Master Spa 2009 Cape Cod Se

[new2spa]

We are looking at purchasing a hot tub in the next few months, and we are leaning towards the 2009 Master Spa Cape Cod SE. We've wet tested this spa as well as two HotSprings models. We also looked at CalSpa but weren't too impressed.

We were quoted $6300 (including tax, delivery, stairs, cover, lift, chem kit). This is within our budget, so we feel comfortable with the price.

We have read a lot about their marketing ploys (traveling circus), and we aren't impressed, but we live in Indiana near the MasterSpa Headquarters/Factory so we feel like we are supporting the local economy as well as buying a nice spa.

Here are our questions:

1. Does anyone own this 2009 model?

2. If so, what do you like/dislike about the spa?

3. What do you think about the quality?

4. What is the average monthly electric and chem cost? (We live in IN with below 0 temps in the winter at times)

5. Is there anything else you would suggest?

If you do not like MasterSpa please let us know why (beside their marketing techniques - or lack there of).

Any suggestions/tips are greatly appreciated!

[spatech (the unreal one)]

If you do not like MasterSpa please let us know why (beside their marketing techniques - or lack there of).

Besides their shady sales reputation (which really IS a reflection on how much they care about their customers) I'm not a fan of Master due poor energy efficeincy and less than stellar quality. I know its enticing with them being local but they won't help you in January when you look at your energy bill with wide eyes and besides that, there are just too many better options out there IMO (personally I'd go with Arctic, Caldera, D1, Hot Spring, Jacuzzi, Marquis, Sundance and many others long before I'd consider Master).

[Roger]

If you do not like MasterSpa please let us know why (beside their marketing techniques - or lack there of).

All the Master Spa's I have seen have been less than sellar also, as energy hogs and medioce quality. I think your looking at the Down East line by Master Spa so there value line, even less quality and more energy usage.

[new2spa]

Thanks Spatech and Roger. Here's another problem we've ran into. Around our area, we have the following choices for spas: MasterSpa, CalSpa, Three Rivers Spa, and Hotsprings. We liked HotSprings, but the local dealer has a limited selection as far as the style of tub we want (no lounger). We really feel like we are pretty limited in our options here. That's no excuse to buy junk by any means, but we are just trying to find the best spa for the money. Any suggestions on the HotSpring situation? What about CalSpa? What do you think of them?

[spatech (the unreal one)]

Thanks Spatech and Roger. Here's another problem we've ran into. Around our area, we have the following choices for spas: MasterSpa, CalSpa, Three Rivers Spa, and Hotsprings. We liked HotSprings, but the local dealer has a limited selection as far as the style of tub we want (no lounger). We really feel like we are pretty limited in our options here. That's no excuse to buy junk by any means, but we are just trying to find the best spa for the money. Any suggestions on the HotSpring situation? What about CalSpa? What do you think of them?

I'm not a big fan of Cal either but I'd go that route over Master but I think there are better options than Cal as well which is why I didn't list them earlier when I stated which brands I personally think are some of the best out there.

As far as suggestions on the Hot Spring situation, I think I read it wrong at first but now I see that you're saying he just doesn't have a few models you'd like to see on his floor. If that's the case you could see if another dealer is in your proximity who has the model so you can at least go and see it (dry test it, wet test it, whatever) and decide if its right for you. In the end you would want to buy from the local guy because you really want your dealer to be in your area. That of course depends on where you live.

[realDrew]

Insulation in the Master Spa - Down East models really is not very good. I've had one since Thanksgiving 2008 and had to put some pink insulation inside, but you can see obvious areas that are not insulated and you can't really get too. Add at least $100 to your hydro bill each month for good measure in the winter months!

The glass cover plate came off the tv last month, and i siliconed it back on.

DVD player stopped working last month; looks like there was not a fuse on the power line and it might have fried inside; i'm having it checked now. (I did run a sat. tv line in though so i am surviving!!!).

The original filter clogged up right away and i use the pleated only at the moment.

If you are still thinking about it, I'd drop your asking price down an additional 2k and pay by Visa for extra security. They probably have a ton of these sittting in the warehouse right now!!

Have a look at Hydropool, they make a nice self-cleaning line; and I'd go with the salt water as the chlorine in the hot tub is alot more intense than in a swimming pool and you won't go to bed with that smell in your nose all night long. Get one with jets by your feet, as nothing beats a good foot massage!!! (well, almost nothing ;-) )

Just my 2 cents. Drew.

We are looking at purchasing a hot tub in the next few months, and we are leaning towards the 2009 Master Spa Cape Cod SE. We've wet tested this spa as well as two HotSprings models. We also looked at CalSpa but weren't too impressed.

We were quoted $6300 (including tax, delivery, stairs, cover, lift, chem kit). This is within our budget, so we feel comfortable with the price.

We have read a lot about their marketing ploys (traveling circus), and we aren't impressed, but we live in Indiana near the MasterSpa Headquarters/Factory so we feel like we are supporting the local economy as well as buying a nice spa.

Here are our questions:

1. Does anyone own this 2009 model?

2. If so, what do you like/dislike about the spa?

3. What do you think about the quality?

4. What is the average monthly electric and chem cost? (We live in IN with below 0 temps in the winter at times)

5. Is there anything else you would suggest?

If you do not like MasterSpa please let us know why (beside their marketing techniques - or lack there of).

Any suggestions/tips are greatly appreciated!

[Stuart A]

Have a look at Hydropool, they make a nice self-cleaning line

How does that work then.

Also Master spa are not the only company that uses odd sales techniques, a few months ago there was a television show on which

Hydropool used people who knew very little about spas and they had to try and sell as many as they could at an exhibition.

