MikeVB

I forgot to add - $100 prize for the correct answer (and a smile for any reply)!!

Bullfrog models X5L, R5L and A5L have dedicated jetpack seats that face each other, looking, say, north and south. Can one also sit somewhat comfortably in the area between them (either one or two seats) to be able to see the view (which I'll then call) east or west? Here's a pic - perhaps sitting in the upper left looking to the right is possible...?

There IS a reason why every school or hotel/motel with a hot tub or pool puts chemicals in the water and it is first and foremost about ensuring the users' health. And believe me, if either found true proof their use was unnecessary and they could save the annual cost, they most certainly would. But hell, even someone like me (who has dust bunnies growing dust bunnies in my bedrooms) knows enough to sanitize my hot tub regularly to avoid skin diseases and related illnesses. I mean I guess you can get away with never washing your dinner plate too, but sooner or later it'll probably kill you. [Hmmm, I wonder if your neighbor also "saves" on changing his underwear... YIKES!] Otherwise, even your friend's auto service comparison is a bit weak. You need only spend maybe $8/month on chemicals and may spend $800 at an auto shop. Apples to oranges. Paying so little for such a huge amount of benefit is unequivocally worth refraining from scrimping on the former.

It was?!? Ouch!! I hope you sued the butter-fingered bastard that did that. But seriously, you raised an interesting question with this post. I'm only in maybe thrice weekly but otherwise I wonder what a dermatologist might say about multiple-day uses, daily... That'd probably be the person to ask. Beyond perhaps excessive exposure to chemicals or maybe overly dried-out skin I can't imagine the muscular or circulatory treatments would be anything other than unceasingly helpful. Personally, I'm afraid it's impossible for me to use my tub every day. It isn't that it's detrimental to my skin or internal health it's just that I'd run out of booze.

I just purchased - quite coincidentally -- a used Hot Springs Prodigy spa last August. The kicker is that it is a 1994 model for which I paid only $300 from the boss of my fiancee (and I knew her boss could be trusted). I only had to replace the pump and filters to the tune of a a few hundred dollars; that was it. This thing is SOLID and it's 16 years old! I have been COMPLETELY ENJOYING the spa at least thrice weekly since then and I've come to believe it's one of the most satisfying and wisest purchases I've ever made. For that price and with an almost current-year model of such a highly-regarded manufacturer, if I were you I wouldn't walk but RUN to this seller. I guarantee you'll never regret it. And believe me, $300 or $1,500 water feels just as good as $8,000 water! Congratulations on this stellar opportunity. Enjoy!

Probably 95% of anybody filling a hot tub does so with a cold-water garden hose and are fine with wating 2-3 hours for the water to warm up sufficiently. This may merely be all there is behind the reason you are "being told" not to fill a tub with other-than-cold water and why this probable misstatement is being perpetuated: because most folks simply don't do it. Otherwise I don't recall seeing anything in my Hot Springs manual that suggests or cautions against filling my tub with any temperature of water per se.

I have a Hot Springs model myself and love it. So at least as far as the brand goes and taking your subject title lead, I'd say: TES with a capital "T" !!!!!

True -- but I DID have a nice week at the Giants Spring Training several years back! Otherwise anybody actually contemplating a spa cap cover; all I can say (as if I haven't said enough already) is: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana

I know what you're saying Dr. Spa. My post was slightly tongue in cheek of course. I'd just hate people to lose sight of the fact that the number one goal is to protect and maintain your hot tub, and that the spa cover is inherently expendable as that is it's only and sole purpose in life. We get too many snake-oil salesmen telling us we "need" $35 surge protectors, revolving tie racks, and you know - fur covered sinks (haha) -- all those nice but frivolous things you find in in-flight "air-mall" magazines. In this case I can't help but believe a spa cover cap falls somewhere in that realm for the majority of spa owners. Popular products don't always equate to those which are necessary and of good value, and some people tend to suspend common sense and just beg to be taken (or, alternatively, money is of little concern to them). I'm wholly against that so that's why I speak up when I believe somebody's pissing on my boots and calling it a rainstorm. By the way, last Fall I DID purchase a spa cover from YOU/RH Tubs, and while I'm remiss in not supplying a full review of the product and entire buying process, I WILL say that it absolutely fit like a glove, is stunningly beautiful, well made and engineered, and was undeniably worth every penny its reasonable cost required. And I ain't puttin' nothin' ELSE on top of it (except one of my cats likes to sleep on it in the sun - I have no control over that)!

What if his spa cover cap gets too much sun? Is there a cover for the cover cap, uh, for the spa cover? I wouldn't think the actual spa cover would last more than 10 years anyway -- unless he gets other-worldly kryptonite showers pounding it every night or sumptin' this all seems really absurd. OP: Why don't you just buy a can of Armoral Protectant from Walmart for $6 and use it every few months? It should prevent cracking and heavy weathering but no -- it won't protect disintegration, evidently you have to get a spa cover cover to cover that....

