flibotte
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Posts
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Posts posted by flibotte
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I've had a pretty good cross section of hot tub experiences. My parents owned 3 Hotsprings tubs while I was growing up, I have a Keys tub, and I have several friends that have keys, PEII, gulf coast, and sundance tubs.
I personally didn't see a huge difference in comfort from brand to brand, I liked some seats better than others and if I had to pick the most comfortable I would say I liked the sundance best. I assume the tub your friend has was a keys, and I agree that the jets on the keys are not the greatest as I would put them at the bottom of the list of the ones I've been in (not a big deal to me as I almost never use them, maybe 5 min at the most if at all).
If I had to rate the ones I've actaully been in recently I would say
1) Hotsprings. If I could have any one I would take the hot springs but I personally think they are over priced. Seems to be the least expensive to run. ($30 a month)
2)Sundance. Liked the jet config in this tub the best and also liked the variety of seats. ($40)
Next 3 are all pretty close IMO but all have much higher electric bills, all were in the $75-$100 a month range.
3)PEII It may be a pain to move but the lifetime warranty is a nice insurance policy. I also think it gave you the most features for the money. Now that the PEIII is 1 K more I would rather get a higher end one with dealer support.
4) Keys At $3,600 delivery included, it was the least expensive and it makes me feel like a million bucks when I get out of it. least amount of bells and whistles but if you don't like bells and whistles not a bad choice.
4) Gulf Coast I think it is just as good as the other two low end tubs but I don't like thier marketing tactics of trying to make people think it's a high end tub and they are gettign a great deal.
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I agree, spa looks great and your location for the spa looks even better. It's nice to have a private area for the spa. Good Luck.
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It's stupid posts like this that people bash, not Hydro spas. You get people who get thier first tub, have it for a few months and they know everything there is to know about tubs. Fixing tubs, no problem, I've had a tub for 4 months, I don't need a dealer, I just need a screwdriver and a can-do attitude. This is the same guy when someone complained about his PEII electric bill being much higher than expected he suggested to the user that there was nothing wrong with the tub but that he was probably forgetting to put the cover on when he was done.
For the record i have a box store tub myself and think they are great for some people as long as you go into it with your eyes open but to say that you should only go with a dealer if you are lazy or dont own a screwdriver is stupid. To say there is no value to come home to a broken tub on a cold night in the dead of winter after a long day at work and just have to call your dealer and know they will take care of it. i personally don't think it would be fun or interesting to replace a pump when it is 10 degrees out. That is a personal decision I guess.
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thats normal. no worries.
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I don’t think people on here are bashing the PE II necessarily, it’s the people who think that the value tub they got (I lump the PEs, Keys Backyard, and Gulf Coast type spas together as they are all pretty close IMO in quality) is the same as one of the higher end tubs. With comments like I just saved 4,000 dollars and got a spa that was just as good.
I think that most of the people on this site give very fair opinions on different topics and they just want to help people. Clearly in some cases there are biases (on both sides) but it pretty easy to see what they are after watching the site over time, having said that there is also a core group on here that I really respect their opinions. It cracks me up to see someone who has about 3 weeks of experience owning a tub telling a guy who has worked on tubs most of his life that tub a is just as good as tub b or part a is the same as part b. When for the most part they are just regurgitating marketing jargon.
I personally find the back and forth quite entertaining and think each side is equally to blame for fanning the “flames” and I do think there are a few people on this board that I question their motives as they seem a little over the top in promoting the PE to the point of sending me private messages telling me how great the PE II is.
I honestly don’t understand why people would even care if someone on a message board said they didn’t like spa X.
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Please let us know how it worked. I was planning on doing it this fall but was way too busy with work. I'm planning on adding it myself this spring as well as getting a better cover.
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I would say that is very unusual.
I have a keys backyard and my bill gets up to the $75-$100 a month area in the winter months (I live in RI) but in the summer it is more like $20-$30. I have a friend with a PII and his power consumtion is about the same. I have 2 friends with Gulf Coast spas and they have about the same as well. My parents have a Hot Springs and it is in the $30 a month range. I would say there is something wrong if you are having $100 extra on your electric bills in the summer and you live in LA. I would get a meter for the tub if I was you.
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The issue of it's quality aside. I don't think I would get a hot tub with a double lounger without being able to wet test. If you float or don't find the lounger comfortable you are loosing half of the space in your tub.
As important as it is to wet test a tub I think it is even more important to wet test a tub with a lounger becuase of problems like floating.
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LOL, interesting post. We have 4 or 5 people on a message board posting about costco tubs over and over again and now Costco distribution model is revolutionizing the hot tub industry.
I actually think Home Depot beat Costco to the punch by several years.
I do agree that a lot more hot tubs will be purchased over the internet (not just costco) in the years to come and the industry would be wise to keep up.
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one thing you should know. hot tub warranties are not transferable. so once it changes ownership it will no longer be covered under warranty.
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A great track record?
Stop, put the kool-aid down, and take a step back from the kool aid.
I am not anti costco/hydro tub by any means, but I don't think it's had a GREAT track record. There have been many people, not just JMendoza that have had problems. I would say to someone who is on a budget and is handy that the hydro tub would be a good possibility for consideration but this whole notion that they are just as good as a 10K tub is crazy.
