Hot Spot Relay Price Quote

[Hot_Tub_Dude]

Hello All,

New to the forum and hot tubs in general. We are looking to purchase a new Hot Spot Relay and have received an initial quote from the dealer over the phone, so I wanted to check with you guys and see what you thought about the price. The breakdown is as follows:

-New Hot Spot Relay

-Cover

-Cover Lifter

-Delivery to final location (not driveway)

-Chemicals

Price with Tax: $6,050

I also want to get the ozonator included for that price or even a little cheaper, but I haven’t asked about it yet. If they can do that would you say it’s a good deal and is already a good deal without the ozonator included?

Thanks for any opinions!

[dark rider]

Hello All,

New to the forum and hot tubs in general. We are looking to purchase a new Hot Spot Relay and have received an initial quote from the dealer over the phone, so I wanted to check with you guys and see what you thought about the price. The breakdown is as follows:

-New Hot Spot Relay

-Cover

-Cover Lifter

-Delivery to final location (not driveway)

-Chemicals

Price with Tax: $6,050

I also want to get the ozonator included for that price or even a little cheaper, but I haven’t asked about it yet. If they can do that would you say it’s a good deal and is already a good deal without the ozonator included?

Thanks for any opinions!

Seems like a good deal to me at about $2500 less than the HotSpring Sovereign, especially if they will include ozone at that price. You're giving up a dedicated circ. pump, tri-x filters, and moto-massage, but still get HotSpring quality and the directional and rotary hydromassage jets. I find the rotary jets to be almost as good as the moto-massage personally. Have you wet tested yet, and are sure you want the lounger?

[Hot_Tub_Dude]

Hey dark rider,

Thanks for the reply, I did not wet test, but given the placement location measurements and our budget this is the best and almost only brand/model that works, with quality reviews, that I could find. I am not real picky when it comes to something like this and the majority of the time it will only be two people with 4-6 only on occasion. I am indifferent about the lounger and assume it would be a bonus since there are really 5 other different seats to choose from. Do you have any negative experience or knowledge about this model or even just having the lounger? Seems like you knew the specs off the top of your head

[dark rider]

Hey dark rider,

Thanks for the reply, I did not wet test, but given the placement location measurements and our budget this is the best and almost only brand/model that works, with quality reviews, that I could find. I am not real picky when it comes to something like this and the majority of the time it will only be two people with 4-6 only on occasion. I am indifferent about the lounger and assume it would be a bonus since there are really 5 other different seats to choose from. Do you have any negative experience or knowledge about this model or even just having the lounger? Seems like you knew the specs off the top of your head

The lounger obviously takes up more seating room than a standard seat, but it doesn't sound like you're strapped for seats/space, so that should be a non-issue since it will usually just be 2 of you. The other negative is that females or anyone with a higher percentage of body fat is prone to float in a lounger, making it an awkward experience. If the proportions aren't right (leg bend location), it can also not be as enjoyable. Finally, take into account entry/exit. You will want to avoid putting the steps on the lounger side of the tub, so make sure it works with your existing plan. I wet tested the Sovereign when we were shopping, and they had the steps on the lounger side, making it an interesting balancing act getting in and out of the tub.

Personally, I don't think a well laid out tub needs a lounger. I the barrier free seating in my Grandee! It's great for stretching out and you aren't as limited as to where the jets are going to hit you, as you are in chair formed seating or in loungers. With the recessed jetting, I can literally sit in any position and target specific muscles with the jets.

I'm sure you will love the Relay if you go with it, but if you get the chance, try and wet test both a lounger model and a non-lounger model. A good non-lounger comparison would be the HotSpring Vanguard or Limelight Pulse. Both are slightly bigger than the Relay, but not by much at all (3" on the Vanguard and 5" on the Pulse). I was shopping at the end of last summer, and pricing at that point for the Vanguard was only about $1500 more than what you were quoted for the Relay. If that's not too much of a stretch, and it would fit your needs, I'd highly recommend it. The Vanguard is basically a smaller version of the Grandee. You'd get dual and single moto-massage and rotary jets, a circ pump(quieter 24 hour filtration and ozone), better controls and lighting, and the option to upgrade to salt and tri-x filters(would likely be complimentary if you ask the dealer).

