A HELPING HAND
-
Posts
11 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by A HELPING HAND
-
-
I spent 17 years working in security alarms there are devices out there and you can usually hook them up to a power supply and a warning signal be it a light or noise, most are hooked into a home system and with the help of a central monitoring center dispached by phone.
-
Awsome price, Great product...make sure the dealer is good.
-
Shopping list for your spa search.
1/ Look for spas that are easier to repair. As the spa ages, you do not want to spend extra money on labor, especially on leaks. The equipment should be spread out so one component is not in the way of removing the other. All of the side panels should be removable, and the spa should not be filled with dense foam to interfere with repairs. (Don't buy a luxury car and fill the hood full of foam!). The smaller tubing needs support with foam to keep it from shaking and leaking, so some foam support is needed. The standard design from 27 years ago is to stuff the cabinet with foam, then place the equipment in a box in front of the spa. This is not only a poor design for repairs, it is bad in terms of heat build up on the pumps and the plumbing has multiple consessions in design. It is much better to allow air space around the equipment. If you place the equipment in a large container as in a thermal pane spa, the heat is dissapated and the equipment is easy to access. If you have a leak in the plumbing, buried in the foam,in a fully foamed spa, it is very expensive to fix. How do you find it?
2/ Look for spas with standard parts. There are several companies that make readily available high quality parts. The word "EXCLUSIVE", means just what it says. You are excluded from buying parts from other suppliers. If they have exclusive parts that you like, check around to see how much they cost to replace. I certainly would not pay $500 for a heater manifold. Most all the major brands have some ridiculous prices on parts. All of the manufactures of spas use outside manufacturers for the various parts. If they buy enough parts, then they can have the parts "bastardized" so that they cannot be replaced with the standard part. There is no difference in quality between "exclusive" parts and non-exclusive. In most cases the non exclusive parts are stronger. One large company places the motor frame on the pump on a 45 degree angle, so that you can't even replace it with a better brand of motor. You are stuck with an inferior part and "pay thorugh the nose" for it.
3/ Look for spas that are fully insulated and not fully foamed. A fully foamed-in spa is not, by any stretch of science, the most energy efficient spa. Spas that capture the heat from the equipment and keep cold air off the components and plumbing are efficient. A fully insulated spa has foam on the shell, warm air chamber, and the walls of the cabinet have foam boards. The cabinet is closed with no vents that allow cold air to enter the cabinet except by vacuum. DAIT Click Here
4/ Look for spas with acrylic backed by vinyl ester bonding resin and hand rolled fiberglass with glass cloth or chop. This is the shell with the most history for strength, reparability, and beauty. (When something better comes along I'll be the first to let you know.) The cheaper spas will use a composite of Acrylic and ABS, or another plastic and ABS with no structural fiberglass. Then the cabinet is stuffed with structural foam to hold it up. This is a cause of many problems that result in expensive repairs and more expense to heat the water.
5/ Look for quality electronics. Right now Gecko makes the best (in my experience) and Balboa is very good.
6/ Look for spas that have good clean plumbing. If the pump can put out 200 gallons per minute and it is running at 150, there is something wrong with the design. If a diverter valve is used, make sure it is NOT the first thing the pump hits in the plumbing path. If the diverter valve is the first plumbing part after the pump, then the spa is poorly plumbed. I call this "diverter first" plumbing. Look for few turns in the main plumbing. A poorly installed diverter valve means that people have to wait their turn for the jets. The diverter valve is similar to driving you car with the brakes on, in which the engine works harder to do less work. If you cannot run all the jets at full pressure at the same time, then the spa has a diverter valve, restricting the flow.
7/ Look for bypass filtering with check valves on the main jet pumps. This insures proper water flow to the jets. It also follows the ANSI standards for safety. (The worse design is the no bypass plumbing on spa pumps because it limits the water flow and as the filters get dirty, the jet pressure drops. These spas have weak jet pressure to begin with and water diverters.)
8/ Look for pumps that are mounted to reduce noise. We use rubber mounting pads, solid 2 x 4 frames and lag screws to hold the pumps solid and get rid of "sounding boards" (thin plywood or plastic). Listen to the pumps running on high with all the equipment going. If you can't have a conversation, don't buy it. All you should hear is water!
9/ The length of a warranty on the spa should not be the primary reason for buying. Warranties are hidden "insurance policies" in the spa that you are paying for. It is built into the price of the spa. For instance, our least expensive spas have a one year parts and labor warranty for a reason. It is to make them affordable. Our high end spas have 5 years parts and labor. The same brand of components, same shell construction, same plumbing parts brands. ( When I hear a salesperson say: "we put our money where our mouth is". They mean "we put your money in our pockets and manipulate the interpretation".)
