Jazser

I would have to think it was more of the dealer taking care of his customer more than Watkins doing anything. They just now released a service procedure to fix the light problems as stated above. Actually it was Watkins that stepped up to the plate. They swapped out the tub via the dealer. Of course, the dealer is a good dealer for Watkins and I'm sure they had some closed door discussions... Regarding the lights - all I can tell you is that there are two strands running between lights. The lights "clip" into the strand i.e. they make a connection to the wire inside the plastic wire coating by pushing through the plastic at various points along the continuous strand. In order for these to be in parallel they would need to have a third wire going back to the terminal just like with christmas lights wouldn't they? I'm not an electrical expert, but I can tell you that every single set of Christmas lights I have that has 2 wires acts exactly like this hot tub lighting system. One light goes out, and a whole strand goes out. Also I can tell you with certainty, regardless of the whole parallel/series question, is that the only way to fix the lights when they go out is to drain the tub. And you do have to go around checking each of the lights until you find the culpret. I watched the technician have to do this several times - so I would be interested in hearing any arguments to the contrary (that there is another way to do this). I mean hey - if he's doing it wrong I'll be happy to tell him!

Just thought I would take a minute and share my experience with our Limelight hot tub. We bought the Flair model a little over a year ago as a demo model from a dealer in Denver. First let me say that I am soooo glad I bought from a reputable dealer. At the time I had looked at buying various used models, internet specials, and of course I considered Sundance, Arctic, Hot Springs, Cal Spa...can't remember what other manufacturers. I did extensive research, and I kept coming back to the Limelight tub mainly because I had wet tested it and liked it as much as tubs that were a lot more expensive. I was a little nervous about the shorter warranty, and the fact that it was a new and untested sub brand for Hot Springs. I was aware that as in any sub brand, there are often scaled down components and features, but I felt that there was enough value and performance that I was willing to take the plunge (pun intended!) So we purchased a floor demo model. I will have to tell the story of removing the old tub it was relacing another time (it was an older hot springs model) but I can say that whoever decided to build a rock surround cemented to the sides of the old cedar tub must have been very confident that it was never coming out of there for replacement/repairs. Nothing a sledgehammer and 8 ft crowbar couldn't solve though The bad: The floor model was from the first run of limelight tubs. While the mechanicals worked fine, I had MAJOR issues with the lights. The dealer was out at least 6 times trying to fix them - having to drive up to the mountains each time for the next fix. They replaced all of the lights 3 separate times, the controller, and even the main board. Each time we had issues with the lights going out. The lighting system design in these tubs is the most stupid design I have ever seen. All the lights are in series - so if one goes out, they can all go out! So in order to fix it, you have to go like old christmas lights checking each bulb until you find the culpret. The lights in the original run of tubs were very fragile and suceptable to getting water inside them. If this happens, your lights go out. Also I believe they had issues with the original run of controllers. The Good: My dealer was amazing! Not only did they try everything under the sun to fix the unit, they finally decided to bring a crane out, pull the tub, and they replaced it with a brand new model (not a demo - brand spanking new) from the factory. Ever since then it has worked flawlessly - not one issue! We use our tub 2 times a week or so, and its a lot more efficient than our old hot tub so the electrical bill has improved a bit (granted - the old tub was larger). We love the layout, the jets are PLENTY powerful, and overall the tub is exactly what we hoped for. I will just end by saying that International Hot Tubs and Spas in Denver was amazing to work with. For our trouble they even threw in a years worth of chemicals, and believe me when I tell you that I got a great deal initially too. Unfortunately for them I doubt they made much money off of us after all the labor etc - but they certainly have earned my loyalty and I have shared my experience with others. For those of you who might be considering Limelight I can highly reccomend these spas now that they have fixed the major issues. But I should point out one lingering concern - even though the new lights are sealed better and they have improved the controller - they are still rigged in series (horrible idea) so I have no doubt that some day in the future I may be hunting for that one broken light which requires a tub drain.....