[spatech (the unreal one)]

With a circ pump, ozone is infused 24/7. On a spa that uses a 2 speed pump for fitering you're only getting ozone about 4 or 5 hours a day. Thats a big difference so on a non-circ pump spa I'd probably skip adding an ozonator unless they give you a really good deal on it.

[Hot_Tub_Dude]

That's a good point, the lounger will be right where we get in, I didn't think of that. The only problem with the Vanguard/Pulse are too wide (we have 85" max) . . .

Your Grandee sounds awesome though!

[Hot_Tub_Dude]

Thanks spatech,

I had no clue about that. I will have to see what they can do about "the bottom line" and then decide on the ozone. I was also curious as to a ball park estimate for running the electrical. I assume they will need to run up to 35-45' cable max from the Fuse Panel and possibly upgrade the fuse panel as well for the additional amperage, which I assume requires adding a sub-panel to the box. Some of the cable would probably need to be buried but could only be as little as a few feet to get it under a gravel walkway. I was ballpark quoted $500-$900 for this which seem a little high to me on the upper end. (I'm not an electrician so sorry for any terminology blunders)

[endorfin]

So electric could be $500 or 80% higher at $900 - pretty big range. But not a bad price in either case - especially if they need to add a subpanel. Does this include the GFCI and cutoff?

[worldboy79]

We got a Hot Spot Relay at the end of May. I have the stairs at the front of the tub but more to the left side. When you step in you step onto the seat part of the lounger. I don't find it awkward but I built my stairs 4 feet wide so this helps too as you don't have to try to aim your foot onto a narrow little step.

The lounger is a nice feature and okay, but your legs tend to float around a bit with the power of the jets. The Hot Spot Tempo model that we also looked at had a bit more leg room for the lounger but this wasn't a big deal for us. I find some of the other seats just as relaxing and you can stretch your legs out anyway.

The jets seem to have more than enough power. Was impressed with them. The waterfall feature is nice but really doesn't add any value to the tub (for me anyways). The LED lights are nice at night. The jets come with four different settings, you just keep hitting the jets button until you get the one you like. We aren't too fussy. I find the number of jets fine and some of the jets are adjustable.

The Hot Spot comes with the GFCI Spa Disconnect box so check with your dealer. Apparently most spas don't. Our electrician charged us $750 but we had a 35 foot run under the back deck, across the lawn and to the tub. We dug our own trench under the lawn which wasn't really that hard.

Our local dealer included delivery and set up as well as an initial supply of chemicals. We have a minor leak around the filter canister area, but our dealer is currently checking with Hot spot on the best way to fix it. Other than that so far so good. You are smart to go with the cover lifter - it makes it that much easier.

Glen

[Hot_Tub_Dude]

Hey endorfin:

That was just a ballpark estimate based on what I explained to them. I don't know if the fuse box has enough existing amperage to support the additional 50/60 amps required for the tub line so I think they may need to add that to the box. The tub does come with its subpanel included in the price. If I do not understand the actual wiring required correctly then this explanation will be wrong. I will post back when I get a final quote with the outlined work to be done.

Thanks!

[Hot_Tub_Dude]

Thanks for the info worldboy79. Your stairs placement sounds like a good idea to me. The tub does come with the GFCI Spa Disconnect box, but I was assuming they may have to upgrade the Fuse Box itself in addition. Your electrical work sounds pretty much like what I need done so if they are in the $750 area I will consider it reasonable. As far as your tub, did you go with the ozonator and if so, do you think it is worth it? Also, based on what they are offering in the package for around $6G does that seem to be around what you paid (if you don’t mind me asking)?

[worldboy79]

Hello,

We did not get the ozonator. I was debating but from what I understand the ozonator just reduces the amount of chemicals you use, not eliminates them, so we decided not to. Had I thought at the time I should have asked him to throw that in for free. He did say that the tub is ozonator-ready and this can be added later on if we wish.

Our price for the tub came to about $6000 with taxes, though I should point out our taxes and prices are generally higher in Canada. If you are trying to get them to throw in the ozonator and they decline, maybe another item they could throw in is the stairs. Our dealer brought stairs with him when he set up the tub, but they weren't even a matching coastal grey color and seemed kind of small. Plus they wanted too much for them. Therefore, we decided to go the route of building our own, simple carpentry skills.

