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After doing the above mentioned things, I would fill it up about 1/3 of the way (just enough to get the jets running) and then shock and sanitize the water like crazy. Do this for at least a few days, then empty that water out and then start over again (and be sure to give the filter a good cleaning after that little treatment).

I guess a better way to determine the age of the water would be to figure out how often you're using the spa. It's like comparing a 5 year old car with 20,000 miles to a 2 year old car with 50,000 miles. Is how long the water should last determined on its age or its usage? If I only use my spa 3 times a month and keep the water well maintained, should I be dumping it out as often as every 4 months?

My wife tends to get an allergic reaction to just plain hot water. She has eczema and it will flare up when she soaks too long in any type of water that is hotter than about 98F. Could be that the water isn't the problem but it is just your skin's sensitivity to heat...

Wow, that's a great idea. I always have a few rock chips from the stucco on my backyard wall that get stuck on the bottom of the spa.

Mr. Geek, Where do I begin...well, I guess I could begin by saying THANK YOU! I am amazed at the amount of insight you and a few others on this forum give out on a daily basis. I truly am grateful to have such great expertise here to assist with my lack of experience in this area of water upkeep. My biggest question relates to switching to bleach. So far I was just using the CL granules that you can buy from Home Depot. Is there a benefit to using bleach other than cost? I like the granules because they are easy to use (and I have a big jar of it already). What would a good regimen be for administering the bleach? Daily, weekly, before use, after use? As for adjusting the PH, is it okay to use the "Spa Up"/"Spa Down" products available at the big-box stores? I know a lot of you experts use certain common household products but again, I like the convenience of using the nicely packaged granulated forms in the neat little plastic jars. I know eventually I'll wise up and switch to the other stuff but I wanted to know if they will do as good a job as the common household products. Once again, thank you for all of your wisdom. You are truly an asset to this forum! Brian.

Okay, just got by Taylor kit in the mail yesterday and did all of the tests. They were all pretty easy except for the last one that tests for Cyanuric Acid (I just didn't get the whole black dot thing). Anyway, here are the results: Ph: 7.2 Free Cl: 8.5ppm Comb. Cl: 3ppm TA: 50ppm CH: 160ppm CYA: 60ppm Water was at 98F when the test was taken. The water is about 10 days old. Can one of our resident gurus please tell me what they think of these numbers, pretty please? As of right now, the only thing I have a slight clue about is the PH but even that doesn't mean much to me. I bought the kit because you guys said it was a must have so now I need to know what it all means. Thanks in advance... Brian EDIT: Forgot to mention the tub holds 480 gallons of water. I would estimate I have about 450-470 gallons in on average.

Before you loosen the fitting between the hose coming from your pump to the heating unit, be sure you have either a really big channel lock or buy one of those adjustable strap wrenches (what I have). It should be easy to loosen it up enough to get the air (and a little water) out of the lines but you won't be able to hand-tighten it good enough to get a water-tight seal (trust me, I learned this the hard way and ended up losing half of my tub's water). Once you've bled enough air out, tighten it back up and turn it on. If it still tells you there is air in there, kill the power again and open it back up. I had to do this about 3 times to get all of the air out completely. Don't feel too bad, it's not something that the spa salesman tells you about. I guess you just have to go through it once to figure it out. FYI: The strap wrench I bought from Home Depot for $15 (clearance) looks like this:

That may be true but I can tell you from experience that they will honor the original policy on products purchased before the date of change. I had a problem with a plasma I purchased back in early 2006 that they took back, no questions asked, last month. I had my whole spiel about how I've tried working with their tech-support, called the manufacturer, spoke with Costco management but the lady said, "since you purchased it prior to the new policy taking effect, it's no problem for us to take it back." They did the same things a few years ago when they changed the policy on computers to 6-months. Any PC's/laptops purchased before that date were still being accepted back for returns long after the 6-month cutoff time. Costco knows it is going to ruffle some feathers anytime they implement new policies but to make it a little less harsh they will stand by the original pollicy in place at the time you purchased any item from them. http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/cost...urn-policy.html

Regardless of any policy they implement in the future, the policy that stands is the one in place when you purchased your item. If you've already got one from Costco then you have nothing to worry about since you are "protected" by the current policy. It's the same for electronics purchased before the new policy went into effect (02/27/2007 for West Coast US).

I say get what you feel comfortable paying for and are happy with. A lot of folks on here really push the $7500+ spas on people like anything less is pure trash. The truth is that you can always find a good deal on tubs that do just as good a job as the more expensive ones, the main thing is getting it somewhere that is going to offer you support once you get it installed. The only reason I didn't go with the Costco spa is because once you get it home, who do you call for tips and advice? If you buy it from a spa store, at least you know if you ever need help with a quick question you can always give them a call and they will be willing to help you out. Also, don't be afraid to get a gently used spa. You'd be surprised how many folks move and don't want to take their spa with them so they let them go dirt cheap. I would just pay a local spa tech his hourly rate to check it out for you and then use your own judgment. Good luck with your spa. You will definitely enjoy it. Keep in mind that if you build a deck surround, make sure you build it so that you have easy access to the control panel and motors.