Saying that though when I first got interested in buying a spa it was at an exhibition and Hydropool was there with Hotspring. Master Spa and another company with East in its name. I can remember that Hydropool had the most expensive spas, not sure if that means they were the best there.

I would recommend that anyone buying a spa would try and wet test as many different makes as possible, afterall this is free and dealers are willing to do this, make sure you phone and ask before going.

[RickJ]

I have a 2003 Down East spa that I bought used a couple of years ago. It's made by Master. As others have said, this thing is an energy hog. My electric bill increased about $150 per month in the winter compared to what it was before I had the spa. Last year I replaced all the white bead board insulation on the spa with 2" thick pink styrofoam insulation. I did this on three sides, because on the fourth side the plumbing lines were so close to the outside of the tub that they didn't have any insulation. (Down East had cut holes in the insulation to allow clearance for the water lines. Kind of defeats the purpose of the thermopane insulation concept). Then I wrapped the entire tub with the reflectex bubble wrap insulation. That way, the whole tub has a good vapor barrier around it. Doing all that extra insulation helped me reduce my electric bill by about $50-$70 per month this past winter. But it's still alot higher than it was without a tub, and alot higher than Master Spa claimed it would be. Their claim of "pennies per day" means about 500 pennies per day.

So, if you buy a Down East or Master Spa, you should plan on spending alot for electricity, and spending some time and money reinsulating the tub.

[Stuart A]

I just got a bit curious and looked on Master spas website, whilst eveyone knows that insulation will reduce energy costs. There is another thing which is being overlooked, their models are advertised with four pumps. Now that will add a lot to an electric bill especially if the spa is used regulary with all pumps running. The power of these spas must be very good. I have seen them but never wet tested one.

[spatech (the unreal one)]

I just got a bit curious and looked on Master spas website, whilst eveyone knows that insulation will reduce energy costs. There is another thing which is being overlooked, their models are advertised with four pumps. Now that will add a lot to an electric bill especially if the spa is used regulary with all pumps running. The power of these spas must be very good. I have seen them but never wet tested one.

Keep in mind this is Master (of deception) so when they say "4 pumps" that could easily mean 2 jet pumps, 1 circulation pump and one blower pump.

Nevertheless, your point is valid. Larger pumps for the sake of Marketing to mak the spa seem more "powerful" is something some makers will do as they know some customers think bigger is better. In reality you get to a point where the extra horsepower is not beneficial to the spa experience and only adds to your power bill.

[new2spa]

Thanks a lot for all of your feedback. Drew - we appreciate hearing your story and we will definitely be looking a lot longer before we buy. Sounds like MasterSpa is not the spa for us...unless we can get it DIRT cheap!

[Roger]

Have a look at Hydropool, they make a nice self-cleaning line; and I'd go with the salt water as the chlorine in the hot tub is alot more intense than in a swimming pool and you won't go to bed with that smell in your nose all night long. Get one with jets by your feet, as nothing beats a good foot massage!!! (well, almost nothing ;-) )

Just my 2 cents. Drew.

Ummmmmm.....every spa I have ever worked on has been the self cleaning kind. I didn't know they made spas that you had to clean yourself?????

Salt systems are clorine generation systems. A proper chlorine regimen will have you soaking in less chlorine than tap water.

Sorry Drew I wasn't blasting you it' just seems you've drank some koolaid and are a bit fuzzy from it.

[realDrew]

Hi Rodg,

You are technically correct in that the term "self cleaning" should apply in part to most hot tubs.

I guess what I am referring to is the fact that more of the cleaning in that model line is automatic, and they quote: "The Hydropool Self-Cleaning system takes the worry and hassle of hot tub maintenance away with a hands-free cleaning system that safe guards you and your family by providing crystal clear purified water for your hot tub experience. The Self-Cleaning System actually cleans 100% of the water every 15 minutes and even includes a built-in floor vacuum as part of the science of the worry-free, Self-Cleaning technology of Hydropool Hot Tubs. Don’t you wish everything in life could be this easy?"

Combining this with a salt (chlorine generating) system leaves little room for human error if the settings are correct.

Sure you can argue that you can do it better with proper attention, but such is the human condition...

I haven't had Kool-Aid since I was a kid, but now you've made me thirsty and I'll see what is in the cupboard!

Cheers,

Drew.

Have a look at Hydropool, they make a nice self-cleaning line; and I'd go with the salt water as the chlorine in the hot tub is alot more intense than in a swimming pool and you won't go to bed with that smell in your nose all night long. Get one with jets by your feet, as nothing beats a good foot massage!!! (well, almost nothing ;-) )

Just my 2 cents. Drew.

Ummmmmm.....every spa I have ever worked on has been the self cleaning kind. I didn't know they made spas that you had to clean yourself?????

Salt systems are clorine generation systems. A proper chlorine regimen will have you soaking in less chlorine than tap water.

Sorry Drew I wasn't blasting you it' just seems you've drank some koolaid and are a bit fuzzy from it.

[realDrew]

Not a problem, hope I could help.

The only reason I bought mine at a show was that I had planned on buying one over the next 1.5 years anyway, and thought I was getting a bargain. At the time I guess I was, but if I had waited, and done a bit of background checking, I think I could have purchased a better quality brand for an even lower price. I think the only reason a dealer would keep their pricing up now is that they had purchased the tub for a high price and need to recover some of their costs back through the sale.

Another popular quality tub seems to be the Arctic make.

Thanks a lot for all of your feedback. Drew - we appreciate hearing your story and we will definitely be looking a lot longer before we buy. Sounds like MasterSpa is not the spa for us...unless we can get it DIRT cheap!