SpaSage

Eh.... you're kind of in a weird window there. The part number is more than likely 6600-164. This was used in all models in 2011 with revisions F, G, and H. Can you confirm the revision or month of production?

You shouldn't need to use teflon on the 2" connections on the wet end of the pump. You do want to use a bit of teflon on the nut(s) or bleeder connections. These will be much smaller, 1/4"-ish.

It really depends on what you are using the spa for and some personal preferences. I would recommend a Nordic Hot Tub for that price range. However, if you are looking for a spa with a lounge seat I would probably recommend something else. Or... if you want an acrylic shell, Nordic does not provide this as an option. Are you buying it just for relaxation or are you looking for some kind of jet/water therapy?

I will echo a bit of what has already been said here- a fully insulated hot tub would be your best choice in a cold environment. In my opinion the fully insulated hot tubs usually run quieter. I'm not sure if this is fully a result of the insulation muffling the sound, or if it's partly due to the higher quality components generally associated with the brands who chose to use full foam cabinets. Either way, there are benefits. The odds of having a leak from a glue joint inside of a spa are very, very low. Almost all leaks will occur inside of the equipment compartment. Water balance is often the culprit, so make sure to always keep your levels within their ideal ranges. Hot Springs is certainly a nice brand, but unlike Dr. Spa, I have seen some leak issues and heating issues with them. The most common source for this is their Moto Massage design. If you can get a Hot Springs without that option, I would recommend that. One added benefit to some of the Watkins (Hot Springs, Caldera) spas is that a lot of them have a split breaker- 20 amp and 30 amp, instead of a single 40 amp or 50 amp. The advantage to that is that the heater and circulation pump are on a separate breaker from the jet pumps. So... if your heater trips to ground your spa doesn't shut off. If the temperature in the spa continues to drop, the spa will go into "ice mode" and the jet pumps will run to prevent the spa from freezing. If a jet pump trips out, the spa will still heat. It sounds like you do not have much faith in your local Hot Springs dealer, and I think that it is important to buy your spa from someone who you can trust and who has a good service reputation. If you're buying from a dealer who is a bit further away you may want to make sure that you discuss how much warranty work on your spa is going to cost. Some companies may add a small travel fee for warranty work that is outside of their normal service range. I'd also recommend doing a quick Google search on whichever dealer you decide to go with to get an idea for how their current customers feel.

I agree with Swine... I would guess that it's S36010100, specifically.

I doubt that he is a hot tub technician based upon his recommendations! If you're asking if you should pay $20,000 for a Sundance Optima, the answer is a simple "no."

Yes, because you are replacing everything (control pack, topside control, heater, sensors) you can put it in any spa. You may have to plumb in the heater, depending on what was there before. The heaters on these units are just flow through heaters. I'm not sure what kind of setup you currently have in that older unit. The plumbing is just straight forward stuff and you can get the high pressure PVC that you need at your local Home Depot or Lowes, if you need it. The units are made by Balboa and are called VS (Value Series) Packs. Do a quick Google search for Balboa VS510SZ and you can see what they look like. Don't forget, the kit does NOT include the pump(s). Let me know if you have any other questions!

I know that you can in the higher end brands. They also make swim spas that have duel temperature zones.

A lot of times you can't get parts for a spa that old. If you have issues with it you may have to replace the board, heater, and topside with a kit. One of these kits usually runs somewhere between $650 - $850. The price will depend on a few different things, mainly how many pumps and components are in the unit. If the rest of the hot tub is in a condition that you are happy with, and the pump is running fine, ask yourself if it's worth spending $1250.00 for a hot tub. If you get it for $400 and it works great; awesome. If something fails and you have to replace the "guts" of the spa, well... at least you were prepared. At that point you basically have a new spa and you still haven't spent a ton of money.