[Sailfish Bret]

I bought a Hot Spot Tempo a few months ago. So far I'm happy with it. However, it is my first ever spa. I originally negotiated the Relay for $5500 out the door; tax, steps, delivery, setup and cover lifter. My spa store provides a 4 month initial supply of chemicals.

I say originally negotiated because I ended up buying the Hot Spot Tempo rather than the Relay. I did this for the following reasons: The Relay's pump configuration didn't allow for both the main corner seats to be on, along with the 4 dome jets for your feet, unless both pumps were running in high speed. Pump 1 runs one corner seat and pump 2 runs the other. On the Tempo, pump 2 runs both seats and the dome. The Tempo also has 6 additional jets that shoot directly at the bottoms of your feet when in the lounger. For this, I paid an additional grand. That said, my spa dealer extended the deal I had negotiated for the Relay to a friend of mine.

Now for the one thing I don't like when it comes to both of these spas. You may want to think about this when running your pumps. For some unknown reason, on the 4th pump setting, which is the single stage number 2 pump all by itself, the water does not filter through the filter ring. Sorry, I don't know the technical name of the ring that sucks down around the filter allowing the water to pour into the filter canister. However, it only "sucks" down when the first pump is running. This to me seems like a design flaw. If anyone else knows of a reason for this, I'd appreciate hearing it. My dealer didn't even realize this happened until I showed him on one of his Relay's.

Sorry for the long first post. Hope I didn't bore you too much. Good luck and happy soaking with your new Relay.

Sailfish Bret

Hello,

We did not get the ozonator. I was debating but from what I understand the ozonator just reduces the amount of chemicals you use, not eliminates them, so we decided not to. Had I thought at the time I should have asked him to throw that in for free. He did say that the tub is ozonator-ready and this can be added later on if we wish.

Our price for the tub came to about $6000 with taxes, though I should point out our taxes and prices are generally higher in Canada. If you are trying to get them to throw in the ozonator and they decline, maybe another item they could throw in is the stairs. Our dealer brought stairs with him when he set up the tub, but they weren't even a matching coastal grey color and seemed kind of small. Plus they wanted too much for them. Therefore, we decided to go the route of building our own, simple carpentry skills.

[spatech (the unreal one)]

Now for the one thing I don't like when it comes to both of these spas. You may want to think about this when running your pumps. For some unknown reason, on the 4th pump setting, which is the single stage number 2 pump all by itself, the water does not filter through the filter ring. Sorry, I don't know the technical name of the ring that sucks down around the filter allowing the water to pour into the filter canister. However, it only "sucks" down when the first pump is running. This to me seems like a design flaw. If anyone else knows of a reason for this, I'd appreciate hearing it. My dealer didn't even realize this happened until I showed him on one of his Relay's.

I had to read this a couple times but I think I know what you are saying so let me respond with my understanding of your events.

There are two types of pumps for filtering. One uses a circ pump for filtering and filters 24/7 the other uses teh main pump to filter a few hours per day. There are a lot of each type out there, Im not saying there is a good one or the bad one, just 2 different methods. You don't have the type spa that uses a 24/7 circ pump.

The type you have uses a 2 speed pump for filtering as its plumbing is tied to the filter (though it also has a bypass so some of the water comes from the footwell). If that kind of spa also has a 2nd pump, that 2nd pump is not tied to the filter, it will draw its water solely from the bottom of the footwell. Therefore, your spa will only filter and draw down that filter ring you speak of when the 2-speed pump is on.

From your description you have a control that has a pump setting button that you jog through to turn pumps on/off. As you go through the pump settings I imagine the first time you hit it probably brings on the first pump only and at low speed (therefore you are filtering at low speed), the second time you hit the pump setting probably sends that same 2-speed pump to high speed (now filtering at high speed), the 3rd time probably brings on the 2nd pump as well (now both pumps are on, 1st pump is still filtering, 2nd pump does not go through filter) and the 4th time you're probably turning off that 2-speed pump and only the second pump is on so now water doesn't go through the filter and the filter ring raises up.

If that seems to mirror what is going on then this is totally normal but any dealer should know how this type of filter/pump setup works.

[Sailfish Bret]

Thanks Spatech, that is exactly what it's doing. Just seems to me that the water should filter anytime any of the pumps are on. If I am running just pump number 2, no surface filtering is taking place.

Oh, and I agree, a salesman should know and understand the features of the spa's he/she sells.