I have no idea what an ACE system is or what price is fair for that particular HS model. But just to answer your question, YES -- if YOU like the tub and have no great qualms about relieving yourself of the money it would cost to obtain it, by all means, do it. Otherwise (a) superfluous and unrelenting research often only translates into extra and unnecessary stress, (2) the seller can't be VERY far off base otherwise they would not be competitive and no longer in business, and (3) the longer you wait you're only denying yourself the enjoyment you could be experiencing TODAY. Do you think YOU'RE worth it? I say our time in this life is short enough already and you can't take it with you, so....

Wow -- I have an older (1994) HS Prodigy too that is reasonably close -- about 15 feet -- from my neighbor's house and I and we use it three or so times a week, normally after 9pm. Although mine is on my cement patio (but as we motorcyclists say, "Vibration is a bitch"). So something to think about in my case too. IN ANY EVENT and as for your situation, my first thought would be to accept their offer to go over and hear any noise for yourself. After all, you can't adequately gage the extent of the so-called problem unless you get this personal knowledge. Otherwise you're just flying blind... While I applaud your concerns of being a reasonable neighbor and do understand your hesitancy about perhaps opening up another or other cans of worms, you really SHOULD give strong consideration to accepting their invitation -- it would be fair to everybody, particularly yourself -- and give you a tangible benchmark from which to start. In the form of some type of caution or protection for you, you might want to do some research with either your local police department and re any public nuisance and noise level laws. Find out at what decibel things are acceptable or not and at what times. Very often those times are up to, say, 10pm on "school" nights and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. What I'm saying is determine what legal footing you are on. Yes, you don't want to be a bad neighbor, and yes you want to comply with the law, but it would get my dander up if I had a neighbor calling the shots on the personal enjoyment of my life if I was otherwise fully entitled to enjoy it. AND IF you are you COULD then (1) simply tell them you are in compliance and will continue to do so, or (2) if you normally run your tub six times a month after 9pm, you could compromise by agreeing to run your tub after 9pm three times a month, and agree NOT to run your tub after 9pm three times a month. IF the noise level of your tub DOES exceed acceptable legal levels then be nice - VERY nice. Invite them over for a soak alone or with you, and don't get on their bad side. Oh, and be nice (did I say that already?)! Know where your bread is buttered.

Well, I'm really only answering the basic question as to under what circumstances somebody would deign return something. And the answer is by giving an honest shot of determining whether or not they like the product. Otherwise I would have thought it superfluous to point out that a hot tub is much less an ideal product to return than a GPS, but you've proved me wrong.

I have another answer from another approach, perhaps more along the lines of what you were seeking: I belong to a specific motorcycle forum. In that forum more riders are wondering and asking about about GPS units for their scoots. I own or have owned about four myself in the last seven years for my bike and car. Many of them are sitting on the fence whether or not they want to immerse themselves in this newer technology. Often they don't know what unit to buy, particularly because of the confusing myriad of features available today and, over the last half dozen years, the prolific competition to the number one maker, Garmin (which brand by the way I wholeheartedly recommend). What I advise is that IF they are seriously considering one, and they don't know to what extent it will work for them or indeed a GPS IS for them, I suggest they go to what I euphemistically call the CLL (Costco Lending Library). There, they may purchase a unit so long as their initial intention is in fact to retain it after purchase. If, they don't like how it operates, the features they may or may not be able to get along with, or if it doesn't match their curtains, I let them know they may return it after a reasonable amount of time if the unit remains in re-sellable condition. So long as Costco and other stores offer liberal return policies, the consumer has every right to make a purchase, and under conditions where the he or she had every intention of keeping the item at purchase and there was later a bona fide change of mind for any reason, return it for full refund. Those are the circumstances by which one would return something -- even a hot tub -- to Costco.

I have a Hot Springs spa and while nobody seems to want to owe up to anything they don't like about theirs, YES, there are some negatives. Here are two -- I hate that: (1) The name "Hot Springs" is two words, sounds like I'm talking about a town in Arkansas (and Clinton is SO over), and not space-age spiffy; and (2) my 1996 (Prodigy) model still works like it's brand new, precluding me from purchasing something with surround-sound home theater, oxygen bar, and automatic feather massagers already installed. But in all fairness to me I was new and naive when I bought it and swear I didn't know I'd have to live with these egregious shortcomings. Oh well. Live and learn.

