duck_man

I have a 2007 Artesian Gold Opal spa and after nearly 8 years the suction fittings are starting to self destruct, right on schedule (I read that they have a working life of 6-8 years). Problem is, they are now no longer legal because of some law passed in the US (I'm in Canada) so I cannot replace them. I have been looking everywhere and I am unable to find a replacement suction cover to fit. The old ones were: Pentair Max Flow 200 (x4) Pentair Max Flow 124 (x1) I have tried European websites that may still be able to sell them. No Canadian vendors have them because apparently we get most of our spa parts through the USA. I'm not worried about anyone drowning in my tub due to these suction fittings. No children go in the spa, let alone unsupervised children, and I'm still here after 8 years. You can't make parents smarter, so you make a law? Has anyone been able to come up with a replacement?

Thanks for the info. I'll try this for a few months but I'm already tempted to change back to bromine. For such an 'easy' system it's a pain in the rear.

Our spa dealer recommends we use SpaSolution, chlorine and nothing else. He recommends we add a 'little bit' of chlorine every 2 or 3 days and don't even bother checking the PH as the SpaSolution takes care of it by itself. How much is a little bit for our bather load? 2 adults, 1 hour per day. The PH seems very high compared to our last tub, in which I used bromine in a floating dispenser and had very few problems for eight years. Isn't PH above 8 too high? Is it hard on the tub? Also I have itchy dry skin all the time after using the tub. It seems like the chlorine disappears in no time and I'm constantly adding more. Should I just get a floating dispenser and little pucks like I had with the bromine tub, rather than testing and adding all the time? I used to simply shock and hose out the filter once per week. Now I'm constantly worrying about it. How do I do this?

Man, good thing you had that Costco lifetime protection warranty, allowing you to return the malfunctioning spa so easily and without question. Say, when did you buy the spa and what Hydro model was it? I bought a Platinum III (that's what the receipt from Costco said), otherwise known as a Legend - at the end of May. It sat in the garage until early July when the concrete/wiring were ready. I don't think it had a lifetime protection warranty - more like no warranty at all. When you call the company to get a leak fixed, a bottle of stop-leak arrives at your home 2 weeks later. Now that is a fantastic warranty! Luckily, Costco let me realize my mistake and return the POS - after I wasted a good portion of my summer messing around.

holy shite, people, can there be one thread here without the usual crew bickering about each other?

If you know your way around inside a panel go for it and buy the blank cover to take its place. BUT like pathfinder says - you wouldn't be here if you didn't need help and an electrical panel is no place for a newbie. If you kill the main breaker you should be fine because the live connections should be in a separate part of the box so you would have to be pretty unlucky to contact something live. If it's a modern panel ie. Siemens or Cutler Hammer, the breakers pop right out. You might want to get a friend to do it who's more experienced. Doesn't everyone 'know a guy' that could help out? I don't think you really need to go as far as to hire a Sparky to do it - it's easier to pull it apart than put it together - and remember to take a note as to how it was done so you can replicate it for your next tub!

That is obviously not a Costco tub - the insulation I see in the picture is about twice as thick as the insulation I found under the Hydrospas Costco hot tub I returned a few weeks ago. It DID have that silver bubblewrap thermal blanket crap but they must have ran out because it didn't go all the way around. I guess they couldn't seal it up too good, otherwise how would all the water drain from the various leaks? /disgruntled

[i did a 10x10 pad, 4" thick with 5x10" radius 4 foot deep sonotubes. One on each corner about 8" in and one in the middle. I also did rebar. At my last house I hired a concrete company to do the whole thing and this time I just copied what they did to prep it. That pad didn't move at all, or crack. This time it was $700 for the concrete and 2 guys to finish it all nice (better than I'd probably do). I was going to do it but I don't have the tools, experience, etc. I added the concrete into a load for a basement floor being done down the street so I avoided the small load charges etc.

