castletonia

Based on my experience as a former Cal dealer, I would go with Hot Springs. Cal can make a decent spa that will give you a lot of features for the money but in my experience the quality is so-so and support from Cal is non-existent. And unless the Cal is full-foam it will be less efficient than the Hot Springs. Basically, unless you are extremely confident in the Cal Spa dealer, I would concentrate on your other options.

Hi everyone, new here and this is me first every hot tub purchase. I only just placed my order a couple of weeks ago but on doing some internet searching I got a little worried about buying a Coast, everything I knew about my dealer (Northern Ireland) reassures me as he's sold lots of tubs and been in the game quite some time but some posts I read from else where didn't, warranty being the number one concern, you seem to be saying that Coast Spas are a relatively old company that are under new ownership from 1995, but most of the problem I read were from after this time. A bit of background. My brother in law purchased a Hot Springs Envoy around 4 years ago and on the whole it's been a good product, some small issues with jets and the control panel but all have been dealt with by the dealer, which leads me to believe that most of the problems people have are more dealer related and usually come from internal problems between dealer and supplier, in other words good dealer/supplier relationship means good customer service for the client. Anyway I bought mine at a show, the new Cascade Niagara 45 as he didn't have one in stock but one was being shipped in for the show he suggested it was worth waiting to see and after seeing it I happen to agree with him. The showstand was set up by my local dealer but represented with a person from Coast Spas themselves. I must say the guy could walk the walk and talk the talk and lots of the stuff he said about their products made sense to me, especially the filter system, also the quality of the products looks top class compared to the dealer's other brands. He spoke very highly of a few brands but obviously felt their own was the best of the bunch, no surprise there then. Anyway, I know this is a new product from Coast but was basically wondering whether my fears are founded as you seem to rate the company at present very good. Thanks in advance. Coast has been around since 1996 when the owner split away from Cal Spas. Being a Coast dealer, I believe they make a good spa and the company has been good to deal with. Some others may disagree with me and thats ok as everyone is entitled to an opinion. You will find positive and negative information about every manufacturer in the industry so take that with a grain of salt. If you are comfortable with your dealer then you should be fine.

I sold Clearwater from mid 2008 through mid 2009. I personally liked the St. Andrew as I fit nicely in it and it had good power. Are you looking at the gold or signature St. Andrew and what options?

I sold Clearwater for about 1 year. They were a second line and we only sold about a dozen or so but about 8 or 9 leaked right from the factory and every issue should have been caught when wet tested at the factory. Due to the pricing and the issues we stopped carrying them. Might have been isolated incidents but for how much they sell for we were not going to chance it which was unfortunate because I had high expectations. I personally think Hot Springs is the best of what you are looking at. You will hear many opinions on full foam vs thermo-pane. I personally believe that full foam is better as it will support the plumbing and reduce leaks as the spa ages. All major manufacturers will do a sufficient job filtering the water. Just curious why you don't want a wood or metal frame as the frame is usually never an issue with a quality brand?

Wow, that is a fully loaded spa. Its good that you wet tested because it is the only way to know if the loungers will work for you.

Ozonator chips don't wear out but they need to be replaced or depending on the ozone the entire ozone unit will need replacement. If you use a nature2 then you can keep your free chlorine around .5 ppm on the Beachcomber. Based on company reputation and what I have personally seen with Master, I would go Beachcomber. There is a reason the Master Spa gives you more for less money. Regardless which spa you go with research the dealers because they can be as important as the spa brand itself and wet test if possible. more dealer BS ozone chips do burn out other wise replacement chips would not be needed check out the beachcomer 700 vs coast spa 2 motor thread beware of coast spa david_bilton why are you saying beware of Coast when I am not even talking about them and especially when I am all for Beachcomber over Master. I understand you don't like Coast and apparently not me either since I sell them and thats fine and lets leave it at that. Ok so we wet tested a fully loaded Unity tub this afternoon. The shoulder jets hit bang on and it is a nice deep tub and comfortable to sit in. I was getting a little worried about finding a tub that would fit my small size ; ) 6'2" long torso and about 290 pds..... my girl friend is having a small issue ... almost no matter what seat she sits in, in any tub... when the jets are on .... she floats... going to have to get one of those sand bag thingys for her i guess..... Good to hear the Unity was a good fit. What version of the Unity are you looking at?

