Costco Platinum Ii 4 Years And Still Happy

[Brent Hamm]

I have been gone for along time..got fed up with some of the stuff on here...

Anyways...back then..some of the haters said see if i still like it in a year or two..well.we still love it.

Anyways...covers..i do need a new cover. Ours has had it...and i think that is more our fault then Costco or Hydrospa. None the less, any recommendations on a replacement cover?

[Roger]

I have been gone for along time..got fed up with some of the stuff on here...

Anyways...back then..some of the haters said see if i still like it in a year or two..well.we still love it.

Anyways...covers..i do need a new cover. Ours has had it...and i think that is more our fault then Costco or Hydrospa. None the less, any recommendations on a replacement cover?

From 4-5 years on forward is where value is created. An 8 thousand dollar tub starts at 10 or 15 years. No haters here just realists.

Covers from RHTUBS dot com are fabulous.

[Firemedic]

A friend of mine recently ordered a new cover from www.Costco.ca Simple to measure & submit online. Cover was shipped directly to his house (rural manitoba) no problems. He's happy.

Price was $349.99 delivered.

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Productgroup.a...rtial&Nty=1

[Markee]

Good luck getting parts from a bankrupt company that is no longer in business.

[Dr. Spa]

Aren't the vast majority of part generic? e.g. made by someone else and commonly used throughout the spa industry?

[Markee]

Some, but not all.

[Brent Hamm]

Haha...i do not need any parts. Cept a cover and that is generic.

Thanks Firemedic and Roger..i will check both of those out.

[bob81]

Glad you are still happy. Majority of the board is glad to hear you are enjoying your spa. There are only a few posters that are very anti Costco, but unfortunately they are very vocal. I went against their advice and purchased a stong spa last month and its been great so far, for something that was more in my budget range.

[hot_water]

>> "Good luck getting parts from a bankrupt company that is no longer in business. "

>> "Aren't the vast majority of part generic? e.g. made by someone else and commonly used throughout the spa industry?"

>> "Some, but not all"

Posts like this are just a FUD campaign (not the one in the middle). There's nothing in that Hydrospa that can't be easily replaced with something generic. The replacement, if it involves an a handle or such, might not have the identical appearance to the original. Aw shucks.

By the way, I had three years on my Costco Hydrospa junk-terrible-disaster Platinum III. Guess what? Worked fine. Now I have a new house, and am looking for a new spa. Guess what? Still think that most of the name brands are overpriced and underfeatured. So, while it's not perfect, I'm looking at a Costco Evolution. Can't argue with success! To be fair to the dealer spas, I also like H2O. Went back to visit Sundance and Hotsprings... try to have an open mind... still way too much for way too little. Would never buy a D1, every design feature I want to avoid is in those. I like Arctic, very nice design but they are priced crazy high and there's no local dealer (no dealer in the San Francisco bay area - go figure).

Brent, nice to hear from you. One post of real experience trumps a jillion words of crepe hanging and FUD spreading.

Bob, keep me posted on that Evo. I want to get my spa in before the weather cools off, so I have a couple more months to ponder things before I pull the trigger.

[n1oty]

>> "Good luck getting parts from a bankrupt company that is no longer in business. "

>> "Aren't the vast majority of part generic? e.g. made by someone else and commonly used throughout the spa industry?"

>> "Some, but not all"

Posts like this are just a FUD campaign (not the one in the middle). There's nothing in that Hydrospa that can't be easily replaced with something generic. The replacement, if it involves an a handle or such, might not have the identical appearance to the original. Aw shucks.

By the way, I had three years on my Costco Hydrospa junk-terrible-disaster Platinum III. Guess what? Worked fine. Now I have a new house, and am looking for a new spa. Guess what? Still think that most of the name brands are overpriced and underfeatured. So, while it's not perfect, I'm looking at a Costco Evolution. Can't argue with success! To be fair to the dealer spas, I also like H2O. Went back to visit Sundance and Hotsprings... try to have an open mind... still way too much for way too little. Would never buy a D1, every design feature I want to avoid is in those. I like Arctic, very nice design but they are priced crazy high and there's no local dealer (no dealer in the San Francisco bay area - go figure).

