Siberian Elm

We bought a Sundance Hot Tub in ’89. We used it for 20+ years and we were very happy with it. Over the last few years the old wood frame has deteriorated, it has reoccurring leaks, the motor is giving out, and the repair guy is telling us it’s beyond fixing any more. Having been happy with our Sundance spa, we went back to the same dealer to check out the new Sundance spas. Boy have things changed. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that they cost more than twice as much as I paid back in ’89. As we decide on a replacement, I am hoping to get some thoughts from more up-to-date experienced people on a couple questions. 1 - We liked the Sundance Hamilton and Cameo. But we were not expecting the $8,995 and $11,795 price quotes. So we looked around at some other dealers. We looked at HotSprings spas but they didn’t feel as good and the layouts were not right for our setup. Then we visited a dealer selling California Cooperage spas, apparently they are related to Colman or MAXX spas. The California Cooperage 281 seemed to be a good fit and the quote was only $6,761. To my layman’s eye the California Cooperage seemed to be a little lower quality but I wonder if it is good enough, compared to our old Sundance. Can anybody say what makes the today’s Sundance spas worth $2,000 to $5,000 more than the California Cooperage? We are wondering if we would be happy with this cheaper spa. My wife is a soaker and rarely turns on the jets. I am about 50/50 between jets or soaking. Our old Sundance has 6 jets (plus a whirlpool jet). So I am not sure why we would need 40 or 50 jets. I if there is any real use for the waterfalls and such they all seem to have now. The fancy LED lighting is probably not that important either, the bulb on our old spa burned out after a few years and we never replaced it. We generally prefer soaking in the dark. We are most interested in whether or not we can get another 20 years out of a new spa with a minimum or headaches and repairs. That is what I would see paying $2,000 more for if there is a real difference. 2 - My other question is about water management. For 22 years I managed our Sundance with two chemicals, bromine tablets and soda ash. I refilled our old spa every 6 months or so. I checked the total alkalinity, pH, and such. It was typically acceptable at the start. Then I dropped a few bromine tablets in a compartment in the weir. I tested the spa two or three times a week and added more bromine tablets as needed. Our water is a little hard so the pH usually stayed in range for 2 or 3 months with the tablets. After that I would add soda ash as needed to keep the pH in range. Then restart every 6 months or so. It was pretty easy and after some practice the first year, I kept could keep the water clear and bright without much effort. We also have a pool so I am used to regular testing. Now many of the new spas have ozone or UV systems. Also I am reading about “recipes” on this sight. They talk about something called MPS, or using bleach. They talk about having to add a teaspoon or tablespoon of this or that every time you go in the spa, for each bather. This all seems like a lot more complexity and work. Are new spas designed such that they need all this more sophisticated water chemistry care? Do I really need some ozone or UV system? Can’t I just use bromine tablets and soda ash like I did with my old Sundance spa? Or maybe I have been hot tubbing like a barbarian all these years and just did not know any better.