We ended up getting the Opal - after spending some more time poking around at 2 Beachcomber dealers we went with the Artesian dealer - smaller dealer, nicer guy, better service. Less of a cheeseball sales pitch. After looking at every tub in town I was ready to give up and go home - I can only take so much of the BS 'our tub is the best', 'nobody else can do this' bla bla bla... I like both tubs but the Artesian seems more comfortable. Both are the same price at the end of the day. I wanted the Piper but it's way more tub than the two of us need. We also considered a Pacific but we were put off by the local dealer.

They come out to around the same price at the end of the day with the same goodies. the Beachcomber has a cooler stereo but the Opal has better controls. Opal has 3 pumps plus circ, Beachcomber has 2 plus circ. Both have ozone, similar jets, etc. Beachcomber has what may be better foot massage jets - have to try them. The beachcomber outboard pumps won't work where we need to put the tub so we'd get them in the tub like everyone else's pumps. Warranty looks a little better on the Artesian - Beachcomber makes you pay to have the same warranty as everyone else has standard??? What about insulation? Both are FF. What should I get.....or suck it up and get the Piper Glen - nice but over budget!

We sat in a Piper Glen Artesian model that is 37" deep. The Opal is 36". Not a deal killer. They seemed plenty deep. There's just me and the wife in it - I don't need a tub I can dive into.

I don't recall ever specifically highly recommending a Pacific over any others - I just thought after talking to a few people that it was a solid Canadian-built tub (and there are very few Mexicans up here so it's probably not made by cheap Mexican labor:) I returned my piece of garbage HydroSpa to Costco today. After talking to the dealers and seeing the spas I'm leaning towards Artesian. Yesterday I liked the Beachcomber 720 - especially the sound system. Now I want the Artesian. I kind of liked the Jacuzzi on Friday but it was nothing special. Good, but not great. I'm confused. Sundance was underwhelming for the money. The only D1 dealer in town is a company I swore I'd never again do business with after my experience with household appliances there - plus they're WAY overpriced - here in Calgary, anyway. At this point the dealer makes up just as much of my choice as the tub and the price. This is after realizing what it's like to spend ALL my free time taking apart, fixing and putting back together MYSELF a brand new spa that's UNDER WARRANTY. I've met a lot of cheesy stereotypical scumbag sales guys trying to sell me a line of bullcrap, and I've met some really good, honest guys, with valid reasons why they prefer what they do. Tomorrow I will probably go buy the Artesian Gold class Opal with all the goodies. I like the dealer and I like the tub - even if it IS built in the US. I hope it's better than your cars! duck_man

Thanks for the link to all the pics. you'd think for the cash we shell out a lot of the big names would clean it up a bit. On the other hand, brands like D1...it's easy to put a plastic divider behind your pump to hide the ugly and make the pumps look pretty - I'd like to tear down a D1 and see the reality behind the fancy plastic compartment. Wait until you see my soon-to-be-gone Platinum Legend. It's a legend all right. A Legend of embarrassment.

Here's a novel idea - let's keep this thread open for people to display pictures of the plumbing/electrical under their tubs. This way we can come on here and see the $3000 brand XXX tub's build quality vs. the $12000 brand YYY and make our own decisions. I'm going to post some pics of the embarrassing mess underneath my Platinum tub when I open it to disconnect the electrical to return it to Costco this weekend. I'd like to see underneath a Pacific/Arctic/Cal/D1/Jacuzzi/etc. before I buy another. It's easier to do here than to go to a dozen dealers. this way I can narrow the field first. Post away, people!

Wow, if that wasn't an outright product plug, I don't know what is. Were you simply being facetious?

You can buy a vinyl repair kit that should take care of it. You may be able to see where the cuts where, but at least they will be sealed again so your cover doesn't gain weight.

When I open the tub to disconnect the power this weekend I'll snap some photos of the guts.

Let me know what model and lifestyle packages you are looking at... I priced them all out in Moncton. As for the quality, they are VERY good... Take a look at the controllers and pumps... They are using top-end parts and the height of the tub makes them very comfortable. $7995 for a Calypso with Prestige package is what I was told today. CDN funds. Delivered and set up.

