Hot Spring Ace

If you want to state where spas are made that’s fine obviously but please correct your Hot Spring comments because all Jetsetter, Prodigy, Sovereign, Vanguard, Aria, Envoy, Vista and Grandee spas have always been and continue to be made in the Vista California plant just north of San Diego. I think I corrected this once before with someone here and I'm not sure if someone gave you that misinformation but that is a fact if that matters to you. This is not any recent change, some half-truth or anything other than a simple fact and any Hot Spring dealer who visits the plant can attest to that fact.

Some circ pumps do a great job of transfering much of the energy back into the water which is gerat for most of the year but at times and in certain cities it can become an issue. That is why we have a summer timer circuit in Hot Spring spas so that you can shut down the circ pump during the middle of the day in places like Vegas, Phoenix ... where you will get a runaway heat situation otherwise.

I agree, it was a good basic spa sold for a few years and that means a lot but the other half of this is the condition it is in now.

FWIW my kids were little when we got our Hot Spring Grandee. I got it especially for the size and the fact it had open/bench seating because the kids NEVER sat in the seats really anyway but just treated it like a small pool. The Grandee would be a great option IMO and certainly won't run you $14600.

When the pump is on high the filter weir will get sucked down. When the pump goes off it should float to the water surface so that any debris inside will be kept in place so you can remove it. With the pump on high there will be a lot of suction through that filter as you noted but its also sucking through the footwell of the spa where there is a suction fitting with a grate over it. If something blocked that filter it is desinged so that it just pulls through that footwell suction.

see my first inclination after not seeing a drop of water (i saw that you did that) would have been to refill it and confirm a leak. if you had done this you would have saved everyone a lot of time and money. What you did was equivalent of running your car out of gas and calling the dealer for warrantee work. I think a lot of people would have done a day or two of self diagnostics before they called it in but spa owners come in all different packages. We see that on this site alone where sometimes its tough to tell a pro from an owner since some owners become so acquainted with their products that they're able to help new people like a pro at times.

How have you determined that none of the water is going through the filter during the 55 minteus its on low speed? I wonder if you're assuming so because of water quality issues and because on low speed you don't see the water turbulance that is obvious with the pump on high. I'd suggest you get a little food coloring and while on low speed put a few drops next to the filter and see if it gets drawn into the filter.

That is true but there is no reason why you can't have both. Some spa campnaies lessen the insualtion on their mid leevl spas and below but the better spa companies dont' skipm in this area. Some of the best spa makers have spa lines that you can get for a reasonable price that are still energy efficient. Hot Spring and Caldera each make a product line called Hot Spot and Vacanza that are very popular and very well insulated. Roger lists some good choices above as well.

The one thing good about these circ pumps on your spa is something like 80% of the energy to run it goes back into the water. Its very efficient energy wise for this reason and yes you want to run it 24/7. However, in some applications thats a problem for a few months a year, especially in places like Las Vegas and Phoenix where its brutally hot for extended peiods. If you have the water set to 101º for instance, when it reaches temp the heater turns off but the circ pump is still running and adding a small bit of heat to the water but if its the middle of summer and well into triple digits outside the spa starts creeping up in temp and might get to something like 106, 108, 110º or more. Its only during the extended super hot times that its needed and even though it can get hot where you are I doubt you'd need to use it typically. If you run into this happening just prop the cover open with a tennis ball or something for a couple days so it can release some heat but if its super hot for weeks or months at a time the summer timer works good by keeping the circ pump off during the hottest time of the day to avoid that temp from creeping too high.

The Bolt is nice but its smaller which is a difference you would notice between the two but you don't seem to mind. The circ pump on the Bolt is an upgrade and the warranty and electronics on the Bolt are as well compared to the Rhythm. If cost and size don't matter much I'd get the Bolt but it sounds like either would be fine for your needs.

Being a Marquis guy Spa Guru is going to be a non-circ pump guy since they don't use them but LOL his opinion on their evils is a bit overblown IMO. Circ pumps are great for silent running, lower cost to run (vs two speed pump) and they allow for ozone 24/7. Smaller spa companies usually don't use them to save on the cost to build the spa but they are used by most of the top companies like Hot spring, Caldera, D1, Jacuzzi, Sundance ... and I would always want my spa to have one personally. Take in all the information you can get but often when you hear something negative its becaue the person you're talking to is tied to a brand that doesn't have that item.

LOL, you're not the first person to ever ask that question.

