CantW8

Thats a great price for a 09' optima if that includes everything to get it set up IMO. My market goes for 10500. Not to familiar with the artesian line? But if your comfortable with the optima price wet test and see if you like it. Its a great spa and thats a great price. Good Luck I agree. I just paid $10,500 including steps, ozone, cover lifter, chems on east coast. Awesome spa. My only complaints so far are weak wrist jets and the one diverter is noisy in one of the 3 positions. Make sure you understand all of the jet controls when you are testing. They made some great improvements for 09 model.

I recently had a 2009 Optima installed and love it. The improvements are well worth the additional expense (5%) and the wait. They flattened the foot dome and added jets to practically every position. The variety of seat heights is one big advantage in the Optima that I like. As for the neck jets, I agree they are low and pretty weak. I think they do this to minimize the amount of spraying above the surface of the water when your level fluctuates. Make sure they are turned on when you test. I do need to scootch down to get my neck, but it does feel good. The large jets with the rectangular slot in them have two settings - constant and fluttering. You just grab the slot an rotate it to change the setting. You can also change the orientation of the flutter - up/down or side to side with a special tool. You should definitely play with the diverters and move seat to seat to check out he effects. I have found that on several occasions, I knew more than the dealer when wet testing tubs, unfortunately. I would definitely check out and wet test the 09 Optima. Good luck!

As long as you are running THHN/THWN #8 AWG in conduit to your 50Amp disconnect and to your spa, you can change out your breaker to a 50 Amp breaker. This would allow you to use the HC setting and run your heater with your pumps. Do your own due diligence on this. I'm not taking responsibility for my advice should anything go wrong.

It's the real deal. I ordered an '09 Optima last month based on a sketch from my dealer which is identical to the one in the brochure. It's kind of strange that you can't find it on their web site. I'm still anxiously awaiting a delivery date. I was told mid to late January ship date. Besides the additional jets, the reduced profile of the foot dome was a big selling point for me over the 2008 model. CantW8

Thanks Wobbly. That site does a nice job of clearing it up. It definitely applies to portable hot tubs. Unfortunately, I just had the contractor form up and install the rebar yesterday. I did have him extend one of the rebar so I can clamp a ground conductor to it but I didn't have him extend the grid 3 feet. I wonder if there is anyone out there that has actually done this. An awful lot of extra work for nothing! Regards, Dan

Wobbly, With respect to the equipontential grid, the NEC refers to permanently installed pools or spas. Is a portable hot tub considered permanently installed? I am going to put in a cement pad the same size as the hot tub. Thanks for your help!

I also just wet tested a Caldera Tahitian but am looking at purchasing a Niagara. Any thoughts on how the Niagara compares to the Optima? The Niagara seems more open than the Optima. I like the look of the Optima better but I'm not crazy about the foot dome. The price on the Niagara also seemed higher than what I have seen on this site at $10,399. Unfortunately, these guys all seem to have strangleholds on their product for the area. Thanks for your help.

I'm looking to purchase an '08 Sundance Optima but the quote seems high. They are quoting me $10,399 +Tax including cover, lifter, cd ozonator, steps, starter chems and delivery. Of course, they have the monopoly on the area, so there is no competing quotes. Does anyone have any quotes out there? Should I wait for the '09 models to come out? Thanks for your help!