hottubdan

For built in spa, I am sure you are and were doing the right thing. However, most portable spas are smaller than yours and are kept covered, no UV. They are drained before TDS build up and CYA build up. You get algae from lack of sanitation AND sunlight. Again, a covered spa getting no UV will not get algae. with no sanitation, you will get bacteria growth and unhelthy water.

However, in a typical outdoor spa you are draining befroe the CYA level gets up to 30 to 50 ppm.

Actually, according to industry standards and advice from chemical companies, to "shock" or superchlorinate, you want to bring you FC to 10 PPM and the best way to do that is with dichlor granules. bleach and liquid chlorine are mostly water and fillers.

Both are great brands. Prices in your neck of the woods are very low. Models you are comparing are not comparable. Comparable models would be Vista vs. Geneva, Martinique vs. Sovereign, Moorea maybe vs Envoy (although both Martinique and Moorea are in the Paradise line and have less features than the Caldera Utopia series). Hot Spring filters are unique on Vista. Hot Spring filtration system is unique, thus 5 filters. Caldera jet performance is considered stronger, but I have never heard a Hot Spring owner wishing he had more powerful jets.

Please share with the group your qualifications for determing: A. Built just as well. B. Have more features Fact is, when comparing spa brands you are not comparing features to features.

Stay tuned.

Over time it will sodium dichlor will lowert pH. Bufferered shock (MPS) should have little impact on pH.

I don't sell Sundance. However, there is no reason for a Sundance dealer to stoop to those tactics when selling against Master Spa or Dynasty Spas. Completely different products designed for different people.

Could it be that they realize a spa is something more personal than they thought before? 1st time through they were thinking party, now they are thinking therapy.

However, if he was an event salesman, he could be with an independent company that Sundance promotes. Whoever he is should be ashamed dealers should know who he is.

As a general statement, I think most 2nd time buyers do not get lounges. They also tend to buy smaller spas.

While Hot Spring does specifically include the MotoMassage jet, they do not specifically exclude jets from their warranty. In my experience as a dealer, they do warrant the jets. Sometimes there is no labor, as some jets are easily installed without tools.

How does one verify the truth of this thread? Any other sources for this story?

There are no holes drilled into the tub. There are transducers, amplifier and cables that all have to be run.

Depends on what comes with the spa.

If you are following the Vision program (D1's private label Nature 2) you should add shock before each use. Many of our customers add it after each use. The amount depends on your volume of water.

Issues should not be related. How old is spa? Take equipment door off and see if you can identify where the leak is coming from. How much water are you losing; how fast?

Research the manufacturers. Watkins makes Hot Spring and Caldera. Owned by Masco, publically traded home improvement giant. Hot Spring is the only manufacturer to be named Consumers Digest Best Buy every time they did a survey. Watkins is an ISO 9001 manufacturer, an international standard that basically means they say what they do and do what they say. Hope this helps a little.

Did anyone educate you regarding the manufacturers? Sundance is a owned by Jacuzzi Brands, a publically traded company. Publically traded companies are federally regulated to fund their warranty. Master Spas is not. Sundance is an ISO 2001 company. ISO 2001 is an internationally recognized manufacturing standard, basically meaning they say what they do and do what they say. It means quality control. All things other things being equal, those are 2 points in Sundance's favor.

The Tiger River Caspian comes close to your description. Dynasty spas do not.

I know this was several months ago. Did you check out the Jacuzzi at the dealer and get the explanation of the differences? 2 spas may look alike, but that doesn't mean they are comparable.

How was it tested? Who tested it? How many KWH per month?

Typically at a home show dealer pays a commission to an independent contractor, at the end of the show. A reputable independent would return the commission, so the dealer could return 100% of the deposit. Read your contract carefully before you sue. Agreed, this has to stop! It does the industry no good.

I have told this is a new feature on the site. Where in NE do you live? Dan

We have observed for years that some people will buy from the big box stores and never from a specialty retailer. Thank goodness there are also 1000's of people who choose to buy from spa specialty retailers every year and would never buy a spa from the big box stores, whether Costco, Home Depot, etc.