armyguy

Do you guys think the leak is possibly coming from one of the lights that he replaced or the light housing that it slides into? I was thinking about just taking every single light out and putting clear silicone around them before popping them back in.

So I have had my hot tub now for almost a year now and figured I would post a quick review for those considering this hot tub. I bought my 2008 Limelight Flair used on Craigslist and scored a really good deal on it(3k). It also has the wireless stereo/ipod deck. I really like this tub so far but being that it is my first tub I have learned alot about what to get on my next purchase. Pros: -The jets seem to be pretty powerful once you get it all figured out. -The lighting system/waterfall is very cool looking and gets alot of compliments -Seems to be pretty well built/solid -Very energy efficient($20-25/mo in Central Valley of California) This is keeping it at 103 degrees 24/7 and using it quite a bit. Cons: -I had the dreaded LED light problems after a week of owning it. The led's went from being weird colors and not interacting with the setting I was choosing to completely shutting off for good. I first tried replacing the LED controller which was plug and play ($30 I think) which did not fix the lights. Then I got worried that it might be a wiring issue so figured that I would just pay the local dealer tech to come out and diagnose the problem. He ordered all new LED's prior to my appointment and brought them with them when he came. Sure as heck, after replacing all of the lights($10/pop) the LED's began working again. I have not had any further issues after this with the LEDs. -So after he replaced the LED's my hot tub began leaking. He came out one other time and tried tightening some of the LED's but it is still leaking to this day which is very annoying. I need to call him back out and have him fix this problem. He said his next step will be to use dye to try and figure out where it is leaking from. I know this is leaking from one of the LED's that he changed out because it was not leaking prior to that. -I guess I will list this here but it is not really a "CON" so to say but more applied towards my personal preference. I chose the Limelight based on a few different things. The cool lights and waterfall were a big selling point, being a energy efficient HOT SPRING/Watkins tub was another, and one of the main things that I thought I wanted and would use was the lounger. Well after many uses, I can tell you my next hot tub will not have the full recliner. It takes up too much room and I never use it. I find that the reclining SEATS are VERY comfortable and I like them a LOT. The other thing that I will be looking for in my next hot tub will be a bigger foot well. I hate playing footsies when you have the tub to capacity. The foot well in the Limelight is a little small. Other than that I really enjoy having a hot tub. The Watkins/Hot Spring line of hot tubs are very energy efficient and appealing. One note on this is that I about freaked out after getting the first months bill. It raised our bill over $100 for the month. I later figured out this was due to the fact that I drained and refilled it about 4 times while doing the used spa decontamination process as recommended by several members on here. Every time I did this it had to re heat the whole 350 gallons of water which is why my bill was so high. It was worth it though to not get sick because of who knows what was left behind. After that it mellowed back down to the 20-25/mo. Chemicals: I did not want to deal with having to keep adding chemicals and balancing things out all of the time, remembering to add this and that. I researched the net on an aftermarket salt system since the ACE was not available for this older model. I first was looking at the ColorChlor system which got pretty good reviews. After looking into it, I did not want to have something hanging over the side and into the spa, not to mention having to tap it to change settings etc. I finally splurged and bought what I found to be the best looking system for a hot tub. I went with this http://www.pioneerh2o.com/ISIS-Spa-Product.php I can tell you that this was the best investment I have made for the spa. I paid a little too much for it from where I bought it from (Found a few hundred cheaper on the net later) but I am VERY HAPPY with it. I literally have ZERO maintenance on my hot tub. It took a while to really get dialed in but after I did it has been a breeze. I basically added the salt that came with it in the amount indicated for my spa size(gallons of water). Then you just adjust the digital number on the control box until it is producing the right amount of bromine for your spa size and usage. I test the water every three weeks or so now with a test strip and it is always good. My water stays crystal clear and you can smell the bromine a little in the water to know that it is working. I don't get dry skin, nor is there a salty taste in the water. I really love this system and will buy it again to put in my next spa. You are supposed to be able to change your water once a year with this system, but can obviously do it earlier if desired. I can tell you that after almost a year with the same water, my water is still crystal clear and balanced and I don't do ANYTHING to it after the first time getting everything balanced properly. Another really cool feature is the boost button. Say your number is set normally on 6(which mine is), because this produces the right amount of bromine for my normal amount of users and amount of usage. Now one night you have a couple friends over and have 5-6 people in the spa instead of the normal 1-3. Obviously you need more sanitizer to kill all the extra funk that was brought into your spa. You just push the boost button when you get out and it will DOUBLE the amount of sanitizer it produces for 24 hours straight, then automatically go back to producing the number "6" amount of normal sanitizer. This is very cool and as easy as pushing a button. Another thing I almost bought, which I am now glad that I didn't, is one of the wooden gazebos. As much as I would have loved one for the privacy factor, having one really takes away from sitting back, drinking a cold beer, and gazing up into the open sky. Just something to keep in mind for those considering one..it has it's Pros and Cons. So that is my experience so far and I hope this helps a few of you out that are looking at purchasing this spa. As much as I like this spa, my next spa will probably be a D1 Amore Bay due to the awesome features and amount of room, including feet room that it has. =)

