flibotte

"Wouldnt it be funny if this site posted IP addresses?" It would be cool because then I could play with the IP Spoofing tool I got at my Ethical Hacking class.

"From the looks of whatever it is your eating you might need a self destruct plunger!" LOL Was having a crappy day at work, this gave me a good laugh. Great pics JWillard! Is the foil insulation new with the Legend? When I wired my friends PEII it didn't have it. I really need to add some to my tub. My Keys looks very similar underneath, I'll take a pic when I get a chance. I would love to see more pics like this from people with different hot tubs. Rather than just saying it's designed poorly a pic of a tub that was designed well would be nice. Not to say the debate over the pros and cons of 90 degree bends in hot tub plumbing wasn't riviting.

My parents have a hotsprings tub and it is about $25-$30 a month in winter (they live in mass).

"Here’s a suggestion. With all this debate of the insulation of the Hydro and now the added suspense of the “picture” that may or may not be a Costco Hydro spa. Why doesn’t one of the Hydro owners just take a picture or pictures of the inside of the hot tub?" Anyone????

Here’s a suggestion. With all this debate of the insulation of the Hydro and now the added suspense of the “picture” that may or may not be a Costco Hydro spa. Why doesn’t one of the Hydro owners just take a picture or pictures of the inside of the hot tub? Maybe NW could take some pics of one of the ones at the factory that hasn’t completely been installed. 

What a fabulous waste of time, almost 300 posts and 9,000 views. I feel bad for anyone that has read each post. I think banging your head against a brick wall may be a better idea but to each his own. Well at least we've gotten to the bottom of the costco vs dealer spas debate. :-)

I've had my Keys tub for almost 2 years now and I am happy with it. The biggest shortcoming that I've had with mine is high electric bills in the winter months. If you live in a cold climate it is something to think about.

I agree. I've had a Keys Spa going on 2 years now and my only complaint is the poor insulation. I don't think it is that hard to add your own insulation but I must admit I've been too lazy to do it myself.

Well, I am glad we got to the bottom of how good the Costco Discovery Ecstasy And Infinity Sun Peak Spa were and helping Spasearchn figure out what spa to buy. I'm thinking he is going to send all his friends here when they need hot tub advice.

"You owe the guy a new tub. And if his problem turned out to be his electrical service instead of the tub, I hope he sues you." LOL, talk about being totally over the top. Are you sure you don't have some sort of a vested interest in this some where? I can see a regular owner of a Hydro tub arguing that they think the tubs are good tubs. I think jwillard and soakerman are perfect examples, they like to mix it up and seem to enjoy the back and forth banter. I personally think you take it to another level. The way you are so dismissive of people's problems and the way you seem to almost blame them rubs me the wrong way.

My good friend has a Sundance similar to the Altamar (no lounger) and I love it! I was in it this weekend for like 4 hours. They are great tubs, probably my favorite brand (of all the tubs that I have actually been in.) I don't have any personal experience with Master but from what I have seen on this board it doesn't have a great rep.

"I don't know how much merit I would put into your estimates." It's not just my estimates as it is my 3 friends as well as my own, on my tub. I have a very strong electical back ground so I understand all the things that factor into a monthly bill and that different things can effect it. That is why there is a fairly large window $70-$100 dollars and I am being generous on the high end. I feel the number is very solid as all 4 of us have similar tubs and we all had them since oct/nov 05 so we've all been thru 2 new england winters and each one of us has noticed a similar jump in electricity. The longer you actually own the tub the better feel you get for how much it costs and how the costs vary from month to month and how things like refilling the tub effect the bill. As jwillard says he lives in a warm climate so he doesn't see the big swings with the weather changing. My estimates are for the New England area. Don't just take my word for it, there are plenty of other posts on this message board about people complaining of high electic bills and asking how to add insulation to hydro tubs. I have never seen a single post from someone who has a higher end tub have such complaints. I'm not saying these are bad tubs, I just think they are poorly insulated and that people who live in colder climates should go in with thier eyes open. When I got my tub I didn't realize how poorly it was insulated and that it would cost so much to run. I still think I would go the same route again as I didn't really want to spend all that money up front but I would've liked to know up front.

