In the end though the tub that wowed us the most was the Artesian Cypress Point. The prices you mention are exactly what we were seeing here in MA about 6 months ago.

Just wanted to chime in that Artesian impressed the heck out of my Fiancee and I. Well to be specific the Cypress Point in the Platinum line. I am pretty sure the Piper Glenn is a similar tub with a few more bells and whistles in the Platinum Elite line. The Artesian was the best tub we saw and we looked at over a dozen of the leading brands. Now its just a matter of time (and buying an actual house) before we buy one.

Thanks guys, their customer service got back to me immediately and I was happy to hear a similar answer. So the good news is my favorite, the Cypress Point is still available! I hope its around 18 months from now or a little thereafter as my Fiancee and I like it above and beyond anything else we've seen out there!

Hello all, My soon to be Fiancee and I have our hearts set on an Artesian Cypress Point.......However we are still at least 1.5-2 years away from actually buying one. Every few months I browse the sites to see if anything has changed, and my heart sank when I went to Artesian's site to discover the Platinum line had been replaced by Gold, and so the Cypress was no longer there, the equivalent looking to be the 'Emerald' model. I found this here http://artesianspas.com/showroom/gold/emerald.asp But then when I went to http://artesianspas.com I found the original website I was used to, along with the platinum line and Cypress Point. http://artesianspas.com/showroom/stanplat/cypresspoint.asp Does anyone know why there are 2 completely different websites? Also does anyone know if the Cypress is still available and what the current price point is? Thanks Dave

I have been doing some research on a tub, but I'm about 2 years out on an actual purchase, many dealers warned me to expect fairly significantly higher prices as their prices were going up, even more so do to the inflated delivery costs and manufacturing costs associated with delivery (oil) prices. Now that gas is coming back down to earth, will this, coupled with the economic recession limit inflation on new model hot tub prices?

I've pretty much decided that when the times comes I'm using EZ Pads (http://www.ezpads.com) and saving most of the $1200-$1500 they charge around here for a slab.

Clearwater makes a 2 lounger called the Orlando. I am only telling you to call other dealers for pricing, just to get a frame of reference of what the various models are selling for. http://www.clearwaterspas.com/index.cfm/pr...--signature.cfm

I find both brands you mention to be among the highest priced, compared to others. But to figure out where the pricing should be, call other Arctic and D1 dealers in your area (or search as far away as you need) to ask for price quotes. Use their websites to locate dealers.

Make sure it runs with water in it, and heats. Listen to how it runs, open cabinet and inspect the parts, check for leaks etc. Thats where I'd start.

We won't consider a tub without a circ pump or ozone, after looking at them and speaking to the dealers. I realize the dealers want you to buy them as they often cost extra, but it seems a no brainer anyway. The circ pump is silent, constantly churns the water and delivers ozone and heat as well. The option is usually only about $100-$150 if its not already included. Its a non issue for us.

Those that workout, do you find yourself going into the tub after a workout or late on after you've cooled down?

The other difference you may notice is how high the cover sits once its unfolded. the ones that mount on the top or side of the tub usually sit higher when unfolded vs the ones that mound at the bottom or underneath. Some like the higher profile as it provides "privacy". Or some don't care since that side is against a wall anyway......Personally my gf and I like the low profile type, that sits lower. We don't like the look of the cover as its unfolded and we want all 4 sides of the tub free of obstruction. Covermate seems to be a big name I see, Covermate II is low profile. Also Cover Rock-It looks very low profile.

I'm jealous that you have such a "hard choice" between these two. I voted Amore Bay because I like the seating setup better and its not as long (108" vs 120"). I wish money and spa size was no object as the Amore is easily the coolest spa I've seen but its just too big and expensive for what we want.

Thanks for the response. What part of the country do you live in, if you don't mind me asking? Did you get the upgraded lighting package? Any pics of the tub at home or with people in it?

You're obviously a spa veteran and I'm a spa newb -hence the name but everything I've gathered so far in my research (buying first spa at some point) is that there are a lot of things that can and sometimes do go wrong with them. I've also noticed the warranties in general don't seem to transfer. I think you're taking a big chance by buying a used spa. I'd consider new ones. The top brands that I like based on what I've seen so far are: Artesian, Sundance, Caldera, Limelight, LA Spas.............Hot Springs looks and sounds like a great product, but their particular models don't fit my needs. Dimension 1 looks nice too but is expensive for what you get, imo....Arctic also appears to be a very solid tub but in my opinion is extremely expensive for what you get. (Some Arctic trim levels only have 14 jets!)

No one here has artesian or an opinion of them?

Well yesterday we saw the first tub that really wowed us, an Artesian Cypress Point. Its in their Platinum line. It was filled with water so we played with all the lights and jets and it just looked really well put together. Had 3 controller pads throughout the spa as well. Asked about price and was quoted "I can get the price under 10 without the stereo package"....This sound about right? Does anyone have experience with this model or brand? It was by far the best looking tub I've seen in our price range.