I agree with Roger there are very few people on here posting about the costco/hydro tubs that have had them longer than a few months.
I would say almost 90% of the posts sounds something like this: We just had our PII installed last week or last month and so far we love it and haven't had any problems with it. I can rememebr 1 poster that had it like 6 months.
Are you getting your great track record source from other places paint? I would love to see reviews from someone who's had a PI for 3 years and how they feel about it now.
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I agree with hydro, a few anecdotal stories good or bad does not mean much. Especially in your case where GC is now making a new redesigned tub. Anyone that has the tub will have only had it for a short time and i think the true test of a tub is over the course of several years on. I am very curious to find out how your electric bill is and if the insulation is better. Did you wet test before you bought it? Good Luck.
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Looks to me like the moderators have done a great job cleaning up the board. Seems like we have a really good range of topics and lots of helpful answers. Im sure people are more likely to post with the board the way it is. Good job guys. Keep up the good work.
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Good info GKL. Thats pretty good customer service that the VP of the company talked to you about insulation. It looks like Tatum Manufacturing and Gulf Coast are the same company. According to BBB website the president of Gulf Coast is Bradford Tatum and both companies are listed together. Hopefully the changes they made improved the insulation. I guess the proof will be in the pudding in the form of your electric bill next month. Let us know how it works out.
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"I bought under the assumption that when I sell this home (starter home), buyer may write requirement for the spa and I may have to leave. Thats why i didnt go any more expensive with my first tub."
I did the exact same thing, didn't want to spend a lot when I was just going to be moving.
I think if you do a search there are several posts about people that added insulation to thier tubs and were quite happy with the results. I know there is one in the big costco/hydro thread.
Enjoy the tub.
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the sundance pic looks pretty cool. I guess you just gotta hope nothing breaks. lifting a 900 pound spa out of a hole to fix a problem doesn't sound too fun but I do like the way it looks.
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The spas my friends got were I believe 2005 models purchased in late Oct/early Nov of last year. They got 2 different models one is a few inches deeper and larger than the other. I just tried to go to the Gulf Coast website to see if I could pick out what model they were but the website isn't coming up. :-). I honestly think you will be ok. The thing isn't going to blow up on you (hopefully). Maybe your power bills will be higher than you expected but as long as you really enjoy the hot tub experience I still think it will be worth it. When are they delivering it?
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"High electrical costs can be caused by high use or water temp at 104 or lacking to secure the cover of the skirting."
I can assue you that the number one reason for high electrical cost is poor insulation. The other reasons may be contributing factors but don't fool yourself they don't have good insulation. I'm not saying I don't think you should get it I just think people should understand what they are buying before they get it.
I have a poorly insulated tub myself but I knew that before I bought it and decided it was worth it for the very low price I paid for mine $3,600. As I said in my above post I don't really have a problem with the GC tubs it's the way that they are marketed as high end tubs and they make up some fake retail price and tell you what a great deal you are getting by getting a tub that retails for 8k for 5k or what ever. If you look at craigslist you will see every excuse in the book why they are discounting them but the truth is they are really just 4 or 5 k tubs. I think as long as someone understands that than thats fine.
I wish you luck with your tub.
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I have 2 close friends that both have GC spas for about a year and a half. Neither has had any major trouble with them, the main gripe has been $100 + a month jumps in the electric bill in the winter time (New England). I went with them when they got them and I was put off by the sales pitch that the were 8 or 9K tubs but you were getting a big deal for this reason or that when in fact they are really 4k tubs and you are basically getting what you pay for. I put them in the same bracket as home depot/costco spas.
Other than that I think they are ok as long as you know you get what you pay for. Good Luck. If you have any specific question feel free to ask.
Mark
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Better marketing wouldn't hurt either.
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my uncle got one from Master. He had a lot of problems when he first got it but the local dealer seems to have fixed everything. I was amazed with how powerful the jet was.
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I've used those 10% off change of address coupons at least 10 times in the last 2 years. It is a great deal. You just have to use a different name each time. I've used family and friends. I figure I've saved close to $2,000 using them. I shudder to think how much money I've spent there over the last 2 and a half years. With tax returns around the corner I'm sure they will get more *sigh*
They also sell keys backyard spas there but you can get the same tubs cheeper at wal mart or sams club. I guess they mark up a little more at HD.
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turn 180 degrees
walk out the door
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IP addresses aren't hard to spoof and you could always post from multiple computers/locations. I don't think that is a good way to check. I'm not sure if you have logging setup or not and can see when the users log in or out and see some type of pattern.
I don't know if they are the same person or not.....I don't really care. I don't think any of the posts from them serves any real purpose. Costco tubs are just as good blah blah blah.
Hydrospas Vs. The Value Tubs
in Portable Hot Tubs & Spas
Posted
I couldn't agree more Fire. I spend about 80 a month for the 3 or 4 months of winter (less this year becuase it was so mild) but even 80 a month is so worth it to me. Nothing better than after a hard day of work and then the gym coming home and relaxing in the tub.