I know the newer heater boards come from Watkins with the part number 77119 on them, the old 74618 is not listed on them or their packaging. I know that a lot of the website that you can order the boards from will list both numbers... I don't know if that means that their stock is new or that their stock may be old. I haven't had any issues with the newer boards failing yet.... but I won't be at all surprised if I start to see this problem in the near future. As far as the soldering goes... I mean, it looks legit from here but, I don't have an experience with that kit or with replacing relays on this board specifically.

Hi Karen, Your best bet is probably a Nordic D'Amour. Nordic hot tubs are fairly simple, as hot tubs go... but they do use high quality components- Balboa heater/electronics, Aquaflo XP2 pumps. You shouldn't have many issues with this brand at all. If, for some reason, you do, you can get the components from almost anywhere. They are not fully insulated, but you can order them with an extra title 20 insulation option. You should definitely opt for this, as it is an inexpensive addition. The D'Amour is available in three different package- 110v, MS, or SE. You should go with the MS, which has the option to be wired 110v/220v, and you should wire it 220v. This will run the heater at 4 kw instead of 1 kw. Since this hot tub does not have a circulation pump, that will help keep the cost of running it down. It will also improve functionality in colder weather if you are trying to run the pumps on high speed and it calls for heat. The D'Amour is a fairly deep hot tub. The two seats are actually different heights. One is two inches higher than the other, although I'm not exactly sure of the depth. The best way to avoid chemicals is an EcoSmarte system, but they are expensive and the D'Amour is already going to be near (if not slightly above) your $4000 budget. You could look into an alternative to chlorine or bromine, like a hydrogen peroxide based sanitizer. My recommendation would be to go with chlorine or bromine if you don't have an allergy. You can keep the levels much lower than you've probably experienced in public pools or hot tubs. Let me know if you are looking for any other information, or if you have any questions about any brands specifically. I don't know all of them, but I do know a bunch!

Your first, and most significant problem, is that the spa is not holding water. You should address this first before you invest in any brand or model specific hot tub parts. You should remove the door to the equipment compartment and then begin filling the spa through the filter compartment. Try to spot any leaks in the equipment compartment, or dripping water around the spa, while it is filling. If you don't notice any leaks, put a small piece of tape (or other marker) at the water line and let the spa sit overnight. Infiniti Spas is a brand and Atlantis is one of their models. I'm not sure how Sunrise Spas ties in here, perhaps in this instance it is a dealer's name? If you can post a photograph of the spa (as Dr. Spa requested) someone here will be able to confirm that this is indeed the spa that you have.

Check the voltage between H1 and H2 on the heater board. If it's not around 240v, it's the heater relay board. If it is around 240, it's the heater. You can confirm this by checking the amps of the heater... should be around 16.

Dimension One was recently purchased by Jacuzzi, but you can still buy D1 parts online at a site dedicated to D1 parts at a reasonable price. (can I list the site, or is that against the rules?) Since D1 was sold their design and parts have not changed, and before they were purchased it was a privately owned and developed company; one owner operator. It is true that they have recently moved their main plant from Vista, CA over the boarder into Mexico. Although I'm not sure that being based in the USA alone is any indication of quality; ahem, Viking Spas... As a Marquis dealer I'm sure that you do think that they are the best in the industry. I agree with Aficionado, everyone is going to have their own opinions here.

Did you add clarifier? If you add clarifier and the water balance is off, especially the PH, clarifier can clump things together too quickly. When this happens all of that stuff that got clumped together floats to the surface and sticks to the water line. Dealers will often tell you to add clarifier weekly. You don't need to do this. If the water is balanced correctly it should be clear without adding clarifier. I suggest you either reduce or eliminate the use of your clarifier for the next couple of weeks.

Salt systems are extremely corrosive; imagine metal anything near the ocean. As far as I know, if a salt system is not factory installed on a hot tub installing one will completely void the warranty. This is true for all brands. A salt system is a chlorine system. When your spa needs chlorine the generator splits the sodium chloride (salt) and makes the chlorine available for sanitation. Bromine is used to stabilize chlorine, but chlorine is still the sanitizer in a bromine system. If you have a reaction to bromine but not to your salt system, the simplest solution would be to switch to straight chlorine. You shouldn't have a reaction to that. If you want a chemical free system that doesn't require much balancing and is not corrosive you should get an EcoSmarte. If you're in love with your salt system you basically have two options. You can get a Hot Springs (or other brand) that is designed from the factory to run on a salt system, or... you can learn to love replacing rusted out heaters and seals.