Today in calgary I was quoted $7995 CDN for a Pacific Calypso with the Prestige package. FYI.

My crappy Costco Hydrospa (it's getting returned this weekend for about a hundred reasons) is no noisier than any other tub I've been in. I have it on a concrete pad. I must say I was actually impressed with how quiet it was. Granted, I put $200 worth of extra insulation in it.

You seem like a sharp guy yet you went from an Arctic to a Costco tub? Anytime you need to call a manufacturer and they say they can "add insulation", it's kind of a big red flag isn't it? Did you not look in the spa prior to purchasing it as it seems many of the inefficiencies you have mentioned are easily seen if one knows what to look for (like yourself). I never got the chance to look at the 'guts' until I got the thing home. The Arctic I had was about 8 years old, very basic (1 pump, 21 jets, little lighting, etc.) and at the time, affordable. they seem to have raised their price now that their name is out there and semi-reputable. My experience with it: it had great insulation, as far as I can tell. Other than that, it was a simple tub. I've seen better and worse. Plus, I'm the type of person that, no matter what I buy or where, some improvement or modification is made to suit my personal expectations or tastes. I'm a tinkerer/amateur engineer I guess what I'm saying is that you knew you were getting a sub par product even prior to the purchase and that's easily seen when you read between the lines of your story. I have faith in Costco for the most part as everything else I buy there is stellar. I thought taking a chance on their tub would be worthwhile, since most of the crap I read on the internet doesn't exactly come from rock solid sources. Hell, if I look hard enough I can find bad things about every tub. I guess I should just go without? Besides, like I stated - I CAN TAKE IT BACK. If I don't like/have problems with XXX or YYY brand tub, after 3 months will they refund the entire price in cash with a smile on their face? No. BUT at the same time, If I have a problem, will they be more likely to help? Yes. My idea was if I could tinker a little bit and save $6000 then great! If not, I'm out nothing but some time. Lately, however, I'm short on time and the novelty has worn off. Your take on FF spas is flawed and it sounds like you have fallen victim to a sales pitch. I'm sure that since you've purchased an Arctic spa previously, that this is where the seed was planted. Too bad... I'm not an expert. It's simply my observations. I may one day have an FF spa. I don't remember ever discussing the insulation when I purchased the last tub (and I was a mere 22 years old and didn't care). I knew 2 other people with Arctic tubs that they liked and that was enough for me. I know more now. AND electricity is more expensive, so I'm starting to care how much I waste heating a crappy hot tub. Leaks, as mentioned here by real techs, are more common in a TP design due to lack of support of the plumbing. Yes, it is more difficult to repair a FF spa but 99% of repairs are within the pump area and not within the cabinet itself. Making this purchase based on FF or TP is a HUGE mistake made by consumers that have either fallen into the sales BS or just not educated themselves properly for this purchase. Often, it's both. The leaks I found were the product of bad installation - seals not seated etc. the ones I haven't been able to pinpoint yet, on the other hand, I don't know. I DO know that this particular tub has some very evident and serious build-quality issues that make it a waste of my time to try to improve on. I'm having a tough time feeling sorry for you as you knew most of this, though I wish Costco sold better spas and consumers like yourself didn't have to go through this sort of crap for a product that's designed to give relaxation to the end user. I'm not looking for people to feel sorry for me. I simply thought I'd share my experience, as most of what I see on this board can be interpreted as a bunch of juvenile bashing of XXX brand or YYYY brand by a bunch of people who seem to have no argument and instead make personal assaults. Not EVERYONE, but several people. I don't want people who aren't patient, handy 'tinkerers' to make a mistake and buy a nightmare and spend their weekends and evenings pulling the panels off their tubs instead of drinking beer IN their tubs. I'm looking at a Pacific Calypso now with the Prestige package, at a spa dealer that's been around for a while. I believe it's FF. If I buy it, I'll have experience with both types and have a more informed opinion. AND if I need help there may just be someone to assist me. I appreciate all of the useful opinions and help I receive here so I now ask - are there any reasons to avoid the Pacific?