10/ Look for reasonable prices. A one horsepower (1.65 hp), one speed jet pump spa with no air jets (air injection) being sold for $6000 is a rip off. Look for the features per dollar of the spa as well as design and construction materials. Do not purchase any spa that you do not understand about the equipment being used. Find out the real HP, motor size, brand of motor, brand of electronics and jets.
11/ Avoid spas that use a tiny 24 hour circulation pump that produces less than 18 GPM. (Unless of course you want to buy scum balls, scum bags, scum bug, extra shock and water clarifiers, and enzyme treatments to help get the scum out of the water.)
12/ Don't be "sold" on a spa by a salesman. If you feel pressure and manipulation, get up and walk out. The deal they have now that is so good, may be even better tomorrow. Research the products and take some "salt" with you so you can take everything as they say with "a grain of salt". Make your decision to purchase at a later time based on knowledge. ( There is a company that goes around with trailers and RV's with a sign on the trailer saying "LIQUIDATION SALE". The spas they sell are lacking in cold weather insulation, not fully finished, and are being sold for about $1000 more than a comparable spa. They say if you don't buy now, you will miss out on the best deal. They also don't take care of the customers. They are unethical. This is the epitome of high pressure sales.) If you go to a home show, you need to know about spas and prices before you go, otherwise, you most likely will be taken advantage of. HOME SHOW WISDOM CLICK HERE
13/ Buy spas that are ANSI/NSPI(Click here) conformant. The largest manufacturer of portable spas does not follow these engineering design rules. These rules are their to protect consumers and are not subject to interpretation.
14/ At the present time, there are no valid rewards or awards in the possession of any spa company. Do not fall prey to awards that are paid for advertizing. Do not fall for the Consumer's Digest logo used on brochures, because that too is paid advertising. Do not fall for the NSPI awards to the spa company that gives the most money to the organization. Do not fall prey to "Star Ratings on Pool and Spa" it is paid advertizing. The spa industry is full of tricks to play with the uninformed consumer. The more out of date and rich the company is, it seems the more money they have. That is only because spa shoppers do not know anything about spas. All of the advertizing on earth cannot change a poorly designed products engineering.
1/ dont be missled by bias people who think ONLY THEY are right and everyone else is wrong. Do your own well rounded research because in the end you have to live with your decision.
-
Thanks for all the replies. What about an option like a sound system? Would something like this be haggleable? Is getting a sound system even worth it or would it be hardly used?
Both tubs are good, you wont have a problem enjoying either, but before you let options sway you check out the local rep, do they have parts, service, and a good reputation. Often times the person selling you the spa and backing up that sale can mean more than the brand of spa and deffinetly more than the options in it. In our area one spa store has numerous complaints with better business and several criminal complaints (36 counts of fraud) against them. Check out the company!
-
They can fight all the want. Bottom line...a good full foam tub will have 3 to 4 layers of different foams starting with a 30 lb on the shell 5 or 8 lb for support 1/2 lb supporting the plumbing and usually a 1/4 in vapor or moisture barrier. Now most important to understand...with full foam you dont have the typical leak issues because in most cases pipes dont leak the joints or connections do from vibration and water weight transferral. The foam prevents this from causing leaks, this is why a good "full foam" spa will have a longer warrenty against leaking. Hope this helps
-
What is the "theory" you are refering to?
The theory of using a small tubing about 36 inches long with an interior heating element causing more surface area of the element in contact with the water.
-
You may want to try something a little off the wall. The pumps on your spa heat to about 125 degrees building some steps with a hinged top infront of your service panel and some venting would keep that compartment warm without extra electrical cost and no fear of a fire hazard.
-
Some one is awfull happy for D-1. But still the theory behind D-1 fast flo heater is sound and economical.
-
So what is really the best route to take in selecting a hot tub which is going to be used in a frigid environment for about 1/2 of the year? I've been pulled in to many directions. Someone be honest and try not to sell me.
In any part of the country, friged or not, full foam insulation is going to maintain water temp and cost less. Many people out there are using the glass window idea when selling spas suggesting dead air space is more efficient in a window and therefore more efficient in a spa. If this were true home builders would not insulate the walls of a home they would leave dead air space. We all know they dont do that our walls are packed tight with insulation and it does not matter where you live fridged or hot every house has full insulation. I suppose if you wanted to see through your hot tub glass and dead air space would be better but if you want to keep down opporating cost insulate it all the way.
Bullfrog Spas
in Portable Hot Tubs & Spas
Posted
My wife is 4 foot 10 inches will she fit if not this may be the tub for me too! lol