Well, a couple of suggestions (who knows...?): If the coldness on the way there is her enemy, maybe buy her a nice terry-cloth robe to bundle up in for the jaunt to the tub. Make sure she has comfortable footwear too. Along those same lines, you can buy outside heaters from about $50 to $300 -- might make the journey much more pleasant. Also -- now just trying to think like a woman here -- maybe lay out a little path to the tub in intriguing rose petals and/or candles and tell her she can follow it to discover the mystery prize indicated in a note in a water-proof capsule in the tub (tell her it's something "you'll really like," or something I'm going to do for you," etc. -- and could be a message, cleaning up something, you making a romantic dinner for two) Hell, even I'D go for THAT just to see if it was worth it! Oh, hint, DO make it worth it. If the aforementioned doesn't work individually or in any combination, then perhaps stick with the original theme of this thread: [prior to getting in] ply her with booze, and LOTS of it.

Mea Culpa! OK, OK, I get it. So I've never OWNED a Ferrari -- I guess you can tell...

Thanks for the vote of confidence Brian. If I also had a Ferrari, I'm sure I'd take it to 100MPH a couple of times too. I mean, this is why we have these things, so what otherwise is the point if we don't enjoy them to their fullest as they were meant to be enjoyed? But since I'll probably never be able to afford more than a steering wheel on a Ferrari I'll have to live my life in the fast lane in my hot tub! haha BTW, I use REAL shakers and flasks -- I don't mind metal there -- and a sturdy car-type/spill-free 16-oz cup with a well-centered base so it won't get knocked over. But I DO like your idea of the plastic martini and hi-ball glasses -- much more fun and of course appropriate!

Yup -- more or less mirroring the above, I just measured a spa -- mine. It is currently 29 inches from my garage and I never gave moisture a thought. Accordingly I can place a spa 29 inches from my garage and not worry about it.

Unless you know yourself to be an abject lush totally bereft of self-control, GO FOR IT! You've BOUGHT the tub (or probably will) allowing you the wonderful opportunity to enjoy such a hedonistic and luxurious activity as soaking in jet-infused, hot, soothing water as if you were a Roman emperor -- why would you EVER deny yourself this extra pleasure if that be your desire?! Practically speaking, your only real viable concerns should be (1) glass anywhere near the tub (just DON'T), and the lesser companion (2) running out requiring you to "robe up" back to your main supply. Think "unbreakable glasses," "cocktail shaker" or "flask." BTW, I see you're making the forum newbie rounds so let me preempt you a little: Yes -- to the extent you have reasonable privacy, you can and we do, also have s*e*x in the tub. You've only got the one life, so what are you waiting for?

I use my tub about 3 times weekly and that has been the case since I first obtained it. Seldom do I go a third day without getting in it. But maybe that's the difference, I never considered my spa a "novelty" but a regular part of my lifestyle which I continue to enjoy; and frankly, how could one not?!

I just wanted to thank you for your post. I too have an annoying but very small leak and was loathe to call a bona fide spa repairer knowing full-well it would cost me an arm and a leg. Regrettably I can't identify the exact source of the leak so the Rescue Tape option is probably not for me. However, after I do some more research on "Fix-a-Leak" (independent reviews if I can find them) I'm sure I'll end up ordering a bottle. I have to figure at $13, what do I have to lose? Thanks again for taking the time to write about your experience and informing members who would not otherwise have known, that there are other possible and certainly less costly alternatives to employing a professional!

I appreciate that; but I figure that's what shower shoes/rubber footwear thongs are for and the footbath would then be an extra thing I'd have to clean and maintain. Irrespective even of that, if you or less controllable guests happen to get grit in the hot tub you're back to square one anyway. I actually got the Grit Gitter to remove a couple of ounces of grit that was in the tub when I bought it (used) two months ago. Now that I've eradicated that I don't presume that there will be some way that more grit is introduced into my (outdoor) tub no matter how careful one is. I just didn't want to get a cleaner any more complicated than the hand-held Grit Getter or Spa Vac. I'm not even obsessive about grit, I just want to have it largely free of grit.

That would be my second choice. I considered it before getting GiGi but I read too many reports on Amazon and Epinions about the inordinate amount of arm/pumping effort it required proportionate to the results. What is your assessment of those mechanics? LOL! Well, to be frank (I know, my name is actually Mike), I've recently had two devastating life-changing events happen to me, but otherwise yes I think I am OK; thanks for asking. If I'm still using happiness as my sole drug then maybe that's something worth holding onto dearly right now. So I'm glad you appreciate my enthusiasm; just don't forget to appreciate everything and everybody you care about, OK? Wow, maybe I should re-title this post "Gittin' Grit."

Well, mine works great. Of course I DID pay extra close attention to those instructional videos. Otherwise, you gave me an interesting idea what with Thanksgiving coming up; I wonder how it would be in getting giblet grit out of the bottom of my turkey pan....? Happy and thorough cleaning no matter your choice. For me I'm sticking with my Grit Gitter ("GG") -- which I now call "Gigi" like a French spa maid!