From what I've seen/heard - and I'm still no expert - I'm not at all interested in a full-foam spa, more efficient or not. Seems kind of like buying a car with the hood welded shut. I had an Arctic that was not expensive to operate but of late I've seen a lot of unhappy Arctic owners. . . but not too many people with NO problems will come on a forum and scream about their fantastic tub. You only hear the complaints. Some justified, some not. I'd give up the stereo - I can do my own in the gazebo that will be built. The lights are neat though and I want them. Waterfall? Nah.

There's a ton of crap floating around here about the Costco tubs so here's what happened to me. I bought a Platinum tub from Costco. $6000 tub - tons of goodies, lots of jets, etc. I have had a hot tub before - an Arctic Yukon, so I knew what I could potentially be getting myself into. Thought I'd give it a try - it's Costco after all, where I have always had good experiences with their products and I could return it if it's crap! First (before I bought it) I called HydroSpas and asked them about the insulation. They assured me it was double-insulated for Canada's climate and it would not be a problem to add more. I just needed to let them know. They assured me it would not affect warranty. I got it home, took it all apart and checked out the insulation - or rather, lack of insulation. There was about 3/4" of crappy white styrofoam sheets - some panels didn't have any or were not completely covered. Then it was wrapped in silver bubble-wrap stuff. Except it didn't make it all the way around the tub - there was about a foot missing. Nice. I re-insulated with about 10 cans of foam and some 2" styro. I did the best I could, but many of the plumbing lines run so close to the edges I could not get any insulation behind them. I wonder if they could freeze when it's -30 here because they are so close to the edges? The re-insulating took about 8 hours. I fixed all the kinked hoses too. I finally got the tub into position and hooked up. It fired up and heated up fine. The stereo didn't work though. I pulled it all apart again and found that many of the connections were not making contact. They had used standard 12v crimp-type automotive connectors but crimped them with the wrong pliers. They mostly came apart in my hands. I'm an AV guy by trade so I fixed it. There's another hour down the drain. The lights didn't work properly. One of the little modules had a bad connection so I fixed it. Troubleshooting and repair, another hour. One of the jets was leaking instantly. The seal in the tub wasn't seated properly. Fixed by me. Another leak sprung up the next day. Fixed it. Now there are many more leaks, some I can't get at. I think the bottom foot jets are leaking. I spend the majority of my weekend leisure time lately filling the tub, taking it apart or putting it back together. It's garbage. I called HydroSpas and they sent out a bottle of stop-leak. What the hell? Where's the technician? I LOVE the spa - sort of - it's comfortable and I like the lights and stereo (now that they work). The jets are well placed and we go in it every day...but it's getting returned this weekend. Even with my extra insulation, I'm not convinced I can afford or justify keeping this piece of crap hot all winter. The only reason I can see that Hydro gets away with this is because they don't see the returned tubs again - Costco seems to send all it's returns to auction and it ends up in the 'last chance' liquidation places. Oh well, I tried. I had a hunch it might be junk and I was correct. Now, off to get a real tub.

I would look at Arctic as well. Had one in the past and it was a good, solid tub for 7 or 8 years. Now I have a'Crappy Costco Tub' that everyone bashes here but it's not up and running yet. Maybe tomorrow. IF my budget was higher I would buy another Arctic.

I wired mine last week in a very similar situation. I bought 6-3 Teck x 110 feet x 15 per meter at Home Depot (they had to beat Rona - HD was priced at $27+ per meter!) and $139 for the 60A 220V GFCI breaker at Costco. It's a Siemens so it even fit in my Cutler panel. I was going to run normal indoor wire in the house to a junction, then Teck from there to the tub (outside) but by the time you splice that big wire and get all the parts and pieces to do it right, it was the same price or less to just run Teck the whole way and not have to bother splicing. It took me about an hour and a half to two hours to run it all and tie it in, if that helps you.