Hi Omi, I've got some thoughts on some of the spas that you've looked at and, even, a suggestion for one that you should check out! First off, I wouldn't go with the Jacuzzi either. While it is a decent brand, it is also a brand that uses a lot of proprietary parts and charges what they want for them. This isn't exactly an uncommon practice, but Jacuzzi is exceptionally evil about it. It's odd that you like Hot Springs so much and don't have much interest in Caldera. It's the same company; Watkins Manufacturing. Is a Hot Spot Rhythm different from a Caldera Vanto? Caldera has three different lines of spas, the spas in the Utopia land Paradise lines are actually quite nice... but will be priced on par with the Hot Springs that you looked at. I don't consider Marquis and Coast high end spas, but I don't consider them low quality either. One piece of information that I don't know is where you live. I am in New England, so it gets cold here and insulation is a defining factor for me. If you live in Arizona, you might not care about insulation much at all. A spa that I would suggest checking out is the Dimension One Latitude. The Latitude can be ordered with a circulation pump and an ozone system- get this option! It's a large spa with a lounge that should give you plenty of space. Dimension One also has nice lounges. I like the shape and feel of them. Don't buy a spa with a stereo in it. Buy nice outdoor speakers instead. They will cost less and sound better. Make sure you like the dealer you are buying the spa from. It's going to have a warranty and you may have to deal with the person who sold it to you again. It's important that they service what they sell and have a good reputation. You definitely want to sit in a spa before you buy it. They're all different, and buying one you haven't seen is a poor idea.

It could be the board, or it could be a sensor... or, believe it or not, it could be the topside control. Are you certain that the tub would run without any issues if you set the temperature to 99? A lot of times a spa will run in default mode when the topside control is unplugged. I'm not sure what the default temperature setting is for Gulf Coast, but most companies use temperatures between 99 and 102. You can try to unplug the topside to check the functionality of the spa for a couple of days- make sure that it maintains temperature and filter cycles. If it seems to be working fine then you probably have a topside issue and it will need to be replaced. Gecko tech should be willing to talk to you and could probably tell you whether or not it is the topside without having to do any testing yourself.

If it happens in the future you can try moving the diverter valves around the top of the spa to different positions between attempts at turning the pump on and off. If all else fails you can shut the power to the spa off, open the equipment compartment, and manually crack the union on the front of the pump. These unions are hand tight, so you should not need tools for this. If you do use a wrench be careful not to over tighten the union.

This should be fully covered under warranty and you shouldn't try to fix it yourself. D1 is a great company, but they can get a bit picky when it comes to people or techs who aren't from a D1 dealer working on their spas when they are still under warranty. Are all of the LEDs malfunctioning at the same time, or is it just a random couple of lights doing their own thing?

I'm not sure where you live, but one thing to keep in mind is that Watkins (Hot Springs, Caldera, Tiger River) does not use pressure treated wood to build their frames. If the Vanguard that you're looking at has always been outside, especially on a slab and not a deck, you should check the wood base to make sure that it is solid. I am in New Hampshire and this is a constant issue here with Watkins spas. Another common issue with Hot Springs is that the Moto-Massage seats will eventually stop going up and down. They will cost $100+ each to replace, but can easily be done by the spa owner. There is also a small plastic nipple that is a part of the structure of the spa that the Moto-Massage connects to. It's not uncommon for this piece to break off or crack, causing a leak. So, those are some of my negative experiences with Hot Springs in terms of older models. All that being said, it is definitely a high quality spa. $2200 is right on the line for what I would pay for a ten year old Vanguard. If it's in great shape, it's worth it. If it is only in decent shape or worse... I'd probably pass on it.