Visconajad69

This post is several years old but I must note that this is incredibly out of date information. The warranty is off, the spas are fully insulated, the cabinets are some of the best in the industry and more.

Most hot tub companies never sell online and go through a established dealer base. Why? Because you need someone who knows what they are doing to get you the spa, help you take care of the spa and fix it if there is a problem. So with that in mind I really doubt you found the same thing online. You may have found something that appeared to be similar but there is a huge risk when you buy online. You have no idea what you actually bought until it is at your door and many times that is where they will leave it. Good luck returning it or if you have any trouble with it. The big price is likely the MSRP. Typically most dealer price their spas any where from a few hundred dollars less to a few thousand less than MSRP. I also suspect the one you had quoted for 4,975 was a older model or something of that nature.

Typically, the controls are preprogrammed to ensure that the spa is optimized to filter and heat the spa. A pump on low speed draws very little power and is a part of the expected function. If you cut it back too much then you may have other issues in water quality. Another reason it may be running is if it needs to heat up the spa. Sometimes people will want to lower the spa temp if they are not going to use it for a few days. Here is the issue though... your spa is like a big thermos. It take a lot less energy to KEEP the temp right than to adjust it up and down. So... not to go too far down the rabbit hole on this topic if it is cold out side and your spa is set at 102 and it is currently 98 it will run to heat it up. The thought is that is what you want the temp to be so it does it. Another possibility, and I am not familiar with that particular spa control is that when you adjust the temp is only holds it for a while with the master temp still not changed. See your owner's manual.

Likely nothing is wrong. Your spa is pre-programmed to run as it needs to keep things heated and filtered. If it is cold out then it will likely run more. Many times people feel that if it is one at all then their energy bill is going to go through the roof. However, this is not the case. Most spa built today are very well insulted and much like a thermos and very energy efficient. There are ways to adjust the internal programming but the risk of messing around with it is that it doesn't circulate and heat the water enough and would actually cost you more.

I'm sure you've decided by now but thought I would share some thoughts nonetheless as I have insight into both of these brands. Sundance Spas are a solid made hot tub but their weakness is that you generally don't nearly as much bang for your buck as most other brands to include Four Winds Spas. On Sundance the pumps are smaller and thus the jets tend to also be smaller. The Clear Ray UV system is a clever idea but mostly to the benefit of Sundance and the dealers since you have to buy the bulb every year at about $100 a pop. Also, the technology doesn't 'kill' anything but rather neutralizes it so that it cannot reproduce. It is a great marketing story, which Sundance does well, but really it is not any better than any other option. Four Winds has gone through some massive changes over the last couple of years with some new investors getting into the mix. The spas have been vastly updated and honestly look amazing compared to anything in the past. The Frog System is not a dated feature but a feature that works and is very easy to use and even with Sundance the Clear Ray still requires that you still add chemicals into the water regularly. A better comparison to the Clear Ray would be a CD Ozonator which doesn't require you to replace it every year (about five years) and kills anything you want dead on contact and doesn't just neutralize it. Quality is no doubt in the eye of the beholder since the ironic thing is that nearly every hot tub made is made of parts from a few source manufacturers. So, as an example, the surface of the spa (acrylic) has two sources in the USA and everyone buys from them. So to say that one hot tub manufacturer has a great surface and another doesn't really makes no sense. Marketing it important but don't be tricked by smoke in mirrors.