SDspa, How about a follow up on this bad boy? I really like the color scheme you chose. Also, do you think you could record a quick video of this thing at night with the lights on and the water streams/fall going so we can all drool over the coolness? =)

I was looking at these a while back and really liked them. I never got a chance to wet test one because I knew it was out of my price range. I can tell you that I looked into the shell warranty and I think alot of it depends on your dealer. Mine said that they do so much business with D1 and are always getting stuff shipped. They told me that they would put it in writing that if I ever had an issue with the shell when it was still covered under the warranty period(the portion where customer has to ship it back), that my dealer would just throw it on one of their trucks at no charge. I would just have to pay to have them come out and move it onto the truck(I think they said about 100 bucks). I was pretty stoked about that but I was bummed I couldnt afford one. I did however find a used 2008 Limelight Flair and have been very happy with it. I really thought I wanted a spa with the recliner but find I actually like the reclined seats a LOT more comfortable than the recliner. I am selling this one to my brother when I find a house and will probably be buying the Amore for mine. The Flair is good sized to have 4 people comfortably but I want more room the next time around. The Amore reminds me of a mini swimming pool. I dont like bumping feet with everyone in the tub. Another thing I liked with the Amore was the water falls on both sides and the lighting...this looks awesome at night. Good luck on your decision and let us know what you decide. I can tell you that when I was looking I was quoted an OTD price of 13.5-14k so you seem to be getting a good deal.

Did either of you happen to figure out the problem?? I am having the same problem with my lights. I put the new updated controller in and still no lights are working...

Alright..so I can't figure out for the life of me why all of a sudden none of the lights work after resetting the breakers. I tried tracing the wiring down to look for a possible fuse but could not find any in-line fuse. The lights worked fine before except for the 5 that were burned out. What would have caused ALL the lights to stop workin just by resetting the breakers. I even put the new updated controller in with negative results...still no lights. Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this? My local dealer seems to think all the lights burned out and they want to replace them all at the cost of 11 bucks per light. I think there are like 27 lights in the flair. I don't see how turnin the breaker on and off could just burn out all of the lights. It really just seems like a fuse or something.