There is no such thing as a cheap Jerk! You are a potential spa customer and there are many options out there. Try to find the spa that really fits you needs the best and then try to get the best deal on that spa. If it ends up being more than you can afford, then look at your second choice. Dont jump right from an A spa to a D spa. Do your best to get whatever spa brand and model you feel is best for you. There are a few good brands out there, but they are only as good as the local dealer and support. Check out Hot springs, D1, and Sundance. Start there find the best you like and see if you can afford it. I dont mean the off brands that there parent companies may own. Just check out those three first. Understand what Limelight is, its a low end spa built by a high end name. I know I will get hit for this but it is true. It is a brand that is really only a year old, it is not a tested brand. In that first year they have changed the insulation, delt with lighting problems, and worked thru mechanical problems. This spa was designed with low cost materials like metal frames and is being outsourced in Mexico to take advantage of lower labor costs. It was intended to be a low end Watkins brand. Why do you think the salesmen talk about lights and not the other koolaid tactics that watkins is famous for.. It is a price spa only.. Sizzle and no steak. It is backed by a good company, if it was not it would have failed allready. I would never suggest that anyone buy a car or tv or any appliance in the first year or years it is made, hell we dont even know if it will make it past the warranty. Take your time, I believe the deals will only get better over the next few months. Going to chime in on this one. While I respect your position that 1st runs can have issues, I feel that the Limelight line is a great buy for the money. Just because it's built in Mexico and has a metal frame doesn't mean its a bad product. Nor is it a "low end tub". I throughougly reserached the components, and I the reason I bought it it were a) great "bang for the buck" favorite tub I wet tested c) purchased from a great dealer. You give up some on the warranty, but its still a better waranty than many tubs in my opinion considering a lot of the warranties I read which were pro-rated etc. I will say that the original tubs did have an issue with the lighting controller. Mine was no exception - this is a $40 part covered under warranty. Mine will be exchanged next week. Other than that, the tub is perfect - and I feel it gives better therapy than the Sundance, Hotsprings, and Caldera models I wet tested. Now I understand only time will tell - but that's the price of early adoption - you don't have the certainty of other established models. However, of one thing I can be certain right now: I would have paid over $2k more for an "established" line - and I didn't even like those tubs as much. To me, thats a no brainer.

When you started up the tub did you use sodium bromide to form a reserve of bromine? The bromine shooting up to 20 may have been a misreading because brominating concentrate is a dichlor/bromine mix and the dichlor may have read high. If you had no reserve to start, it will take upwards of a week plus to form one with tablets. this would exsplain why when you shock it is only registering a small amount of bromine...because there is only a small amount to re-establish. Ahhh! Ok I will get some Sodium Bromide. I've been using Brominating Concentrate - thought they were the same. Thank you!

I have a new hot tub - posted earlier that I put in PH stable (buffer) and that I had issues with soft white flakes suspended in the water (which I assume was calcium). The good news is that I have been able to filter out most of the white stuff and I've got hardness, PH, and alkalinity all within the ideal ranges on the test strips. However, every morning when I go out to test - Bromine is at zero. So the last 2 mornings I tried some shock, and it raised a little, but not much. So I then added granulated brominating concentrate - and the level shot up to the high end of the strip (20ppm) even after circulating in the tub with jets for 15-30 minutes. Next morning - bang, back down to zero again. Was there just so much nasty stuff in the water that its using up all the Bromine every day? We've (2 adults an a child) only been in the tub twice - and not for very long.

Well I have another problem now - there are white soft flakey particles suspended in the water - a lot of it. I can't net it up because most of the particles are too small. Guy at the spa store says he has gotten rid of this stuff with spa perfect. Any other suggestions? Evidently because this was a demo spa, this stuff is in the tubing? I'm frustrated - thought the tub would at least be cleaned before delivery.

Just had a limelight flair installed. Trying to get it ready for tonight, and I am having some chem problems. I tested the water after heating it overnight, and total alk and ph looked good (TA 100 or so , PH about 7.6) using aquacheck strips (strips are about 5 months old, but have remained sealed when not in use obviously). Added Spatime PH stable as the water hardness was 100ppm. Tested after circulating with jets and PH was fine, but TA was at least 180. So added 2 tablespoons of spa down (1 oz) . circulated, and tested and TA had'nt budged. Added 1 more tablespoon of spa down, circulated and tested, and TA is still at 180. PH hasn't moved much either. Can anyone help? Maybe add more spa down and then some easyPH or something?

