Yunus

I want to add music to my Hot tub. I am considering many options ranging from $20-$500 to get this done. I'm wondering if I can just use a regular "boombox" or alarm clock with CD player, I don't need top quality just some background noise. But to get anything waterproof seems to triple the price, so I'm wondering if many people use non-waterproof devices like a regular clock radio or boombox or Zune with external speakers near the hot tub. I don't want to get shocked or destroy my equipment by being cheap but if its not needed, I would appreciate the info.

Anyone ever considered adding hot water to the tub using a Turkey fryer? I brew beer and home and I have a keg with the top cut off, holds 15.5 gallons. Adding 7.5 gallons (normal turkey fryer size pot) of 150F water to the tub would probably hold off freezing for another day at least. No power required just propane and a turkey frying pot.

It was delivered yesterday, electrician was here waiting when it got here. I had water in it within an hour and it was heating. I'll post some pics later today but right now. I gotta go try it out for the first time!!! So excited! Ok, it took longer than I thought to get the pictures up but here they are. Before Installation Happiness Gotta pickup a lifter today. Also considering either setting up a table for a boombox or installing some outdoor speakers on the side of the house.

My electrical work was done yesterday and I was told the panel box must be 5' from the tub to be in code and an outdoor outlet is supposed to be 10' away but mine is only 4' away. The electrician just put a fancy water resistant covering on the outlet to prevent splashes from being dangerous. I can't speak on the wires but distance probably comes into play. The shorter the distance the higher gauge wires you can use. Different charts might be specifying different distances.

Any other dealers even a good distance away that have that model? It would be worth an hour maybe even 2 hour drive for me. Piece of mind is worth a day's time to me.

As long as you keep up with it you could just put a tarp on top of your cover and pull it off on a regular basis to knock the ice buildup off.

I was thinking about using a very large cooler and warming the cooler with either an electric blanket on the bottom or my dad suggested I wire a light bulb into the cooler and that would keep it warm. For a less permanent solution I was thinking of using those heating pads you put in the microwave for several minutes to warm up, just drop it in the cooler with the towel/robe and it should be toasty warm when your done.

When I was shopping for tubs one of the dealers in the DC area sells Caldera and Artesian. He told us that in his opinion that Caldera was a superior spa for a better price. This is the dealer I ended up going with(I had a few in mind but the wet test sold me) so I do trust him to a point but at the same time he is a sales person and for all I know Caldera might have a higher profit margin and maybe thats why he said that. I am still confused as to why he would sell both brands if he felt one was an inferior product but thats what he told me.

I would suggest viewing the dealers comments as a rating of the dealer themselves. This is just my opinion of course but a good dealer should not be telling me what is wrong with the competitors products they should be selling me on why their product is the best. When I was searching around one of the things that bothered me the most was when a dealer talked bad about another brand. Also keep in mind that dealers and brands are separate things. You will find good dealers from each brand and bad dealers from all those same brands. Base your decision on your dealer not on someone else dealer with the same brand.

I'm also a newbie waiting on delivery of my first tub but to save you some time going through all the threads on here, one thing just as important as the brand is... Go with a dealer you like and trust. I took spatech's advice on brands and looked up almost all of those brands and decided not to even test a couple brands simply because the dealers seemed shady to me.

The HotSprings dealer in Maryland has 6 hot tubs full of water on his brick patio. Also the Dynasty dealer I visited had their hot tubs on a brick patio. I'm sure they don't leave them sitting in one place as long as a homeowner would but I would also think if the patios caused problems they would not have installed them in their stores either.

She is called SWMBO She Who Must Be Obeyed. IE. "Great news, SWMBO said I can buy this new toy." Your happiness is dependent upon SWMBO's approval.

Wow looks like a really good job. If you were closer I would try to hire you to do mine

I don't know why but 2 electricians told me that. Again it might just be my specific situation. My meter , hot tub disconnect and main panel form an equalateral triangle with each about 6' away from each other. Don't know if proximity has something to do with it. I know they said the disconnect must be at least 5' from the tub.

Obviously every situation is different but my electricians said that to follow code running straight from the meter was not an option. If you wanna save some money though just hook it up before the meter (Don't really do that)

I got 2 quotes of around $800 to install the spa about 8' from our breaker box (were lucky its on the other side of the wall the hot tub is near) and that price does not include the GFCI because our Caldera includes that. If you do not feel comfortable doing the work yourself but have some electrical knowledge you might consider buying the wire and running the lines yourself (all the easy stuff. Then just call in the electrician to inspect everything and actually connect the wires. It might save you some money, but ask your electrician before you do this as some will not be willing to do that.

It was a tough choice and this board really helped me choose the brands worth my time. It was between the Tiger River Caspian and the Caldera Hawaiian and the Hot Springs Envoy. We wet tested all three and decided against a lounger(Envoy) and the tiger river jets were not as nice as the Caldera. We liked both dealers and I think we got a decent price on the Caldera, 8k paying with a credit card(if thats not a good price, tell me now we only put the deposit down). Now the big thing is we have a to wait for our patio to be installed so its still over a month away before I'm relaxing in the tub but anticipation is part of the fun.

I am looking to buy soon but wasn't sure, do Spa manufacturers were like car makers who release the next model year months and months ahead of time? Specifically I am looking at a Hot Springs or D1 right now if that info helps. Althought I am leaning towards HS because the dealer impressed me and they have a good reputation. Both brands are above the price range I want to pay for the features I want so if the new models are coming out soon and floor models become available for slightly less money that seems like it might be a great option for me.

Hi all, I'm new here and going to be purchasing my first Hot tub/spa in the next couple months. One question I have not seen as I search through the boards is about the gallon size of a given tub. Is it a big deal? I'm looking at a tub for 4 people to comfortably fit in so I'm looking in the 5/6 capacity range and I have seen everything from 270 gallons up to 540 gallons for what appears to me to be similar sized tubs. What gives here? I'm 6' tall but my wife is 5'8 will she have trouble staying above the water line in a 500 gallon tub? Will my electric bill be much higher with a larger gallon tub? Just to give you an example of what I am looking at. I have researched the HotSprings Envoy, the Dynasty Oceana and a Coleman which I forget the model and a Thermospa (which after reading this board I have knocked off my list). I'm in the early stages and a wet test is a must for me before I buy but just thought I would ask you all about this so I can go to the stores with some independent knowledge. Thanks!