Ozonator chips don't wear out but they need to be replaced or depending on the ozone the entire ozone unit will need replacement. If you use a nature2 then you can keep your free chlorine around .5 ppm on the Beachcomber. Based on company reputation and what I have personally seen with Master, I would go Beachcomber. There is a reason the Master Spa gives you more for less money. Regardless which spa you go with research the dealers because they can be as important as the spa brand itself and wet test if possible. more dealer BS ozone chips do burn out other wise replacement chips would not be needed check out the beachcomer 700 vs coast spa 2 motor thread beware of coast spa

Ozonator chips don't wear out but they need to be replaced or depending on the ozone the entire ozone unit will need replacement. If you use a nature2 then you can keep your free chlorine around .5 ppm on the Beachcomber. Based on company reputation and what I have personally seen with Master, I would go Beachcomber. There is a reason the Master Spa gives you more for less money. Regardless which spa you go with research the dealers because they can be as important as the spa brand itself and wet test if possible. more dealer BS ozone chips do burn out other wise replacement chips would not be needed check out the beachcomer 700 vs coast spa 2 motor thread beware of coast spa Sorry if I wasn't clear. Ozone chips do fail but I am not aware of it being a gradual thing. They are either good or bad. And yes the neck jets are for the most part useless unless they hit you perfectly.

Ozonator chips don't wear out but they need to be replaced or depending on the ozone the entire ozone unit will need replacement. If you use a nature2 then you can keep your free chlorine around .5 ppm on the Beachcomber. Based on company reputation and what I have personally seen with Master, I would go Beachcomber. There is a reason the Master Spa gives you more for less money. Regardless which spa you go with research the dealers because they can be as important as the spa brand itself and wet test if possible.

Since this thread is no longer about the customer I am going to leave it alone. Until I see the issues mentioned by david_bilton or surreyguy or see poor quality my stance is they make a good product. You two have your right to an opinion and so I do so I and at this point its best to agree to disagree.

are they still calling the yellow pump a 5HP? when you do the math it comes out to be 4.4 hp yet they call it a 5 so if the pump is yellow it's not a true 5hp these are the ones that catch on fire While i find it suspicious that someone who joins this forum today hops on the bashing bandwagon, whatever. Being that I have not been in the factory and never encountered any of the problems that either surreyguy or david_bilton mentioned I cannot comment on the truth to those statements. The motors that caught fire were Franklin electric motors, not the AO Smith ones that have been used since we started carrying them. While yes the yellow 5hp is really only a 4.4hp, it is much closer to real hp than many other companies claim theres to be so that is just irrelevant. It is what it is and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. The only issue I have had with Coast spa was a one bad balboa topside and one freight damage claim so until I actually see issues I maintain my belief and opinion of Coast and the company. Since i have never bad mouthed anyone or company on this board I would appreciate my character and trust worthiness not being brought into question just because i sell Coast and now one of the favored brands. the question still stands what did you sell before and why did you change?ampsxvolts divided by736 will give you hp nobody is out for you.paranoid maybe?taking the forum to personal maybe?have you gone to any dealer meetings? sat in on any round table meeting?dealer talk about these things all the time. does don still sport the rock star hair do? how long have you been selling spa's to go thru 7spa line's seem's like alot?anyway enough of this rant the fact of the matter is beachcomber over coast spa's .not the soap box you are standing on.i have been reading this forum for a year before is signed up and so far you are the only coast spa flag waver i have found. at least the ARCTIC SPA`s people read this and comment and offer help i think one of them may be either an owner or upper management types any way back to matters at hand BEACHCOMBER 0r even pacific for that matter over coast these are my feelings only and nobody`s but mine GOOD-BYE end of message..I sold Cal and before that Saratoga. Stopped carrying Saratoga because we felt they were too expensive for what we got and we needed to be more competitive in our market. Stopped selling Cal because of the way we were treated by the company and because the product had issues which I will go more into detail if you like. I have also sold Dakota Spas, Great Lakes, Clearwater, Nordic, and Shoreline (Dynasty) as secondary lines. I took offense when you said not to trust a Coast rep. If I were to bash others then it would be understandable. I have been selling spas for 10 years. The reason I have sold so many is that the second lines of spas we brought in didn't always work out. Dakota went out of business which is why we stopped carrying them. Great Lakes had about a big price increase 4 years ago and we felt they were not worth the increase. First order of Clearwater all leaked so that was it. The company I work for will do what we feel is best for our customers and if that means changing spa lines then we do.