Brent, nice to hear from you. One post of real experience trumps a jillion words of crepe hanging and FUD spreading.

Bob, keep me posted on that Evo. I want to get my spa in before the weather cools off, so I have a couple more months to ponder things before I pull the trigger.

Actually, your strategy works fine, provided you will purchase a new tub every three years. Every pro has stated that even the junkiest of tubs generally lasts OK for the first couple of years. The real test of quality is whether it lasts a long time. Bear in mind that few people purchase a hot tub with the notion of owning it for three years or less. For most, the idea of ripping out one tub, updating the electrical to match new code and installing a new tub is not something they wish to do on a routine basis.

John

[Roger]

One post of real experience trumps a jillion words of crepe hanging and FUD spreading.

Come on Hot Water, Do any of the many many bad experiences reported on this board then trump the good experiences. Be real!!

[spatech (the unreal one)]

One post of real experience trumps a jillion words of crepe hanging and FUD spreading.

Come on Hot Water, Do any of the many many bad experiences reported on this board then trump the good experiences. Be real!!

Its great to hear what people expereince but in many ways its all about statistics.

A top quality spa will have something like 95+% satisfied customers after 5 years. A low quality spa may have only 65% satisfied customers after 5 years. The problem is that 65% of the customers (a majority) of that problem brand will say "not true, my brand is fine and I know because my spa has been fine" even though there are 35% who may wish they never chose that brand. For the better quality spa brand you may have 95% thinking they made a great choice yet you will still have the 5% unsatisfied customers saying "this brand is overrated and I can prove it because my spa has been a problem".

Anyone with any kind of understanding of statistics knows that a sample of one is barely more meaningful than a sample of zero. I'm not discounting any single person's experience (good or bad); I'm just saying that for amny brands any single person with a good expereince should be thankful theirs has been fine just like anyone with problems scratches their head wondering why they had to get the problem one.

[hot_water]

Its great to hear what people expereince but in many ways its all about statistics.

A top quality spa will have something like 95+% satisfied customers after 5 years. A low quality spa may have only 65% satisfied customers after 5 years. The problem is that 65% of the customers (a majority) of that problem brand will say "not true, my brand is fine and I know because my spa has been fine" even though there are 35% who may wish they never chose that brand. For the better quality spa brand you may have 95% thinking they made a great choice yet you will still have the 5% unsatisfied customers saying "this brand is overrated and I can prove it because my spa has been a problem".

Anyone with any kind of understanding of statistics knows that a sample of one is barely more meaningful than a sample of zero. I'm not discounting any single person's experience (good or bad); I'm just saying that for amny brands any single person with a good expereince should be thankful theirs has been fine just like anyone with problems scratches their head wondering why they had to get the problem one.

I have a pretty good understanding of statistics, in my world we deal with it daily. You are completely right about the sample, 0 or 1 means nothing - in a statistical sense.

But your "statistics" mean nothing as well, because they aren't statistics. They are your guesstimates. I've also seen guesstimates that say 95% of "top quality spas" are "still in service" after 10 years. It would be great if you had some data.... that would mean something. But you don't. 95%, without, say, real survey data, is just a number that you like to trot out to underscore your position.

A single owner report is not statistical. I have NEVER seen any owner cite statistics. I certainly never have. An individual's report doesn't address statistical performance, quality and/or longevity, standard deviation, mean time to failure, or anything else that is statistical. No one is claiming it does. What is DOES do is establish that the design is satisfactory to that particular owner and the thing works well when new. Since there are NO real statistics, one must form one's opinion based on other information. Your opinion might matter to some. To others, it might not since you might be perceived to have an agenda. For those like me, I keep going back to the notion that these things are simple beasts with more or less industry standard parts. You guys counter that with the "some standard parts are better than others". That might well be right.... but again, there's no data to verify failure rates... so it's all just blah-blah-blah. I think one would have to suffer from a basic lack of intelligence to spend a 100% premium based on blah-blah-blah. Some people pay $200 for a pair of designer jeans, too. To each his own. And, I acknowledge that you could be totally correct. Hasn't been proven though - either by statistics or by a preponderance of evidence.