To preservedswine.. By the female portion do you mean the part that is on the inside (shell) of the spa that is accessible after draining the water? I only have I think 5 lights that are burnt out and 1 that is stuck on the same color, well that was before I turned the breakers off and on which now none of the lights work at all. As far as the stereo, it is the wireless ICAST system. I unplugged and plugged everything today and started messing with all the settings. For some reason I got it to work, although the ICAST transimitter and receiver are set on #2 and the spa is set on #3 on the topside control panel. The only thing I dont think is working is the transmitter now completely. It will only work if I plug the ipod in via the AUX jack in the back. It wont work if I put the ipod in the little cradle thing that it is supposed to be in. I did find out by playing with it that you have to have the ipod volume all the way up and then adjust the volume accordingly via the spa. To spawn, Thanks for the comments. The stereo actually sounds really good now and is loud. The only thing I dont like is that there is really no bass. I am thinking about ordering the wireless bass speaker that you can buy from soundcast to complete it. It really just depends on what they do for me on the transmitter part. And I also just ordered one of these that I am going to put in. It should be here Friday. http://pioneerh2o.com/ISIS-Phosphates.php

The lights are front serviceable. However, if it is a wiring issue it is a bitch. Don't even try. Ask the dealer if they have a copy of the ICast owner's manual. You can try shutting down and restarting. Check the channels on the back of the ICast transmitter. Try different settings. Thanks for the replies so far. So I have been contacting several dealers and none seem to be aware of the problem other thatn a few saying to replace the lights. I did as much research as I could possibly find on the internet and phone calls. From what I found on the web, a few people had the same exact problem as me and were told that the light controllers were bad on the 2008 models. Would that controller have anything to do with the stereo though? The post I found the guy had the same thing as me..no lights working and no stereo when he flicked the breakers in the subpanel off. I have got the stereo to the point of where I can hear static in the speakers but still no sound. I have a new light controller on order so it should be here soon. We will see if that fixes the problems. How often was the actual wiring bad in these things? I sure hope it is just a simple swap of the lights. I know you have to dig out foam to get to all the wiring. And I have tried going to my dealer. They are not the most helpful. I think they are mad because I did not buy the hot tub from them. Everytime I try to get help, they act like it is taking up too much of their precious time, which is sad because I have been buying all of my parts and chems from them. Then as soon as someone walks in and I am in the middle of talking to them, they are like "oh ok mate, I have to go help this other customer". The thing that sucks worse is that they are the only local dealer. The next closest Hot Spring dealer is about 45 mins away.

Come on people...some answers would be nice. All these views but no help???

I like this site but there are not too many helpful people on here. Everytime I post a question it seems like I have to BEG or pull limbs to get help.

So I finally got my used 2008 Limelight Flair hot tub all hooked up. It is not starting out good because I guess there is like white algae in the tub so I am in the middle of doing the Nitro Decontamination process. As far as everything else goes, I have two questions. 1. It seems that about 5 of the LED's are burnt out and 1 LED is stuck on blue and always stays on. How much do new LEDs for this spa cost and how hard are they to change? 2. My spa has the audio system in it with the wireless IPOD ICAST system. I see the music options and have them all turned on but I cannot get the music to play for some reason. I figure probably because everything was reset during the move and disconnecting the power. How do I make it pick up the wireless transmitter again?? I cant find it anywhere online or in the manual. Any and all help is appreciated.

Hottubdan, Have you guys installed any of the Chlormaker(inline version)? If so, how are they holding up comparred to the ACE? I am really close to pulling the trigger within the next week and having my Hot Spring dealer install one in my 2008 Limelight Flair. Any experiences would be appreciated.

Very nice..mine is the 2008 Flair but same thing..Did you wet test yours before you bought it? I am having my backyard done in concrete as we speak and the electrician is coming out to do the 230V run so I should have mine up and running very soon. I will post pics and thoughts. Oh yeah..and I ended up sending back the Freshwater 3. As soon as I get the refund(minus the 15% restocking fee...which is BS) I am going to get the Chlormaker installed by my local Hot Springs dealer who actually recommended and sell the product, which in my opinion says alot. I will let you all know how it turns out.

Poolspaguy30, How do you think the Chlormaker and ACE differ? Since I cant get the ACE for my 2008, would I be better off with the Chlormaker or the Freshwater 3? Thanks

All these view and nobody has any insight? How about the dealers that sell this stuff?