Cal has been around since 1977 and Coast started in 1996 when the current Coast owner parted ways with Cal Spas. So I am not sure how "cal coast" was sold a few years back and then cal came out of it as Cal had been around long before Coast.

are they still calling the yellow pump a 5HP? when you do the math it comes out to be 4.4 hp yet they call it a 5 so if the pump is yellow it's not a true 5hp these are the ones that catch on fire While i find it suspicious that someone who joins this forum today hops on the bashing bandwagon, whatever. Being that I have not been in the factory and never encountered any of the problems that either surreyguy or david_bilton mentioned I cannot comment on the truth to those statements. The motors that caught fire were Franklin electric motors, not the AO Smith ones that have been used since we started carrying them. While yes the yellow 5hp is really only a 4.4hp, it is much closer to real hp than many other companies claim theres to be so that is just irrelevant. It is what it is and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. The only issue I have had with Coast spa was a one bad balboa topside and one freight damage claim so until I actually see issues I maintain my belief and opinion of Coast and the company. Since i have never bad mouthed anyone or company on this board I would appreciate my character and trust worthiness not being brought into question just because i sell Coast and now one of the favored brands. the question still stands what did you sell before and why did you change?ampsxvolts divided by736 will give you hp I sold Cal and before that Saratoga. Stopped carrying Saratoga because we felt they were too expensive for what we got and we needed to be more competitive in our market. Stopped selling Cal because of the way we were treated by the company and because the product had issues which I will go more into detail if you like. I have also sold Dakota Spas, Great Lakes, Clearwater, Nordic, and Shoreline (Dynasty) as secondary lines.

I used to sell Cal and currently sell Coast. We have had issues with Cal in regards to them covering stuff under warranty and paying us for warranty work. both are separate companies but the owners used to be co-owners of Cal Spas until 1995. In the two years we have sold Coast, they have been a good company to deal with and in my opinion a very good spa. I think Cal switched to Marathon motors but I am not sure. The main issue was not with the motors but the wet end and pump seals. Given the issues with the company and the some quality issues (glue joints, wetends, covers) that have been ongoing, I do not recommend them. I cannot comment on Coast from a consumers perspective but from a dealers they are good to deal with. Make sure you are comfortable with the dealer and wettest any spa you are considering. Let me know if you have any questions about Coast and I will do my best to remain unbiased.

are they still calling the yellow pump a 5HP? when you do the math it comes out to be 4.4 hp yet they call it a 5 so if the pump is yellow it's not a true 5hp these are the ones that catch on fire While i find it suspicious that someone who joins this forum today hops on the bashing bandwagon, whatever. Being that I have not been in the factory and never encountered any of the problems that either surreyguy or david_bilton mentioned I cannot comment on the truth to those statements. The motors that caught fire were Franklin electric motors, not the AO Smith ones that have been used since we started carrying them. While yes the yellow 5hp is really only a 4.4hp, it is much closer to real hp than many other companies claim theres to be so that is just irrelevant. It is what it is and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. The only issue I have had with Coast spa was a one bad balboa topside and one freight damage claim so until I actually see issues I maintain my belief and opinion of Coast and the company. Since i have never bad mouthed anyone or company on this board I would appreciate my character and trust worthiness not being brought into question just because i sell Coast and now one of the favored brands.

The company I work for has used Sunstar for the last 14 years and have had great luck with them. I think SpaMate is Panorama Cabana. If so, they make a decent cover. Could do better but could do much worse.