Fact is that MY experience, along with the OP in this thread says we haven't had ANY component failures in combined 7 years between us. That, sir, is INDISPUTABLE, even if not statistical. Add in the failure-free hours logged by Ken Gorman and some of the many other posters. Still, I agree it is not statitical. It DOES say that there is probably NOT any intrinsic design flaws that guarantee that these things will fall apart after a few years, as is claimed by industry types. Statistics don't exist to validate or negate your point. Argue all day if you like.... but there aren't any statistics. Would be nice if there were. Might prove your point. Might disprove it, too.

If they do fall apart, they go back for a refund. No risk to the Customer. That's the bottom line. But I sure seem to see a lot of threads on this (and other) forums about all manner of problems people are having with their overpriced, undervalued "top quality" spas. They can't go back, now can they? Bet you won't address that, other than your guesstimated statistics.

But ok, let's not waste the time to debate this for the umpteenth time. You industry guys have your position. I think many of you have an agenda. I KNOW that I don't have an agenda. I am not going to change your mind, nor do I care to. You could, however change my mind... if you had some real data. When you come up with some, I'm interested.

What I would like to hear from you is what you think of the post that said that the OP wouldn't be able to get parts for his Hydro. I'm not interested in your thoughts on whether he was right... I owned a Hydro, and I know that the parts are all standard stuff. What I want to hear from you is why, if you industry guys are so interested in giving consumers the truth, you ALL didn't jump on this as false and misleading information?

[apeter2000]

Its great to hear what people expereince but in many ways its all about statistics.

A top quality spa will have something like 95+% satisfied customers after 5 years. A low quality spa may have only 65% satisfied customers after 5 years. The problem is that 65% of the customers (a majority) of that problem brand will say "not true, my brand is fine and I know because my spa has been fine" even though there are 35% who may wish they never chose that brand. For the better quality spa brand you may have 95% thinking they made a great choice yet you will still have the 5% unsatisfied customers saying "this brand is overrated and I can prove it because my spa has been a problem".

Anyone with any kind of understanding of statistics knows that a sample of one is barely more meaningful than a sample of zero. I'm not discounting any single person's experience (good or bad); I'm just saying that for amny brands any single person with a good expereince should be thankful theirs has been fine just like anyone with problems scratches their head wondering why they had to get the problem one.

I have a pretty good understanding of statistics, in my world we deal with it daily. You are completely right about the sample, 0 or 1 means nothing - in a statistical sense.

But your "statistics" mean nothing as well, because they aren't statistics. They are your guesstimates. I've also seen guesstimates that say 95% of "top quality spas" are "still in service" after 10 years. It would be great if you had some data.... that would mean something. But you don't. 95%, without, say, real survey data, is just a number that you like to trot out to underscore your position.

A single owner report is not statistical. I have NEVER seen any owner cite statistics. I certainly never have. An individual's report doesn't address statistical performance, quality and/or longevity, standard deviation, mean time to failure, or anything else that is statistical. No one is claiming it does. What is DOES do is establish that the design is satisfactory to that particular owner and the thing works well when new. Since there are NO real statistics, one must form one's opinion based on other information. Your opinion might matter to some. To others, it might not since you might be perceived to have an agenda. For those like me, I keep going back to the notion that these things are simple beasts with more or less industry standard parts. You guys counter that with the "some standard parts are better than others". That might well be right.... but again, there's no data to verify failure rates... so it's all just blah-blah-blah. I think one would have to suffer from a basic lack of intelligence to spend a 100% premium based on blah-blah-blah. Some people pay $200 for a pair of designer jeans, too. To each his own. And, I acknowledge that you could be totally correct. Hasn't been proven though - either by statistics or by a preponderance of evidence.

Fact is that MY experience, along with the OP in this thread says we haven't had ANY component failures in combined 7 years between us. That, sir, is INDISPUTABLE, even if not statistical. Add in the failure-free hours logged by Ken Gorman and some of the many other posters. Still, I agree it is not statitical. It DOES say that there is probably NOT any intrinsic design flaws that guarantee that these things will fall apart after a few years, as is claimed by industry types. Statistics don't exist to validate or negate your point. Argue all day if you like.... but there aren't any statistics. Would be nice if there were. Might prove your point. Might disprove it, too.

