GregsSpa

Mine has a prefilter, basically filter material with a wire frame that sits on a lip above the filters. The pantyhose sounds like a viable solution, but may be a PITA gettin them on and off and may require you to pull the filter each time... If you could make prefilter that sits on top of the filter, I think it would be much easier to maintain.

Yes, that is correct. I seem to remember them mentioning the swim spa in the 14-15K range, so it sounds like you're in the ballpark. Better than spending $35K on a D1 !!!! What color shell and cabinet did you get? Good luck and let me know how you like it...

I reply'd to your other message also...I don't know the price difference between a regular Grand CanyonII spa and a swim spa, but Diamante had the Grand Canyon II (spa) on sale for $8600 when I bought my Mohave. This was for a brand new custom built tub. You might be able to work on the price a little more...

Coolrigs, I have a Diamante Mojave tub and have seen the swim spa. I can tell you that in the first 5 months I am very happy with the spa. I am an electronics technician, so I checked the components of the tub carefully before purchasing, and believe they use quality components. Diamante uses AO Smith pumps, which are very reliable and we use them in the electronics industry. The pumps are very powerful and my tub has 3 pumps, a circ pump, plus a blower. The controls are Balboa, the filtration is 240 sqft, ozone is 250mg. I think you'll find that the equipment is set up with quality and reliability in mind and compares favorably with other major brands, especially when you factor in price. The redwood cabinet I have is just beautiful, I didn't care for their "forever glass" cabinet. It will take some maintenance, but I really like the look of the wood. They do have another cabinet material that is similar to what the "industry" is using these days, if you prefer that look and level of maintenance. You have some choices in the shell. I chose the micro-biocide (or whatever they call it) in the Lunar Grey and I really like it. No problems with discoloration, cracking or anything like that, of course, it's way too early. The tub seems to hold heat well, the weather is getting cold so we will find out for sure coming soon. Electric bills are modestly increased and I leave the tub in "standard" mode at 104. I've never tested a swim spa, so I have no idea what kind of power it takes from the pumps to create enough resistance to swim against. I can tell you, the pumps and plumbing are maximized for flow rate. You will not see any 90 degree bends in the plumbing and the flow rate is amongst the best in the industry. Ask your dealer about the flow rates of the pumps, they were quite proud of it when I bought my tub, and they were right! Make sure it has the equipment you want and make sure you buy it from a reputable dealer. There was someone on here questioning the present ownership of the company, you may want to check into that. I have had 1 service call and the timliness of parts arrival and response was very sufficient, in my case. Good luck on your search!

I have a new (3 month old) Diamante spa. The tub has a 240 sq. ft. filtration system, which consists of 2 large filters, maybe 20" tall. The filters are threaded at the bottom and screw into the filter housing. About 3 weeks ago, I noticed one of my filters floating in the housing. The threads had somehow sheared off, leaving the filter floating and the threads inside the housing. I called for service, made an appointment for the next week, and before they could get out to me, the other filter did the same thing. Is this a typical problem? It appears the filters get hot and the rubber gets brittle, but I don't understand the threads shearing off. I explained that I could not afford to be spending $150 on filters every three months and they obliged and sent me out 2 new filters. I guess I can't expect them to keep replacing the filters for free, did I just get a bad set of filters, or did I do something wrong installing them? The service guy told me not to tighten them as much this time, but I know I didn't wrench them down last time, so I'm kind of concerned. This time, I only used maybe 1/2 the threads down in the housing. Any ideas?

Hope you get this resolved. I bought a Diamante Mojave, sold by a Sensations spa dealer in town, in July of this year. We love the spa and it has been trouble free thus far, with the exception of a couple of stuck jets, which were promptly fixed. I had no idea US Tooling sold the company, do you know who is manufacturing the spa's now? I was very impressed with the components and build quility of this unit, along with the power and therapy it provides. Someone is liable to fix your heater, keep on it....

Hehehe. Let me get my popcorn....

I'm in Albuquerque. With the price of wiring these days, going price seems to be around $8-$10/foot. My run is 80ft, I was quoted $800. The run is pretty easy too. I have a friend who will do it for a few hundred less, but I think I'll pay the premium, in my case.

My dealers starting "sale" price was 11.5K. I never got around to negotiations...

Congratulations! Looks great. Enjoy! Man, I can't wait for mine....

Oh yes, and most importantly...Thanks to all on this site for the education and insight. Couldn't have made an informed decision without you!