Being a Coast dealer I am obviously biased but I think they make one of the best spas in the industry. I am assuming you are looking at a Freedom Deluxe 40 jet. The Freedom is a nice spa but I personally would step up to an Elite 45 jet Freedom as you get larger motors, extra year of warranty, a diverter for the volcano jet and more standard features. I have no experience with Beachcomber other than I hear they are a quality manufacturer. Assuming you are comfortable with both dealers let a wet test decide which is right for you. Coast is an expensive spa. If those prices are U.S dollars then they are high. trust us not a dealer rep go with the BC i have work on coast flaws stuff for 8 years they are not the worlds best built spa go with the BC or JACUZZI Thats great that you have worked on Coast for 8 years. I never said they were the worlds best built hot tub even though that is their slogan. I believe they make a great spa. So does Jacuzzi and from what I hear BC does too even though I have never encountered one. I have no invested interest if this person buys a Coast or not, just stating my opinion and doing nothing different that some of the dealers or techs on here for Hot Springs, D1, Jacuzzi and so forth. I have only sold Coast for 2 years so I cannot comment on what the older models are like but I have been selling spas for 10 years and I know the difference between a quality product and a crappy product and Coast is not a flawed product. Just curious though, what are ALL of Coast's flaws that you are talking about.

Being a Coast dealer I am obviously biased but I think they make one of the best spas in the industry. I am assuming you are looking at a Freedom Deluxe 40 jet. The Freedom is a nice spa but I personally would step up to an Elite 45 jet Freedom as you get larger motors, extra year of warranty, a diverter for the volcano jet and more standard features. I have no experience with Beachcomber other than I hear they are a quality manufacturer. Assuming you are comfortable with both dealers let a wet test decide which is right for you. Coast is an expensive spa. If those prices are U.S dollars then they are high.

I agree regarding service however, where I'm from I seen a number of Coast dealers come ago, either out of business or no longer stock Coast! Most spa manufacturers have their phone number on website and literature therefore making it easier to contact them. I wonder why Coast is the only one to keep their number off website and literature...hmmm Personally, I'd feel more confident with a US manufacturers warranty, then one from another country with no location in the US. But hey, A spa is not a big investment were I need to be concerned...JOKING! Whats the difference with the warranty whether the company is from the U.S. or Canada? Being a Coast dealer, I can tell you they are a good company to deal with and make a good product. Not sure what heater recall you are talking about. There was a pump recall on certain Franklin electric motors which they took responsibility for and subsequently switched to Waterway. Whether the dealer comes or goes is not a reflection of the brand they sell. I just had a 20 year Hot Springs dealer go under and Hot Springs is considered one of the best.

I am pretty sure there is a dip switch on the circuit board that can be flipped to prevent the spa from being changed from standard to economy to sleep mode but I don't think it should affect the filter duration. I am pretty sure my tech has done this to prevent customers from switching into sleep mode and almost freezing their spas in the winter months. Unfortunately I don't know which switch it is.

Coast makes a good tub. I wouldn't be worried about them being less expensive as the dealer is probably just selling them at a lower margin than the others might be. The dealer cost for Coast and Arctic are similar for comparable models. Coast also offers full-foam and thermopane insulation but I prefer the full-foam. I am a dealer for Coast and I believe they make one of the best spas on the market. All three brands you are looking at are good spas and good companies. Make sure you are comfortable with the dealer and choose which spa feels best to you.

If you have a local dealer I would look at Nordic. They make a basic quality tub at and economical price.

I prefer the Sunstar brand. The company I work for has been dealing with them for almost 14 years and have had great luck with them.

the only complaint I know of about CalSpas is they used to use GE Motors for the pumps. The motors are complete junk. If they stopped using them then get the spa that feel right for you for info A O Smith, Emerson, Marathon, Baldor are the other motor manufactures most pumps use Emerson or A O Smith. Being a former Cal dealer I will say that the Escape line was their best combination of value and quality. I personally like that Cal model over that specific HotSpot, but that is just my opinion. The two areas where the Cal loses will be the motor and the cover. The GE motors are not that good of motors. You will want to check the motor every few months to make sure the pump seal has not failed as it will cause the motor bearings to go bad quickly if it does. Also, the Cal Covers are bad. We had many issues with the vinyl fading and cracking within 6 months of being new. If you have a good dealer which you will need with Cal, then I would have no problem with that spa at that price.

Exactly.