If they do fall apart, they go back for a refund. No risk to the Customer. That's the bottom line. But I sure seem to see a lot of threads on this (and other) forums about all manner of problems people are having with their overpriced, undervalued "top quality" spas. They can't go back, now can they? Bet you won't address that, other than your guesstimated statistics.

But ok, let's not waste the time to debate this for the umpteenth time. You industry guys have your position. I think many of you have an agenda. I KNOW that I don't have an agenda. I am not going to change your mind, nor do I care to. You could, however change my mind... if you had some real data. When you come up with some, I'm interested.

What I would like to hear from you is what you think of the post that said that the OP wouldn't be able to get parts for his Hydro. I'm not interested in your thoughts on whether he was right... I owned a Hydro, and I know that the parts are all standard stuff. What I want to hear from you is why, if you industry guys are so interested in giving consumers the truth, you ALL didn't jump on this as false and misleading information?

[apeter2000]

I have been gone for along time..got fed up with some of the stuff on here...

Anyways...back then..some of the haters said see if i still like it in a year or two..well.we still love it.

Anyways...covers..i do need a new cover. Ours has had it...and i think that is more our fault then Costco or Hydrospa. None the less, any recommendations on a replacement cover?

=====================================================================

Somebody needs to offer a PVC - UV stabilized cover -- The material offered is not stabilized from what I have seen. I use a white PVC roofing sheet loose layed and weighted down.

I NEED a water fall valve for a Platinum Model 2020 item 12 on the spec sheet. No luck getting though to them by phone yet.

[apeter2000]

I have been gone for along time..got fed up with some of the stuff on here...

Anyways...back then..some of the haters said see if i still like it in a year or two..well.we still love it.

Anyways...covers..i do need a new cover. Ours has had it...and i think that is more our fault then Costco or Hydrospa. None the less, any recommendations on a replacement cover?

=====================================================================

As I have said These covers are being made with PVC that ie not UV stabilized. After 2 years they develop a surface craze, a darker color and a burnt smell, all as a result of plasticizer loss along with little or no UV stabilizer. Find a roofer that sells a white PVC roofing sheet and cover your cover just weight it down. PVC 30 mill white works fine.

[hot_water]

Don't know what a Platinum Model 2020 is. I seem to remember that there was some other company that made spas called "platinum". Is your from Costco? If it's a Hydrospa-made machine, you aren't going to get through to them, they are gone. You might give a call to Costco Customer Service (phone number is on the website). They are good about support. If they can't help you, and if it's from Costco of course, you will be able to return it.

My Platinum III cover was on my spa in direct CA sun for three years with no degradation. It still looked new when I sold the house. I would say it was a mid line cover overall, not the best I've seen I was pleasantly surprised at how long it held up. It was 5" (tapered) which was nice. Once every month or two I scrubbed it a bit and put on 303 protectant, which I am convinced works well and might address your issues.

If a Platinum model 2020 is the same as a Platinum III, I have an extra cover that the company sent me. It's a long story, but in short I asked a question about the cover and someone there though I was having a problem... so instead of an answer they sent me a new cover (just the vinyl, not the interior foam). If you want it, make me an offer. It's gray in color, never been out of the box.

[Brent Hamm]

It's the platinum II from Costco. Where are you located? What size is the cover?

Don't know what a Platinum Model 2020 is. I seem to remember that there was some other company that made spas called "platinum". Is your from Costco? If it's a Hydrospa-made machine, you aren't going to get through to them, they are gone. You might give a call to Costco Customer Service (phone number is on the website). They are good about support. If they can't help you, and if it's from Costco of course, you will be able to return it.

My Platinum III cover was on my spa in direct CA sun for three years with no degradation. It still looked new when I sold the house. I would say it was a mid line cover overall, not the best I've seen I was pleasantly surprised at how long it held up. It was 5" (tapered) which was nice. Once every month or two I scrubbed it a bit and put on 303 protectant, which I am convinced works well and might address your issues.

If a Platinum model 2020 is the same as a Platinum III, I have an extra cover that the company sent me. It's a long story, but in short I asked a question about the cover and someone there though I was having a problem... so instead of an answer they sent me a new cover (just the vinyl, not the interior foam). If you want it, make me an offer. It's gray in color, never been out of the box.

