Tyler

I'm dead serious Jack. Shelly, take that spa back before Costco changes their return policy. I don't mean to be rude but this spa is going to need attention and you have no dealer support. There are better alternatives out there IMHO.

Yep, another dealer fib. Caldera makes a fine spa though. Enjoy.

Shelly, Take the spa back to Costco and get your money back. If you still want to bypass the dealer go to Costco online and buy the Highlife spa manufactured by the makers of Hotspring. Costco

Marie, the Vista has a very long lounge. If your husband can't fit in that lounge I would suggest going with a non-lounger spa. Did he test it out wet? It makes a huge difference. I'm his height and it fits me very well. I would grab the vista at that price.

Kreg, I didn't have time to read the entire thread. Are you saying that you are affiliated with Master?

Kreg, you seem a little touchy with Hotspring. What brand do you sell?

You can't be serious?

The Sundance Whirlpool jet feels much stronger to me than the Jetstream IMHO. I'm not sure if there is a method to measure jet force with some type of force gage or not? The Caldera jet systems also are much stronger than the Hotspring models even though they are both made by Watkins with similar sized pumps and jet configurations. The only difference that is apparent is the bypass versus no-bypass design. That's why I thought that perhaps the difference was related to the different filtration methods. Don't get me wrong. I chose the Hotspring spa because overall I liked it better than the other brands. The only downside in my opinion, is that the jet pressure is much lighter than some other manufacturers. I believe Chas on this site sell both Hotspring and Caldera. Perhaps he can shed some light on this topic since I am just a consumer.

Sorry Sharkman, I own an Envoy. I thought I included that. I love the spa but the jet pressure is on the weaker side compared to the competition. I'm not saying that this is a good or bad thing. Have you wet tested the other models that I'm referring to? When you do you'll know what I'm referring to.

OK, I own a new HP Hotspring model. The jet pressure is sufficient for me but it is fairly weak compared to a Sundance Optima or a Caldera Geneva that I have wet tested. All three tubs have similar sized pumps and number of jets. My question is, why is the Hotspring jet pressure so much weaker? Is it due to the no Bypass filtering method or is by design? In theory, does no Bypass filtering weaken the jet pressure since all the water must go through the filters?

Are there any disadvantages to the no bypass Hotspring method? I've heard some people say that Hotspring typically has lower jet pressure than some of the other manufacturers that use bypass filtration. Is this true? Since all of the water has to go through the filters before it hits the jets perhaps the jet pressure will be diminished.

Why don't you go for the 240V? After spending that kind of money I wouldn't even think about running a spa on 120 IMHO--unless I had to. I spent about $800 for a 60' run with a subpanel and it was the best money I ever spent.

Very nice Spa Guy. I wish all dealers worked like you do. Unfortunately, most don't and are harder to deal with than a used car salesman. I've bought just about everything in my life so far and buying a spa was the worst experience ever. Most dealers that I dealt with were terrible. What brand do you sell? It must be a good one.

Yes, it does look like Caldera uses quite a few small jets in most of thier spas. What jet system did you like the best?

OK, getting back to your original question. It shouldn't cost you hardly anything to run your 24 hour circ pump. For a Hotspring spa they claim it takes less energy than a 75W light bulb. I'm not sure what kind of circ pump is in your spa however. Maybe one of the spa techs can chime in. By the way, how much was your electric bill?

What don't you like about the Caldera jets? Are they too strong for you or do you not like something else about them? Maybe you are a moto guy?

Ouch, no dealer support with a Costco model. Have you had any problems so far other than high electric bills? I doubt it's a full foamed spa. Do you now how many Kwh's your costco spa consumes per month? If not, how much extra is your electric bill? What part of the country are you in? I've never seen a spa at my local Costco. I buy absolutely everything that I can from Costco because of their return policy but a spa would scare me. I guess if you run into real problems you can always take it back and buy a name brand spa (Sundance, Caldera, Jacuzzi, Coleman, Marquis, Hotspring, D1, Artesian, Artic, etc.) from a dealer who will give you warrantee support after the sale. The money you saved on the spa may be spent in the long run on electricity and service bills. How much was the spa if I can ask? I hope it works out for you. Oh, I found this link and it actually looks pretty decent. Who makes it for Costco? Costco Spa

Yeah, I don't get it either. I'm a consumer but I don't understand why everyone wants to know what the profit level is for a spa dealer. I just purchased some flooring and the tile dealer sure didn't tell me how much profit he was making. I can't go to tilebluebook.com and determine his costs. Why should we be entitled to this information for a spa. I don't get it.

The diverter valves can rotate 360° but they lock at 3:00 and 9:00. If they are out of those positions the jet pressure will be weak for each particular circuit. It's not a big deal. The important thing is that you found the spa for you. This is a good site also if you have any spa questions: http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin...oard=wtb-hottub

Great post Greenhut. That's why everyone must wet test. The only think I can add is that perhaps your Hotspring salesperson didn't demo the Envoy correctly to you. Maybe they just left you alone in the spa room with no help. The diverter valves for the Envoy only have two positions, 3:00 and 9:00. When they are in the correct location they will lock into position. I think you might have run the diverter valves somewhere in-between. If you couldn't get the circular jets to operate correctly you definitely were not in the full position. I'm sure that's why the jets felt weak to you. Don't get me wrong, Caldera makes a fine spa, they are both made by Watkins, I just think your sales person wasn't very knowledgeable. Good luck with Spatopia.

I'm actually going to be moving so I wanted to have some documentaion when I arrive to a new area. I would think that Hotsprings or any other manufacturer would send an acknowledgement of the warrantee aggrement to the purchaser once received?

I sent in my warrantee card to Hotspring to validate my registration. I've never received anything back from them. I would expect a piece of paper confirming my registration/warrantee with my name, date, dealer info etc. I only sent it in few weeks ago. Maybe it takes them a while. Did you receive anything back from your manufacturer?

What happened to the Flim Flam Man? Is he allowed to post here anymore? The posts sure drop off when he's away.

Did you get delivery, steps, tax, chemicals etc. for $8200? That's a really good price. Did they throw in the covercradle or a knock off? What part of the country are you in? Didn't want to wait for 06?

Chas, do you happen to have a picture of the Freshwater III system for comparision?