castletonia

That control panel is obsolete so unless you can find a used one you will have to replace the IQ2020 control box too.

That's a high price for the Aventine. The Aquarest one appears to be made by Dreammaker. I haven't personally dealt with Dreammaker in about 12-13 years so I cannot comment much on them. They are probably on par with Freeflow in regards to quality but possibly without the same level of mfg support after the sale. I guess my question to you would be this: Are you looking for an inexpensive hot tub to try out and upgrade later if you like it or are you looking for something that will last you 10-15 years? If the latter, then I would skip Freeflow or any roto-molded hot tub and invest i

If you reach out directly to Hot Spring it will get back to your dealer. Hot Spring wants to do right but they also need the dealer to be the facilitator since they are the ones available to actually service you. I would politely ask to speak to the owner at your dealership if the salesman is not useful. A reputable dealer will want to make this right ASAP. If you don’t want to publicly say who your dealer is, pm me and if I know the dealer I can see who to put you in touch with with. I won’t ever defend a dealer but if they also sell pools, this is a crazy time of year. I resort

Freeflow Mini is the only one I’m currently aware of. https://www.freeflowspas.com/collections/2-seats

If I was blindly throwing parts at it I would start with the heater relay circuit board, that is always the first thing I suspect on the older Hot Springs assuming the circulation pump works.

Usually when a salt cell is bad or reaches end of life it will give an error on the display that reads “inactive / low status”. Anytime that error comes up, test the salt level with the salt test strip. If the test strip indicates low salt, then add salt. If test strip indicates a normal salt level, remove filters and retest on the hot tub. If still getting that error, then replace cartridge.

I don’t let a salt water hot tub get delivered without a water test of the source water. I’m in the Midwest, but I generally have high phosphates, can have high hardness, metals, super high alkalinity, etc. A water test prior to delivery eliminates a ton of questions and headaches after delivery. The salt system is pretty simple and consists of a salt cartridge, a housing that it sits in and a salt controller (power supply). If there are issues with the system, it has to either be the cartridge or the controller. You can call Hot Spring customer service if you want to leapfrog you

I would invest in a portable water softener if your hardness is high. In the long run it’s worth it vs having to continually use the Vanishing Act. See if your dealer can test TDS. Good tap water should be close to zero. I’ve been told that when TDS reaches approximately 3,000 ppm it will trigger that high salt reading regardless of what the salt level is actually at. I haven’t encountered any scenarios like yours let but I have had two customers I refused to sell saltwater too because their well water was horrible and they didn’t want to deal with a water softener or pre-fi

If the built in test is reading high there are 3 scenarios: 1: Salt is high 2: Filter is dirty. Dirty filter will restrict water flow resulting in a false high reading. Remove the filter with the gray cap, run jets for 5-10 minutes and test again with filter out. If the salt reading drops, thoroughly clean filter. 3: High TDS (total dissolved solids). The built in test is a conductivity test and as such cannot tell the difference between salt and TDS. I would be shocked if you had high TDS after 6 weeks since that should take 6 months plus to occur but it could be possib

While I don't sell a lot of them, I am also a Freeflow dealer (they are also made by Watkins Wellness, maker of Hot Spring and Caldera Spas). They are a roto-molded design which is significantly more basic and less expensive. I have had very few issues with Freeflow. They use Gecko electronics and I believe Aqua-Flo pumps. Jet performance will be lacking compared to something like the Aventine or Rendezvous but that should also be expected since the price would be significantly less. If therapy is the primary focus, then I would honestly hold out for a more premium used hot tub but if you

In these Covid times, there is not a better time to buy. Inventory is almost non-existent and lead times are long. Prices continue to climb. If you were buying new, buy sooner than later. The longer you wait, the long it will take and the more it will cost. If you're buying used and you have those two options available, same thing, buy sooner because neither of those hot tubs are high volume sellers so the chance at coming across another one is unlikely.

While not great diagrams, if you provide the serial number I can get you a plumbing diagram.

I've sold both and while it's been awhile, I have also sat in both. Because its been a few years and I only sat in each once, my recollection isn't great, but what I can remember is that I didn't love either one but between the two I would probably choose the Rendezvous. It had 3 seat options which is not common for a corner hot tub and I believe it had nicer therapy with more control and customization. I currently sell Hot Spring and Caldera. I do not usually display the Aventine but I do (or would if I had hot tubs) display the Hot Spring TX. I like the TX over the Aventine due to

There is no best of the best. My personal list of top brands in alphabetical order is: Arctic, Artesian, Bullfrog, Caldera, Dimension One, Hot Spring, Jacuzzi, Marquis, and Sundance. This doesn't mean that there are not other quality brands, these are just the ones that have a long history of quality. I currently sell Hot Spring and Caldera and think very highly of each brand. I also sold Marquis from 2014-2016 and then again in 2019. My experience in 2014-2016 was infinitely better than in 2019 but I still consider Marquis to be a premium brand. I personally don't care whether the h

What level are your phosphates and salt at? What output do you have the salt system set at? Lower salt levels (under 1700 ppm) and high phosphates are the two biggest reasons I see salt cartridges fail prematurely.