armtek

'Philly', I'm new as well and asking all the same questions. I did go to a dealer that carried the Bullfrog and he did state that earlier versions of the jetpack may have suffered from stagnation of the water, but he showed me the new ones that include a small hose that splits off the line to divert a small amount of water to the space between the shell and the jetpack to circulate fresh water. Don't know if that's sufficient to prevent the stagnation, nor do I know how 'new' this modification is (this year's model, last year's ...) Good luck!

Thanks to all the input. For the most part, all of our dealer experiences have been relatively positive (well versed on their specs, relatively knowledgeable of the competition, pointing out their advantages more than tearing down the competition, etc.), until we visited the local Hot Springs dealer. Very obnoxious, and was more than ready to tell me everything bad about the other products, but couldn't even tell us how many jets one of his own tubs had. Oh well, certainly not going to be buying from them. Given the fact that everyone seems to have their own methods/tests for measuring energy usage, can someone point us to a good 'independent' evaluation of energy consumptions under the SAME conditions? Searches Can the reports from the California Energy Commission being obtained from the web? I've read articles that tell a number of models from each vendor passed the CEC, but no details. Also, can anyone tell us what the CEC guidelines for passing the energy test really means (other than allowing that model to be sold in CA)? Thanks again for all your help!

My wife and I are going into the next phase of our home remodeling that involves a Hot Tub. Note that the previous phase included upgrading our electrical box (GE replacing an old FPE), so at least that side of things is already covered. As stated in the title, we are newbies at this. We're nearing the end of the data gathering stage and will downselect and start wet testing later this week. Bottom line (pun intended) is how the tub feels and whether the placement of the jets is appropriate for us. All of this will be answered during wet tests, but my concern is the mechanical/structural side of things to bring a dose of reality and prevent us from getting carried away if something feels really good. Listening to the dealers the last several weeks has been a chore, each one trying to tout what makes their tubs different (and in reality, things break down into a couple of camps). I do have an extensive technical background so I thought the one thing that I'm not getting is an unbiased answer to some questions. The last thing I want here is to create another 'project' for me to work on. Sorry if this may be repeated but I've searched through the forums and hadn't seen quite exactly what I wanted to find out in one place. Here's the questions I'd like an opinion on (I'll try and stay away from specific brands until later, but the questions may give you a hint of what direction we're presently leaning: 1) Natural vs Synthetic/Plastic surfaces - I'm a big fan of wood, but one dealer here in Colorado has a 'boneyard' of old spas that were traded in for their brand, and it's scary to see what failure mechanisms (cosmetic, structural, and functional) that are evident, but none is more obvious cosmetically than fading and breakdown of the wood surfaces. Also, here in CO we have an abundance of UV light that can expedite the breakdown of plastics, hence my concern about synthetics. What experiences have you folks had out there? 2) Efficiency of Full Foam vs 'hot box' - I'm a big fan of recycling the energy wasted with pumps, etc., and it's hard to take that heat and inject it back into the water via heat exchanges, but using the heat to keep the cavity around the tub warm makes sense, provided the 'box' itself is very well insulated. 'Unbiased' testing touted by one dealer shows that the 'hot box' approach is actually more efficient, not to mention the ability to maintain and detect leaks. Does anyone have data from the 'real' world, e.g. anyone upgrade from full foam to 'hot box' or vice versa? In our environment here in the Denver metro area, I doubt we'll get sufficiently hot to cause the thermal protection to kick in, but who knows? How well do the electronic components work in hot, humid environments? 3) Filtration - Some of the tubs we've seen have programmed systems that kick the main pumps into action periodically to circulate the water when the system is idle, others have a 'dedicated' pump that continuously circulates water. Other than the obvious annoyance of a pump kicking off in the middle of the night, does either method have an economic or functional advantage? 4) High-altitude specific questions - No offense intended to the low-altitude folks, but we at higher altitudes have issues with UV interaction with spa shells, covers, etc. Many of the dealers tout their warranties, but just like the insurance agents that gets to tell the client that floods aren't covered under regular insurance, I've heard (and seen) horror stories of shells that craze and pop off, only to have the dealer decline coverage because it was exposed to UV. So, is there any particular brand/construction that really works at higher altitudes? No sales crap, just real data. Anyway, don't be shy if you don't have input to all four questions :-). We're going to be making a decision in a week or so,. Now that we've gone through the questions, here's the brands we've studied so far, and first cut at priority considering value, seating arrangement, jet number/placement, pump system, etc. Another point of reference is that we're looking at a 7' with at least one lounge, and as our student/athlete kids (17 yo daughter, 15 yo son) need someplace to unwind, and our price limit right now is appx $9K: 1) Clearwater 2) Wind River 3) Jacuzzi 4) Marquis/Everyday Hot Tubs 5) Arctic 6) Bullfrog 7) the rest... Thanks in advance!