[Nalod]

I have been gone for along time..got fed up with some of the stuff on here...

Anyways...back then..some of the haters said see if i still like it in a year or two..well.we still love it.

Anyways...covers..i do need a new cover. Ours has had it...and i think that is more our fault then Costco or Hydrospa. None the less, any recommendations on a replacement cover?

Did you really put "ha ha" on your tittle?

[hot_water]

It's the platinum II from Costco. Where are you located? What size is the cover?

The web page, platinumhottubs dot com, is still up. If you download the manuals, it says the Platinum II is a model 2010. The Platinum III "Legend" (what I used to have) is the model 2020. Guess I should have known that. Tells you how often I looked in the manual.

Anyway, my tub was 91 x 91. The Pt II, per the manual, was 87 x 87.

I'm in the San Jose (San Francisco Bay Area), CA.

[mikeyk36]

If you do a Google search for Hydro spa what ever model it is you will have no problem finding parts that will fit your current tub. Also call Pinnacle Spas at 1 800 304 9684 and give a try. They are a division of Premium Leisure that sells the Hydro spa under the new names Summit (Hydro spa Mellinium), Venus(not sure what Hydro spa), Meridian (Hydro spa Lexus). These are the Hydro spa Mark III series. Premium Leisure is also selling the other series of Hydro spa. Who ever said you can't get parts because Hydro Spa is out of business and gone is wrong! Premium Leisure bought the line, aquired the line after Hydro spa went out of business, what ever you want to call it. The "Hydro spa" line is alive and kicking just under different model names and a different company called Premium Leisure. This company also aquired Gulf spas. Do some web research and it will all come together. I'll let you guys argue about the quality of Hydro spa vs. the over priced, I mean " Top lines" but you can get parts for Hydro spa tubs.

Peace

[Brent Hamm]

Your right..putting haha in the title was sorta asking for it heh.

Anyways...thanks for info on parts...if i need anything i will try that out.

I need to look up the size of my cover. I think my inside pieces are damaged and water logged. We had a few bad storms and damaged the cover a year or so ago. It seemd to go down hill after that (it had some holes in it from being blown off).

[rimee]

I also have costco cover and have no problems with it.

[n1oty]

If you do a Google search for Hydro spa what ever model it is you will have no problem finding parts that will fit your current tub. Also call Pinnacle Spas at 1 800 304 9684 and give a try. They are a division of Premium Leisure that sells the Hydro spa under the new names Summit (Hydro spa Mellinium), Venus(not sure what Hydro spa), Meridian (Hydro spa Lexus). These are the Hydro spa Mark III series. Premium Leisure is also selling the other series of Hydro spa. Who ever said you can't get parts because Hydro Spa is out of business and gone is wrong! Premium Leisure bought the line, aquired the line after Hydro spa went out of business, what ever you want to call it. The "Hydro spa" line is alive and kicking just under different model names and a different company called Premium Leisure. This company also aquired Gulf spas. Do some web research and it will all come together. I'll let you guys argue about the quality of Hydro spa vs. the over priced, I mean " Top lines" but you can get parts for Hydro spa tubs.

Peace

Be very careful with PL and their former Hydro Spa parts. A good friend of mine in central Mass (another hot tub servicer) just got burned badly when he purchased a couple of complete pumps/motors from them for what he thought were unbelieveable prices on Waterway Executive's. When he went to use them, he could not get them to fit. It turned out that they were Chinese made Waterway knockoffs, not real Waterway's that he thought he was purchasing and the wet end dimensions in particular were loose to the point that he could not install them in a tight plumbing arrangement. He's hoping he can ultimately use them in a more open plumbing arrangement, assuming there is no problem with the threads, etc.

The old adage of buyer beware applies. There are legitimate sources for legitimate parts, including for the Hydro Spas.

John

[Roger]

I say we get some statistics by going back in the posts on this board and find satisfied customers of Costco tubs and unsatisfied ones.

Or we could go to the manufacturers of the tubs they have sold in the last 4-5 years and ask how many tubs have been returned!! Oh wait. So many were returned they all went out of business!!!!