In my estimation you could be paying as much as $300 to $500 extra a year in extra electrical costs (IF YOU LIVE IN A COLD CLIMATE) with any of the “lower end tubs” I lump all the Keys, Hydro, and Gulf Coast tubs together because I have personal experience with all 3, I own a Keys tub. They all cost almost the same and are all about the same price to operate and if you take a look underneath they all seem to have the exact same insulation setup. I have friends with Hydro and Gulf Coast, and my Keys tub and we each pay about 70-100 dollars a month in winter (New England). My parents have a Hot Springs and I have a friend with a Sundance and they pay about 20-30 a month. I think these tubs are an option worth looking into but I would be wary of claims that they are just as good as higher end spas. I don’t believe they are.

Do you like the removable massage balls?

I just checked out the web page. I think these are actually made by Gulf Coast Spas (same address as GC). I have a freind with one and the insulation isn't very good and her electric bill is very high in the winter (over $100 a month). Do you live in a cold climate? My guess is this tub is similar quality to the Keys and Hydro tubs they sell at Costco and other big box stores.

"People who dont have anything new to say shouldn't keep repeating themselves!!" I haven't seen anything new on this topic from anyone in months, but it sure is entertaining. I'm not really sure why it is so important to some of you what other people think of your tub or why it is so important to rip on the same tubs over and over again. But it does make for good reading :-).

"Btw, I bought one of those Pilates H2Os from Costco." I would love to do a wet test on that tub. It looks pretty cool, I like the idea of the "programmable hydrotherapy sequence profiles offering a variety of specific massaging options." Seems like a pretty cool tub.

"Since when is it a "waist" of time to go look at the competition." LOL, Jim_The_Jim correcting someones spelling. People who live in glass houses....... "There is nothing new in what I am saying." You can say that again Jim!

"I have been gone from this place for a month or two cause of all the crap bashing these spas)" Yes. It really is nauseating. I wish someone would start a Costco only forum just for us." If you want to start your own message board, it's really not that hard. Although I think most would find it boring and loose interest rather fast sitting around talking about how great Costco tubs are. The fact of the matter is this little "debate" is flamed from both sides and in my opinion is quite entertaining. I question the motives of a few of the posters on both sides of the debate as they seem a little over the top. I think some people tend to get a bit more caught up in it than others while some probably just like the back and forth banter. With all that said, at the end of the day, if you are happy with YOUR tub and the price you paid for it ($4,000 or $12,000) isn't that really all that matters? Who cares what a bunch of strangers on a message board think about your brand of hot tub.

I think the hot tub industry as a whole is lacking when it comes to energy figures. It would be nice if they could come up with some baseline figures about the tubs, so people could get a ball park figure. Something like they do for major appliances.

"I am 6' even and I dont have a problem, but I dont have abnormally long legs for my height. I guess in the middle seats you could feel a little cramped but the corner seats are fine." Agree, I am 6' 3" and I didn't have a problem.

If my Keys spa makes it to 4 years without any major trouble I will be happy. I paid $3,600 for it and so far it's been great (1 1/2 years) the only draw back has been the higher electric bills. Right or wrong that is the expectation I've set in my mind. It loos like Costco has another new (more expensive) hot tub line on the site. They look pretty cool, don't know who makes it (doesn't look like either keys or hydro) but it looks pretty nice. 96 jets/5 pumps/ programable massage cycles.

I don't have any experience with tubs going without electrity that long. Mine has lost electricity for a couple of hours at the most but I simply refuse to believe that ANY tub could be 65 degrees without any power for 6 days in 20 degree weather. I don't care about btus and kwhs, common sense tells me that isn't possible. I seriously question your credibility.

I refuse to believe that ANY tub in 20 degree weather would be in the mid 60s after 6 days without power. I'm surprised we haven't heard of this amazing feat before.

the electric is on the side that has the top side controls.