Tom

I could go for that.... Sorry to hear you're having troubles, Eddie. I'm no longer an official corporate spokesman, but I do still work at Arctic (IT dept). Is there any way I can help?

Page 4 of Onzen Manual: Small amounts of non-chlorine oxidizer (such as Arctic Pure Refresh) may be used to boost sanitization of the water after heavy use. Use only small amounts, as the salt will amplify the oxidizing effect. A "small amount" is about 1/2 cap full. Remember to leave the cover off for 20-30 minutes after adding Refresh (see owner manual p. 25)

True; a non-chlorine product is recommended. Page 4: "Small amounts of non-chlorine oxidizer (such as Arctic Pure Refresh) may be used to boost sanitization of the water after heavy use." A "small amount" is defined as about 1/2 capful per session. Be sure to leave the cover off for 20 to 30 minutes after using Refresh (see Owner Manual, p. 25). You're right there, salp! I appreciate all the comments from users, listen carefully, and take notes. After the April 2008 edition, I submitted maybe 50 recommended changes. Don't know when the next printing is due but I hope some of those will be incorporated. Now would be a good time for me to resubmit that list just in case - thanks for the reminder.

This was discussed in the article "Puffy Cover" in the Spring 2008 issue of Arctic Splash. Don't know why the last half is in italics....

That's probably true. I am no longer an official corporate representative and am out of that loop. His posts clearly show that he has been in contact with people at head office and is frustrated by what he perceives as a lack of response. Of course it would. I have no way of knowing if this is an issue with the dealer, a supply issue, or what, and I can no longer intervene. All I can do is pass the posts up the line, and post any official response. Obviously, I'm feeling frustrated by my inability to offer any help. I won't be able to check the forum again until later this week, so please don't take my absence as unwillingness to respond.

Arctic Spas responds: There have been some issues with materials reacting to chemicals not approved by Blue Falls Manufacturing, makers of Arctic Spas. We are looking into the effect that different chemicals may have on the plastics used in spa products. For example, we are aware that hydrogen peroxide based products are hard on plastics, and many manufacturers refuse to warranty damage from the use of these products. We will soon follow suit. By no means are we putting anyone "on the back burner" but we are trying to diagnose conditions and find solutions. Unfortunately, we don't recognize the name Chris Golf as an end user. Anonymous posts on a forum do little to advance our goals of helping our customers.

Some years back, Arctic Spas commissioned the Alberta Research Council to conduct such a test using a limited sample of eight hot tubs. It wasn't perfect, but as far as I know it remains the only third-party scientifically-controlled comparison test available. Download a summary of the study, called Thermal Performance Test of Hot Tubs. For a discussion of the flaws in the study, check out the Beating a Dead Horse section on the What's the Best Hot Tub forum. But so far, nobody's come up with anything better. And for what it's worth, in a test at room temperature the HS came a little ahead, but in the cold-temperature test the Arctics performed the best for energy efficiency.

Thank you for purchasing our product. I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues and I want to reassure you that we stand behind our product and will work to make things right. Your comments have been sent to our Director of Production for review with the QA team (this will require the serial number of your spa, as requested below). However, this retrofit thing is curious. We have not issued a retrofit alert, and have announced no production changes to Onzen since Dec. 2008. Tonsoffun, please email me (tom at goarctic dot com) with the S/N of your spa and the name of the dealer who provided the service. I want to look into this further. Thanks in advance for your time. UPDate: I have heard from this customer and will work towards a resolution.

The earliest I can find at the factory is 2001. A lot of older material was lost in a move to the new factory in 2001. Sorry. Maybe one of our dealers has some older ones.

To guide your search, here are the specs for the Arctic CastCore Cover Moulded (not cut) to precise size 5/4 taper Formed steel supports Full length centre baffle 2.5 lb foam 4 mil mylar wrap Heavy-duty marine vinyl 4" skirt Will support over 1000 lbs Doc Spa recently referred us to the website of a cover maker showing a photo of the five Arctic Owners standing on a CastCore cover. Their cover would only hold 300 lbs. Not quite the same, is it? (We asked them politely to remove the photo, and they did). Speaking of Dr. Spa, doesn't he make covers? You might check that out.

One which should work with the Coyote line is called the Universal Assist Lift from Crystal Clear Leisure Products. Designed specifically to be compatible with Arctic Spas products, it does not attach to the spa walls or floor but is held in place by the weight of the spa itself. For round spas such as the Drifter, the UAL takes an additional anchor to extend further under the base.

The director of UK operations is looking into this. He reports that the dealer has been in frequent contact and that the matter is under investigation.