I'd never hard sell the Ace, its an option and while I love it not everyone wants to add it so I never want to act like its a must have but who is giving you this info on the Ace. I know its a competitor because of the pure inaccuracies including the blatantly false statement that its going away because it most certinaly isn't. Also, Ace can't be compared to a pool chlorine generator or other simple spa chlorine generators. My understanding is pool salt levels are usually 3500 to 4500 PPM (I don't have one so thats not first hand) but for Ace its only about 1000 PPM while water from the faucet is about 500 PPM. You can't even taste the salt in a spa with Ace, the level is low due to the type of cell used that doesn't require the typical salt amount. There is a FAQ area on the Hot Spring website that is a better source than someone making up stories: http://www.hotspring.com/shop-hot-tub-models/highlife/grandee/ace-salt-water-sanitizing-system#first In the end skip the Ace if you are unsure and just use chlorine but don't let a salesperson from another brand use negative sell stories lacking accuracy. My name does give it away but while I may have a bias for Hot Spring I'm also not saying we have the only good spa out there. In this case I'm just saying the price you are seeing is beyond just a good price. Skip all the promises of water care being better in one brand or another any of the other hoopla and just take your wet tests and get the best spa for you at the best price you can.

All I know is anyone who has bought a Grandee the past 5 years (and its one of Hot Spring's biggest sellers even though its their most expensive) would do a double take to see a price of $8550 delivered because that is easily the lowest I've seen someone selling it for in a very long time. Wet test it, its a great spa and it comes with the subpanel, CD ozone and is top of the line for Hot Spring.

Wow, $8950 for a Grandee is not a good price, its a GREAT price. That tub sells for near $11k usually and the Vanguard usually around to 10K, thats not an exaggeration. Delivery is never for free, its usually included in the price but they separated it out to make the spa price lower so just look at it like its $9100 and $8525 delivered, same thing either way. As far as the sales lady not knowing her stuff, thats not a big deal really, just make sure their service people do. Ask if they service their own stuff and how long the store has been selling the brand so you can know if the dealership overall knows the spas. The salesperson only sells it, the store owner/manager and certainly service people are who matter most afterward.

1) All are good choices you are looking at. 2) You really need to wet test, you will learn a lot. 3) The person saying Ace should be avoided was undoubtedly the competitor. The Ace system creates is own chlorine which is why its unique but its an option and an added expense. If you are unsure you can skip Ace and just add chlorine yourself and add an ozonator (the Vanguard comes with the ozonator already installed). Ozone helps but you still need chlorine no matter what you may have been promised. The Ultra Pure system is simply an ozone system like the Vanguard has. 4) The Hot Spots are a great deal for those who prefer to spend less for whatever reason. It has fewer bells and whistles and shorter warranty than the Pulse or Vanguard but the same build quality and many of the same parts. Of course I'd get the Vanguard or Pulse if I could but the Hot Spot is a good option.

Costco does sell some fully foamed plug and play types in the $3k range that do well but they are straight forward rotationally molded spas. When you start getting into that $6k to 8k range thats a differnt story to most spa pros and you can find many good options at spa dealers in that range so ther respnses are about what I'd expect.

The Hot Spot is a great option for people who want a good durable acrylic spa that is energy efficent, has nice lighting and is good sized without spending $8k plus that premium spas that size cost. They've been out 3 or 4 years and have been very big sellers for Hot spring dealers and have an excellent quality history.

Roger caught on easily and there are multiple things about the post that tell you this is not a consumer but the "Would you buy a car that when you popped the hood you found the engine compartment filled with foam?" analogy is the obvious giveaway. That’s a common theme used many times before which makes it obvious this is an Arctic person. Its probably promoted in sales classes to use that analogy and that’s all fine. I have no issue with Arctic guys believing in their product but the idea this is just a consumer and spinning that obviously false story is unnecessary.

When you have the new board it should be obvious what you need to do. Take a few pics before you remove the old board and take care to retrace your steps once the old board is out and you are putting the new one in. Its pretty simple.

Reach in the equipment compartment and feel the light lens to see if it may have a leak and is in need of replacing. It could be as simple as that.

Well done. I know a repair like this can seem like a dauting task when you've never done it before but now you're a seasoned veteran so the next ime someone is ready to throw in the towel and just put it on Craigslist for free you can chime in and help convince them to give it a shot.

No local dealer? Here is one on-line source. http://www.backyardplus.com/

If you tried the Grandee and it wasn't for you then at least you know from testing but we just came out with a new spa even bigger that your dealer may not have had yet that you might consider if the others don't work out for you. http://www.hotspring.com/shop-hot-tub-models/limelight/gleam Regarding why he won't let you wet wet test, its a pain to some degree to fill a spa for wet testing and then wonder if the person will buy it but this is a $10k or more spa you're talking about. If you didn't buy it he may have to sell it as a wet floor model which is cheaper but if he believes in the product he takes that risk and if he doesn't sell it then its wet for the enxtt person and had he already had one wet you could have tested it. You should add chlorine after each use IMO even with the ozone and silver if the objective is clear and clear water.

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