ht2020

I think that the point n1oty was making is that if something goes wrong ie: you electrocute someone, cause a fire etc you will file an insurance claim. Theoretically the insurance company could say that this was unpermitted work EVEN THOUGH it was done my a licensed electrician and was done "to code". I don't know whether this point is correct and if an insurance company can deny your claim because you failed to get a permit, even though the work was properly done. I have recently had some general liability issues in the properties that I own and I don't think that these are minor issues. However, having said that, I think the vast majority of people probably don't pull permits on this kind of work and it is most-likely a non-issue 99% of the time.

Very interesting post, n1oty. I was thinking of a hybrid solution ie: getting a licensed electrician who will do everything properly and not skimp on anything BUT not pull a permit. The problem with the permit is that once the city is involved the whole thing becomes a mess. I do recognize that insurance may be an issue here if there is a problem

Actually, I've discovered that all Hot Springs spas with a moto massage seat have this limitation. As far as I can tell there is not much control of these seats. The neck massage jets are always on with no possibility of significantly controlling them. You can reduce their intensity by a little but there is no way of turning them off unless you turn the entire pump off. Likewise, the motomassage itself is always on unless you turn the pump entirely off. There is no manual manipulation of these jets. Personally, I find that after a few minutes on the DS motomassage seat I've had enough. The other seats on the Vanguard are nice because you can exquisitely control the jets. I've been told that there is no way around this. Some threads on the forum reference a special type of plate that one can put over the single motomassage seat to modify this behaviour a little. I may try this.

I just got an estimate for the cost of building a vault for my hot tub. The idea was to sink it down about 24 inches to give it a nicer more streamlined look in our small yard. I just received a quote for $5000 for the job (not including electrical). The fellow who gave the quote said that the drop between the back yard and the street was about 18 inches and therefore a vault of 24 inches would have to have a sump pump incorporated into it. He also made a big point about the fact that the Jacuzzi brand spas were much better for vaulting than the hot springs spas due to a "bottom pan" or something like that which helped protect the jacuzzi brand from flooding but not the hot springs spas. He further advised me that if water damage occurred to my hot springs in the vault it would not be covered by hot springs' warranty (whereas it would by Jacuzzi). I was very surprised because i assume there must be thousands of vaulted hot springs spas and surely it can't be such an issue? Any advice appreciated (about the cost and the advice in general). Does this cost for vaulting alone appear appropriate?

I'm intending on installing a Hot Springs spa in my backyard and thought that I would check on the neccessity of acquiring a permit. I live in West Los Angeles and called the local building and safety office to make inquiries. I got the distinct impression that getting a permit would be quite cumbersome. The inspector I spoke to sounded very officious and was lecturing me on a self-locking cover, a 5 foot enclosure around the spa etc. I then asked what if I wanted to semi-vault the spa (ie: about 20 inches) and he said that the vaulting would have to be inspected before the spa was put into it etc. Do people actually go through all of this or is this routinely ignored? I spoke to an installer who does vaulting and he told me that he would charge me an extra $1000 to pull the permit and deal with all the issues relating to it. I prefer to do things above board but this sounds like a big fuss and a potential headache.

Thanks Spa Savant. You've lived up to your name. I think I hit upon the perfect storm of spa seats ie: a user who doesn't like vigorous massage but whose favorite seat forces him to endure vigorous massage or no massage at all. It's a really strange design and I hope that the Vanguard doesn't have this. Thanks again

I recently wet testing an Aria and was turned off by something described as a "limitation" by the dealer. There was one seat in the rear which had a series of very vigorous jets in the neck and back area. Apparently, those jets could not be turned to a "low" setting or adjusted in any way. The only two options was to use it on the high setting or to turn off the pump entirely (thus affecting the jets at the other seats). This may not be a limitation for those who enjoy very vigorous hydromassage, but I personally do not. My question is will I find the same limitation on the Hot Springs Vanguard and other HS models that I am interested in ? Or is this a quirk of the Aria alone? Thanks in advance.