Well, after many trips to dealers, wet tests and negotiating I ended up buying a Diamante Mojave. I'm sorry, but I am just not seeing the difference between this spa, which I paid $7495 for w/tax, and ALL of the models I looked at in the 9-11K range. The final group came down to D1 ChairmanII, HS Vista and the Sundance Cameo. I was just about to pull the trigger on an 11K, ChairmanII when I saw the Diamante spas, at a tent sale, no less! The Diamante blew all other spas out of the water with regards to pump power, this thing is unbelievable! 3- 5hp Aqua-flo pumps, a "turbo-pump" that injects air to the jets and the 50gpm circulation pump. 62 stainless jets in comfortable seating, the most beatuiful redwood cabinet I've ever seen, and a 20/5 warranty. 250 sq ft filtration, 250mg Ozonator, LED package, a bucket full of chems (~$200), steps, deluxe cover and lifter. I stopped in the tent sale on their last day there and made a deal on a brand new spa, which hopefully will be built and shipped in 3 weeks. I was able to get the bargain price this way. Another plus is the dealer is in the mall where the tent sale took place, so I have someone to go to , if needed. I feel like I got the best of both worlds on this spa. Great price and dealership backup. Good luck to all you shoppers out there, It's a tough choice!

Check out D1, their models are ~30K...Ouch.

Our local dealer is asking $14,395 for a new 2007 Lotus bay...Starting price, mind you...

A couple of more Q's...How risky is it to buy a floor model spa that has been used for wet testing? The warranty obviously isn't an issue, but wear and tear on pumps and parts which may fail after warranty are a concern. How much of a discount could one expect for a wet tester? I asked the D1 dealer who services their D1 spas? He said that D1 has a service tech that covers Sante Fe, Albuquerque and El Paso. Well, SF and El Paso are nearly 400 miles apart, I could see extended wait times for service possibly in this scenario. If the dealer doesn't service the spa, what else is he doing for his profit, besides selling me the tub and chems? I'll take heed of the lounger advise, both ways. My wife and I also will probably be alone in the tub 90% of the time, so seating and space for a group really isn't an issue. Good advise on the bids in writing and thx for the ballpark estimates. JohnnyD, let me know what you get your Maxxus for. Thanks for the replies.

My wife and I have decided to pursue buying a spa for therapy and entertainment reasons. I have spent the last month on the web; searching, lurking and reading opinions on many spa brands. The dialogue (if you could call it that) with Mr. Arunja has been interesting to say the least! I've even read his entire website to see his insights. I have seen the Costco tubs too and weighed all my options, yet am still undecided. This week, I started my search 1:1 with the local dealers in Albuquerque, NM. From what I hear, there is one man that owns all of the dealerships here in town. This to me seems a scary fact to know, this guy is the only game in town, running about 5 or 6 stores from what I can gather. If I'm to buy from a dealer, my options in town seem to be pretty good, most major brands are represented. There is another dealer in the mall selling Sensation Spa's, haven't investigated them thoroughly enough yet, anyone have any info? So, I'm thinking an 8' spa, with lounger, seating for 6 or 7, lights and waterfall, and probably a cooldown seat. No stereo required. I want a multiple pump system with great therapy, even if there are 6 people in the tub. I met the D1 dealer the other day. Great guy, easy to talk to, had all of his prices listed clearly on the floor models and had another price list for models not in stock. From what I had read about "price secrecy", I was shocked! He has a 2006 Californian that has never had water in it for $9500, he wants $10,345 for it brand new. I like the setup on this particular model but am wondering if this is a good deal? He said all of his spas include CD oz, steps, cover, lifter chems, setup, etc. He also has a 2006 ChairmanII, it's his wet tester, and he wants $10,995 for it. He wants $12,595 for a new ChairmanII, I would think that's a little high. I think I've read where some people are getting the ChairmanII for around 10K? I have an appointment for a wet test in the Chairman, this week. I still have some shopping around to do with the other brands this week. I want to see all of my options first hand. Electrical work begins this week, so It's getting near crunch time. Any last minute advise and what do you think about the prices on these two tubs? Thanks for any input.

I'm setting up my yard for a tub, brand unknown at this point. I just poured a large patio slab for it to sit on, now I am thinking drainage and electrical. Can you drain a tub into a grass yard? Will the chems kill the grass? Just how much water is 400-500 gallons, when you dump it out on the ground? My tub will sit on the corner of the slab where I would have to install a drain pipe about 60 feet to get it to the side of the house, unless I drain it to the yard. How do you guys do it?