Here is a reply from Glenn Amendt of Arctic's R & D department: The grounding wire in the supply cable and the equi-potential bonding cables are entirely separate items. They are connected yes, but they are independent of each other. The supply ground must be sized to be able to carry any current away from the spa that the supply ( lines 1 and 2) can carry to the spa. For a spa rated at 50 amps and 240 volts the size of the ground conductor must be sized according to the requirements of your local jurisdiction (often No. 8 AWG) and it directly connects the ground from the power supply panel to the spa controller. Secondly, there is an equi-potential grid within the spa which links metal bodies of all of electrical components and the spa water together in order to ensure there is no potential difference in voltage between these components which could cause a potentially [no pun intended] dangerous situation. Any accessible metal around the spa must also be connected to this grid. Also, in some jurisdictions, there is a requirement for a metal grid to be placed within the concrete pad for the spa and this also must be connected to the bonding grid of the spa. These are the connecting cables to which we are referring as bonding wires. Canada and the United States have different requirements for the sizes and forms of these bonding wires. The requirements in Canada are for a minimum size of No 6 AWG with no specification of wire type (solid or stranded). In the USA, the minimum size requirements are for No. 8 AWG Solid copper for bonding connections. Because we do not differentiate between spas bound for Canada and the United States, we chose to use No. 6 AWG solid bonding wire in order to meet the minimums in both Jurisdictions at the same time. There are provisions for connecting the bonding wires on the side of the spa controller and they are identified as Bonding Lugs. === I hope that clarifies the reason for having both a ground wire and a bond wire.

Raeven, I'm glad to hear that your spa isn't leaking. Roger, I'm not a technician so I have a hard time picturing this. The Arctic has removable panels on all four sides. It has a sealed and insulated bottom made of either pressure-moulded fiberglass or PT wood: you're not going in through the bottom. Wouldn't tipping it up restrict your access?

For a number of years I was officially a corporate spokesman online, but this spring I took a lateral transfer to the IT department. I no longer represent Arctic officially and now am able to check the forums only occasionally and unofficially. Don't tell my boss. I'm supposed to be working...

The following is an official statement via Arctic partner James Keirstead: Apollo Spas is a part of Blue Falls Manufacturing of Canada, the same company that makes Arctic Spas and Coyote Spas. In order to broaden our product offering, we purchased a factory in the state of Washington that makes a good spa that matches our business model. We are well aware of the track record some manufacturers have had with Costco, so we did not make this decision lightly. We felt that the additional distribution Costco offered for our newest line was desirable. Rather than a move of desperation as one poster suggested, this was a planned step to increase market penetration. Indeed, we do believe we can do better and succeed in Costco for several reasons. 1) We discussed this move with our dealer advisory council and have come up with an implementation and service strategy that is acceptable to them. 2) This model is sold only through Costco Canada; it will not be available in the US or UK (rest easy, UK Arctic Dealer!) 3) We can offer certain models through Costco without hurting our dealer network because few of our Canadian dealers sell them. 4) Costco carries only the Apollo brand which is is very different from Arctic and so Costco does not take sales from our main product line. 5) We have a distribution network that can properly service the product Costco sells, which most of the previous manufacturers did not. 6) Costco's volume is relatively small compared to our overall production, so we are not in a position where we are expecting all our volume from one customer. The Mt. Robson spa is a special model made only for Costco. Although it uses the Chelan mold, the feature set is completely different.

Arctic Pure is supplied by Capo Industries. According to my 2008 chemicals sheet the chemical contents are close to those as given by Jeremiah above. Sodium hydrogen carbonate is also called sodium bicarbonate. The answer to your second question is that there is some interaction between the chemicals. Adjust Down will also reduce TA especially if administered by "slugging" - pouring in a straight column (normal administration is to add one level capfull at a time with a 30 to 60 minute gap between capfulls). Perfect balance is slightly basic so it will also raise pH slightly.

Still no word from VISA, PayPal or eBay.uk one way or the other. I'm sorry to hear that some of our posters have lost money to this outfit and hope that they will continue to post progress notes.

Arctic Spas offers factory technical training at several levels. Some of the professional organizations (APSP, Pool & Hot Tub Council of Canada) offers technical courses.

Posted to wrong forum here, and cross-posted to fixya.com where there is an answer.

The chief of Arctic's UK division is aware of the situation and is working for a resolution. "We have been speaking/emailing since Thursday when we were made aware," he said.

Chris I'll try to get this info for you by next week. Any Arctic dealers online, feel free to jump in with the answers! Tom

A fourth threat. I did check the APSP list of UK members and this outfit isn't on it by that name. No word from VISA, PayPal or eBay.uk

The site has a 100% positive feedback on eBay.uk as a seller - based on two items sold.

According to our guidelines, members have a responsibility not to "post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate." The moderators have received two notes threatening legal action and saying that the above post is "all lies". The guidelines also have something to say about threats. Since truth is the final judge of defamation, first4hottubs is invited to respond to the above post by providing correct information, such as an APSP membership number, a business number, and so on. In the meantime, I am investigating the matter. and will report the results. I have queried VISA, PayPal, and eBay about the status of this business. A test order from first4hottubs.com went directly to PayPal (no option to pay by VISA). PayPal reported that ""This recipient is currently unable to receive money." Which means that nobody can order a hot tub from this site at the moment. Kind of makes the whole issue moot, right?