I spent about $450 on parts and my father-in-law (licensed electrician) did the labor for us. The sub-panel is about 40ft. from the main service panel (including runs up the walls on either side). The most expensive item was the cable. We needed a total of 220' of 6-gauge copper cable (40'x4 in the PVC and then 15'x4 in the flex) so I just bought the 500' roll instead of paying $1.02 (w/tax) per foot. If anyone needs some cable I can sell it pretty cheap! Home Depot Parts $225 - 500' Roll Cable 6-guage Copper $90 - 50A Spa Panel $50 - 50A Breaker for Service Panel $25 - 25' Flex Conduit $40 - Misc. connectors/straps Keep in mind that I already had PVC conduit run in the ground to the location inside the concrete slabs so that isn't factored into the total price for parts. It took my father-in-law about 6 hours to do the work (had some difficulty breaking into the service panel from underneath). At $75/hr for labor (I would say a low-mid estimate) that would be about $600 total for labor.

I can see you are frustrated. I guess it's all about competitive pricing and the internet giving the average consumer much more reach. Most people will eventually weigh the savings of ordering something online from some internet mega-warehouse and buying from a local shop with real people that are there to backup their products. That's not to say that you aren't going to lose some business to the consumer that is just looking to save a buck and sacrifice customer service. They will most likely be calling you in a year when the mega-warehouse disappears and the bargain-basement part they ordered directly and installed them self craps out on them. Keep doing what you're doing SRG, some of us still appreciate your service.

Can someone recommend a good cover lifter? I've seen so many different ones and they really vary in price and form so I am really confused. Any comments on which ones might be better than others? Clearance isn't an issue although I don't want to have the tub out from the wall too far if I don't have to. The main thing I am concerned with is ease of use. Also, is there a way to add additional locks to the cover? The standard snap-in type with keys seems a little flimsy and can probably be popped off with little effort or simply cut off (with almost no effort). I want to be sure there is no way my kids can get into the spa without us around. I never leave my kids in the backyard unattended but I don't want to leave any possibility out there. Being new to the spa world, I am really concerned with all the stories of kids drowning and what not and I have an 18-month old toddler. Thanks in advance.

OP, I have wondered the same thing. With all due respect to the guys in the spa industry, I think the major difference is the overhead. Costco can buy thousands of spas at a fraction of the price, doesn't spend a lot on marketing them, has tons of space to store/display them and most likely has a really small markup. Now, having said all of that, I do see where the value comes from in buying from an actual spa shop. You get the knowledge of the experienced staff and the comfort in knowing that you have a place to call/go to when you have problems or need help. That isn't to say that you couldn't go to them after buying your Costco spa but I'm sure there is a slight difference in the level of service you're going to get since you didn't buy from them to start with. If I wasn't able to find the spa we love at a price we could afford from a reputable spa shop, we would have most likely gone with the Costco model, but so far I am happy with my decision. Btw, I think the Costco spas are beautiful and have some really nice features to them! Regards, Brian.

Hi all, well we visited several stores/expos and I did my research and I ended up going with the one of the first spas we fell in love with. It's made by Southwest Spas (www.southwestspa.com) and it is called the Luxor. It's a really good sized spa and has the perfect open layout and big footwell area that we were looking for. May not have all the bells and whistles of the other brands/models but it fits my family perfect. It came with a 3 yr warranty on parts and labor and a 10 yr warranty on the tub for leaks/cracks. We bought it a local spa shop (Edgewater) in Long Beach, CA that has been around for 18 years and they are the actual ones that service us and everything. The one we got actually has two waterfalls (even though the model doesn't show it comes with one). We also got it with LED lighting (four colors), steps, cover, kit and delivery/setup all for $5000 out the door! I couldn't be happier and they can deliver it next week. Now I just have to ask my concrete guy if it's okay to setup the spa on the slab that is only going to be 2 weeks old or should I wait for it to completely cure(?). Thanks for the help guys.

Good luck getting help. I have a budget of $4000 and haven't really gotten any advice from the members here. After reading many of the threads, I think our only option is the Walmart specials. Everyone here seems to think that you either have to spend upwards of $8000 or go with the cheap ones at the jumbo mart. There doesn't seem to be an in-between. Good luck getting help. I have a budget of $4000 and haven't really gotten any advice from the members here. After reading many of the threads, I think our only option is the Walmart specials. Everyone here seems to think that you either have to spend upwards of $8000 or go with the cheap ones at the jumbo mart. There doesn't seem to be an in-between.

It's actually closest to the Sojourn (http://www.southwestspas.com/_home_hot_tubs) tub as far as the mold goes but it was actually an 8' square as opposed to being a 7'. I don't know how old the model is but it is still brand new and comes with a new 3-yr warranty (as opposed to their 90-day refurb warranty).

Hi all, new member here! My family and I are looking into getting a hot tub in the up-to-$4000 price range. I have been reading a lot of threads here and am quickly realizing that the sub-$4000 range is considered to be the bottom of the heap when it comes to hot tubs. My wife and I went to a spa store here in Long Beach, CA yesterday and sat in and looked at a bunch of spas. We found one that we both liked and was just about in our price range. It was made by Southwest Spas (http://www.southwestspa.com/main.htm) and was the Aruba model. The salesman said this model normally sold for $5900 but was an older line so if we took the floor model (which is still considered new) he could give it to us for $4500. It would include delivery/setup, 3 year parts and labor warranty on everything, steps and cover. I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this manufacturer or if you could recommend something else within our price range that might be a better buy. Thanks in advance!