Hey just thought I would mention if you are interested in HS, and 9k is too high - you could consider a Limelight. I tested HS, Caldera and Limelight and actually preferred the limelight. Also tested Sundance. While limelight doesnt have the same waranty (3 yr vs 5 yr for exmaple on the components/plumbing) - it still has great components and was purchases from a great dealer. It's being delivered today. FYI I went through a fairly exhaustive search on these and other forums before I settled on the Limelight. I did like the HS sovereign and Sundance Optima.

well the whole energy thing is a huge minus for me - so thanks for letting me know about their high energy consumption. I'm going down with my wife to check out Sundance, Hotsprings, and Artic on sunday (wet testing). Talked to the sundance guy for a while on the phone - nice guy, I think he was biting his tongue quite a bit trying not to bash the Artic tubs. He felt HS and Sundance were a lot more comparable. He was adament that full foam was the way to go - interesting, he pointed out that the highly touted technology where "the pump keeps the dead air space warm" doesn't make sense because a)the energy has to come from somewhere, so how much longer does the pump have to run to create the extra heat, and now you've got a pump that is running in a heated air space (say 104 degrees), which isn't condusive to longevity. I guess that makes sense to a point - you have to cool down a motor to have it run more efficiently and last longer (usually passive/venting). Anyway - I think they are all good tubs, and Artic does have one of the highest energy efficieny ratings in cold climates. I think it will come down to the wet test, the dealer, and the price (probably in that order).

The spa is a 1995 from your other post and though there are many spas like that still operating fine its no spring chicken. You could try putting it on Craigslist but it’s basically a freebie type spa "available to anyone for free if you can haul it away". If a dealer is willing to take it for free with a new spa purchase that's fair because they're just going to send it to the dump, they're not going to refurb a 13+ year old spa for resale as they won't get much of anything for it. As far as farming out the old parts, they're old and usually not of much use unless someone else has a similar vintage looking for a part that is no longer available so you could ask the Hot Spring guy but I wouldn't expect much parts need though it won't hurt to ask. Thanks again for the input. I think it has a 1 yr old pump on it. Maybe the HS guy will want that. I'll ask - thanks

Just curious - most dealers are saying that they will remove my broken highlife for free. I think it needs a new heating motor - but other than that everything works. Should I start puilling out parts? Can I get anything for them? I hate just letting them haul it to the dump ....

This is the best post I have seen in a while. There are names on here that even I dont think about, and you are new and just looking. Geeez You think these people are stupid!! I cannot believe your office let you post this, Ok this made me laugh - as I have been known to be paranoid about shills. Usually I can spot them from a mile, but I never thought I'd be acused of being one - showed this to my wife as she knows I have been obsessing over research since our spa broke. I take it as a compliment! Seriously though, when I was on the phone with them they mentioned Costco, and I found some other info through searches on this website - I then was able to pull up their press release on their site - which listed out the other brands they manufacture.I typed them up in order - but I couldn't read my own writing and left off Shoreline. So Don't be so quick to pull the "shill" trigger! I'm a normal guy living in the foothills of Colorado with a broken Hotsprings Highlife! Thank you for the info regarding the existing technologies Roger - I thought as much. I had read Arctic had salt systems, but I did not know that other companies had tried variable speed motors and sequential jets. Do you know which companies use this? How do they work?

Hi - first time poster. I've been researching spas as my 1995 Hotsprings Highlife kicked the bucket (over $1k in repairs, not counting potential leaks). I just bought the house with the tub in June - figures. Anyway, I've been looking for a replacement and I should note that I haven't wet tested anything yet (I know this is essential). But I have been working with a local dealer or two, and I've maininly been researching brands. From these forums, and many others I've visited (not the easiest to find), Hotsprings, D1, Sundance, Catalina. Caldera (HS) and a few others have consistantly been rated well. However, it is apparent that a) there are no brands that are exempt from someone having absolute nightmares and the dealer seems important. The current dealer I am working with (excellent technical knowlege), suggested that there is a new model coming from Lay Z Boy that we was very impressed with at the Spa show in Las Vegas. Some of the unique features are a salt system (which I know little about - I think Arctic has used salt based systems in the past), the first variable speed motor (with 10 speed settings to select jet power), and massage action similar to a massage chair (jets fire in sequence up and down your back to simulate a massage). These are being made by Tatum (Gulf Coast, Pilates, Freestyle, Garden Leisure, Centurion, Cool Nights). I have read some posts about costco tubs made by this company - I'm not interested in getting in a costco discussion. But I would be interested in any help/advice regarding these new technologies, and any feedback about salt sanitation. http://www.lazboyspas.com/spas/providence.asp is the model I'm considering. I haven't ruled out HS, Sundance etc by any means - but I love the idea of reduced or no chemicals, and I like the features of this tub. Thanks for any help you can provide!