Motor Hp?

[roseya]

Any suggestions about what kind of motor power to look for? I heard from one dealer not to look at motors under 4HP (not the breaking point, but the actual HP). But then we saw several Jacuzzi's at another dealer's place that had 2.5 HP and I know Jacuzzi is a good name, so what's the deal? Is there merit to what the first dealer said about staying at 4 HP and above?

On a second note, is it best to only consider tubs that have at least 2 motors?

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Rosey

[Dr. Spa]

It's best to consider a spa where the jets put out the appropriate pressure to make you happy

The HP you're "quoted" can be so manipulated, exaggerated, BSed and fantasized, I wouldn't pay any attention to whatever "number" a salesman or brochure tells you. WET TEST! If it feels right, it doesn't matter what the HP is.

[roseya]

Thanks for the opinion Dr. Spa. Did you get a message I tried to send to you?

I am also curious about the full insulation vs the partial insulation - any thoughts?

I just visited our Four Winds dealer and they only let you wet test what they have filled, which wasn't the model I was interested in...seems odd. Why would I buy it without trying it first?

Roseya

[Roger]

Thanks for the opinion Dr. Spa. Did you get a message I tried to send to you?

I am also curious about the full insulation vs the partial insulation - any thoughts?

I just visited our Four Winds dealer and they only let you wet test what they have filled, which wasn't the model I was interested in...seems odd. Why would I buy it without trying it first?

Roseya

On the insulation thing, full insulation versus partial. Would you rather have your house fully insulated or only partialy?

[avasicek]

On the insulation thing, full insulation versus partial. Would you rather have your house fully insulated or only partialy?

Most homes are partial. I do not have every square inch of my walls and attic full to the brim with insulation...

Do you?

General consensus here is that full foam is better, but partial done right works as well. The debate on that topic has been raging on these boards for a long long time, but almost always devolves into a ford vs chevy like shouting match. If you pick a spa you like, from a dealer you trust, for a price your happy with then just enjoy it. If you have the ability to wet test, you cant really go wrong there its like test driving a new car and is good advice. The motor issue or number of them, depends on the number of jets and the pressure your trying to achieve. A test soak will let you know what your interested in on that front. Good luck, let us know how the hunt turns out!

[TinyBubbles]

Rose, maybe taking the word "better" out of things, would make the insulation question easier to address. It's like asking which is better, an Escalade or a Honda Prius. No doubt, the Prius is more energy efficient, but people could argue forever about which vehicle is better. Many people don't care what kind of gas mileage their vehicle gets. I have no agenda, and think people should buy whatever spa they want. I can tell you, that I truely believe, that a spa with full foam insulation will always consume less power than a spa that does not use this insulation method. Does that make it better? Depends on what is important to you. Many people that buy tubs without full foam insulation, add additional insulation to their spas. I'm not sure how much this helps. You might be able to find threads where they post their results. Another thing to consider would be what part of the country you live in. If it's place that doesn't experience cold temps, maybe it's not that important. My sister lives in the same part of the country I do, uses her spa as much as we do, but it's not fully foamed. They say their spa is an energy pig, but they don't mind. It's their entertainment and they don't mind paying $60-70 dollars a month to operate it. My spa is full foam insulated and so far the largest increase we've seen on our power bill is $6. I can't think of a single arguement to make to say that my spa is better than theirs. It's just different. They love theirs, I love mine. They both do the same thing, give us relaxation and entertainment. As far as the hp, I think that was a ridiculous statement from the dealer. The hp of the pumps should be designed to support the number of jets in the spa and their placement. There is no hard and fast rule. I have 2, 3hp pumps in my spa and I'm very happy with it. There was the option of 1, 6 hp pump, but I wanted the versatility of 2 pumps. Ask the four winds dealer to let you test the spa you are interested in. It should be very easy for them to pump the water out of one spa and into the other, for you to test it.

[roseya]

Thanks so much for the input. I'm going to wet test the Jacuzzi's this week. I am interested in the J-365 and the J-375 (they are bringing this model back for 2008). I saw that they are full foam insulated - which to me sounds like it would be more energy efficient. I live in Louisville, KY where Jan/Feb do get into the single digits and teens at night. I'm not looking to increase my energy bill $60-$70, but $10 or so a month sounds reasonable.

The Four Winds dealer wasn't super friendly and flat out said "no" on wet testing the model I wanted to. So no buying from him. I believe I am entitled test out something I'm going to be spending several thousand dollars on...!

Thanks again for the responses!

[Dr. Spa]

$10? Maybe if you lived in Barbados

Most of the quality manufacturers say to figure on an AVERAGE of about a dollar a day..... Less in the summer, more in the winter.... Of course, this also depends on your own local weather conditions, and your electricity costs.