Water Temperature, Which Is Better?

[Eddie Haskell]

My wife and I are at odds, I say keep the tub at a lower temperature and turn it up when we plan to use it she says just keep it at 104 and be done with it. We just got the tub (1999 Coleman Horizon 448) so we have no idea how this is going to affect our electric bill. I'm a bit of a tightwad and want to save the expense of heating it when nobody is using it but her theory is nobody's getting in it when you have to wait for the water to heat. She makes a point that it probably costs more to warm it up than it does to maintain, what is your experiences with this?

I live in WI so the cost of heating this thing could become a real issue soon, please help.

[Chas]

her theory is nobody's getting in it when you have to wait for the water to heat.

She is right.

[dlynn]

My wife and I are at odds, I say keep the tub at a lower temperature and turn it up when we plan to use it she says just keep it at 104 and be done with it. We just got the tub (1999 Coleman Horizon 448) so we have no idea how this is going to affect our electric bill. I'm a bit of a tightwad and want to save the expense of heating it when nobody is using it but her theory is nobody's getting in it when you have to wait for the water to heat. She makes a point that it probably costs more to warm it up than it does to maintain, what is your experiences with this?

I live in WI so the cost of heating this thing could become a real issue soon, please help.

You can't just heat it up in a few minutes, it takes quite a while to raise the temp just 4-5 degrees maybe an hour depending on the tub. I would leave it set where you use it and you will enjoy it more. A tub full of cold water is not good for much. If it costs to much to operate you can add more insulation to the inside of the Cabinet walls or get a thicker cover.

[Spa User Guy]

My wife and I are at odds, I say keep the tub at a lower temperature and turn it up when we plan to use it she says just keep it at 104 and be done with it.

I would leave the temperature set within 1 degree of where you like it, otherwise you won't end up using your spa as much. It is quite in inconvenience waiting for your tub to "heat up" when you are all set to use it. I personally keep mine at 101 as I find anything warmer is simply too hot, guess you better check with the boss on that first though. Women tend to like it a little warmer.

[Roger]

I would leave the temperature set within 1 degree of where you like it, otherwise you won't end up using your spa as much. It is quite in inconvenience waiting for your tub to "heat up" when you are all set to use it. I personally keep mine at 101 as I find anything warmer is simply too hot, guess you better check with the boss on that first though. Women tend to like it a little warmer.

There is some logic behind lowering the temp and re-heating, less heat loss at the lower temp, less heater use while the temp is dropping to catch the set temp. But there also is more cost to heat it before use. When all is said and done, sorry Chas, it is a couple pennys cheaper to let it cool and reheat if your span between reheats is long enough. But IMO not worth the effort or waiting for reheat.

[Eddie Haskell]

Thanks for the replies, looks like we will leave it hot for the convenience factor.

Anybody have a guesstamite on what this thing is going to cost me per month?

[spalover]

I don't like keeping it that hot, simply because you can stay in it a heck of a lot longer if you keep it around 99 or so. 104 is way too hot for more than a short soak; we have a Vita with lots of therapy jets, so we want to stay in for a while and move around to the different positions (each one massages a different area). If your spa is like that, you may well find that you prefer a cooler temp. so you can spend more quality spa time.

[NorthWoodsDipper]

She is right.

Would you feel the same way for my circumstances? I am out of town Monday-Friday. Does it still make more sense just to leave the spa @ my normal temp for those 5 days? BTW, I live in Minnesota - BRRRRRRRRRRR.

Steven

[spatech (the unreal one)]

My wife and I are at odds, I say keep the tub at a lower temperature and turn it up when we plan to use it she says just keep it at 104 and be done with it. We just got the tub (1999 Coleman Horizon 448) so we have no idea how this is going to affect our electric bill. I'm a bit of a tightwad and want to save the expense of heating it when nobody is using it but her theory is nobody's getting in it when you have to wait for the water to heat. She makes a point that it probably costs more to warm it up than it does to maintain, what is your experiences with this?

I live in WI so the cost of heating this thing could become a real issue soon, please help.

A man after my own heart!! I am a card carrying member of the "don't waste anything" club as well. When I got my first spa year ago I would turn it down 3 or 4 degrees and then turn it up when it was time to go in but many times I'd notice the next day it hadn't drop all the way down by the ntime we wee going back in. Then it dawned on me to run a little test to see how well it was insulated. I turned the set temp down 15°, covered the spa and monitored how long it would take to drop in temp by checking it a couple times per day being careful to not leave it open except for the second it took to check the temp. What I found was the spa was very well insulated and it took a couple days to actually drop the 10° and I think I increased the temp before it even went down the full 15°. I quickly realized that my heater wasn't coming on much more at all by leaving it up to temp versus dropping it 3° and all I was really doing was inconveniencing myself and my family when we wanted to go in by having to plan 20 minutes ahead. It was hardly worth the $3 or so a month I might have been saving by playing the temp game.

If your spa is well insulated and with your wife saying you should leave it up to temp I'd tell her "OK dear, anything for you". You'll lose out by being stubborn on this one way or the other.