Mesfhett Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I am MESsed up From HEad To Toes so I chose the handle MESFHETT. I have tried a number of spas and have decided that I do want one with a full therapy lounger that includes sole therapy. I am 5'10" and will probably spend a lot of time in it by myself and less time with my wife who is only 5'2" so we need seating at different levels. Also different types of therapy at different times so 4-6 positons would be best. I would like feedback on several models, please. I have read the forum for a while and would appreciate the pros and cons on each that you are familar with. Hot Springs - Aria LA Spas - Solera Marquis Spa - Epic Artesian Spas - Grand Bahama and Dove Canyon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottublady Posted February 24, 2007 Report Share Posted February 24, 2007 I am MESsed up From HEad To Toes so I chose the handle MESFHETT. I have tried a number of spas and have decided that I do want one with a full therapy lounger that includes sole therapy. I am 5'10" and will probably spend a lot of time in it by myself and less time with my wife who is only 5'2" so we need seating at different levels. Also different types of therapy at different times so 4-6 positons would be best. I would like feedback on several models, please. I have read the forum for a while and would appreciate the pros and cons on each that you are familar with. Hot Springs - Aria LA Spas - Solera Marquis Spa - Epic Artesian Spas - Grand Bahama and Dove Canyon Okay So those are all great spas. LA Spas the only down fall is that they use UV light for ozone and those loose it potency in 6 mos and you will have to replace it within a year and thats about $100 Marquis Spa are wonderful as well, but they don't have a 24hr circulation pump. What that means to you is that the water is not continously being filtered so the water stays there stagment for a couple of hours until the clean cycle kicks on. They also use the UV ozone. Also has bypass filtration. Artesian Spa the only thing about them like most spas is that they have bypass filtration. That means that instead of the water being filtered before it comes out of the jets it "bypasses" the filter and comes straight out of the jets. The down fall to that is if you have a bunch of people in there and the water gets gross it will just circulate around and not filter it. Hot Springs is a great spa as far as preformance and longevity. They have a great No-Fault heater warrenty. But the best thing to do is to test soak in the tubs. If it was my choice and were looking at all the top of the line models from these top companies I would go with Hot Springs because the ease of use and ownership. I have one and its 10years old and its perfect and runs and looks just as good as the first day it was delivered. Good luck, Hottublady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 Marquis Spa are wonderful as well, but they don't have a 24hr circulation pump. What that means to you is that the water is not continously being filtered so the water stays there stagment for a couple of hours until the clean cycle kicks on. They also use the UV ozone. Also has bypass filtration. Artesian Spa the only thing about them like most spas is that they have bypass filtration. That means that instead of the water being filtered before it comes out of the jets it "bypasses" the filter and comes straight out of the jets. The down fall to that is if you have a bunch of people in there and the water gets gross it will just circulate around and not filter it. This is great information that any sales person can give to try and sway a decision of a potential buyer. However during 4-6 hours of filtration with a jet pump moving 90-110 GPM (even if 10 percent is bypassed) do some math and tell me how much water is moved? Then think about the no-bypass filtration system and the 5-10 GPM moved by a circulation pump running 24 hours? All is not as it seems unless a few holes are filled it. Now I am not saying that a jet pump for filtering is better because it filters som much water than a circulation pump. What I am saying is a circulation pump and a no-bypass system works fine for filtering water, but a jet pump with timed filter cycles also works fine for filtering water and filters a whole lot more and moves a whole lot more. A small circ pump is quieter and introduces Ozone 24/7 (even though its effect on water quality are suspect and it's effect on covers and head rests is a detrimentel) So in summation I would say you have chosen some quality brands and there are several others that are maybe close by to where you live. Once you have established what brand and model you are comfortable sitting in and what dealer you are comfortable buying from, you should come back with a narrower list not paying much attention to things like "no by-pass filtration" "heat-lok insulation" or any of the marketing catch phrases used to steer. I like Marquis, Hot Spring, Artiesian. Is there an Arctic, Sundance, Dimension One, Beachcomber dealer nearby? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaRiSpaTech Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 Okay So those are all great spas. LA Spas the only down fall is that they use UV light for ozone and those loose it potency in 6 mos and you will have to replace it within a year and thats about $100 Marquis Spa are wonderful as well, but they don't have a 24hr circulation pump. What that means to you is that the water is not continously being filtered so the water stays there stagment for a couple of hours until the clean cycle kicks on. They also use the UV ozone. Also has bypass filtration. Artesian Spa the only thing about them like most spas is that they have bypass filtration. That means that instead of the water being filtered before it comes out of the jets it "bypasses" the filter and comes straight out of the jets. The down fall to that is if you have a bunch of people in there and the water gets gross it will just circulate around and not filter it. Hot Springs is a great spa as far as preformance and longevity. They have a great No-Fault heater warrenty. But the best thing to do is to test soak in the tubs. If it was my choice and were looking at all the top of the line models from these top companies I would go with Hot Springs because the ease of use and ownership. I have one and its 10years old and its perfect and runs and looks just as good as the first day it was delivered. Good luck, Hottublady This sounds like it came right out of a Hot Springs sales training book. I just need to ask Hottublady, are you a dealer? Hopefully you would mention this in your posts if you were. As a dealer and service tech, I would like to clear up some misinformation. You will not need to replace a UV light ozone generator within 1 year. Sure they are not quite as good, but that is hardly worth basing any decision on. You can always install corona discharge ozone later for not much more. Saying that water will sit stagnant for hours is a bit of a stretch. I don’t think water will become stagnant within hours, unless of coarse it is trapped behind a jet pack;) Finally, no bypass filtration sounds great, but what about the fact that you loose jet pressure as the filters become dirty. Then you will need to clean all of those filters. Also, replacing all of the filters will cost much more then traditional setups using a 24hr circulator or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 A bypass filtration system is designed to only bypas on high speed. On low speed (filter mode) a spring loaded flap closes to allow almost all the water to be drawn through the filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesfhett Posted February 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 I thank all of you who responded here and in direct email. You have opened my eyes quite a bit wider. I have added Artesian Klodike and Kodiak as possibilities. I will wet test a few different tubs in the next week or two. Regardless that he is selling tubs, I would like to thank Jim_the_Jim for providing a lot of good information and would like to check out a few Haven models as well. I think it would be better to get the right model the first time, even if it took a while, rather than quickly blowing thousands of dollars just to get somthing that appears to be acceptable now and then constantly be throwing more money at it in a useless attempt to make it what I could have gotten by checking a little further. I am now much wider open to suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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