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Advice Needed with buying 3 Person HT


gwmac

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Freshwater salt cells are available from your dealer only, not permitted for online sales.  If you choose the Jetsetter, do so because it’s the right hot tub for you, not because the salt system.  You can treat your hot tub with salt, ozone, chlorine, bromine, mineral, etc but you cannot change comfort or performance.

those are good prices on the Jetsetter’s.  I’m not going to say how many jets are enough, just keep in mind the Moto-Massage is only counted as one jet but covers your entire back.

Quality wise, I don’t think ThermoSpas are a bad product, I just have a hard time suggesting someone spend a lot of their money for something therapeutic when they cannot see, try or experience the hot tub.  

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I have worked on many, but I would not deal with the warranty. They tried twice, I laughed and hung up twice. They are a mediocre spa with frequent plumbing issues, no insulation, and cheap cabinets but decent equipment. They have a high jet count for marketing but they are tiny no-frills jets often used as foot jets by other brands, and gobs of them on a single pump so pressure is low.

Their deal is high pressure sales and frequently no warranty service available because nobody with experience will work that cheap. I certainly wouldn't. You have some independent guys so could probably get it serviced, but most dealerships won't touch them. They send a salesman to your house who uses used car tactics, "Let me call my manager", "price is good for today only", "tell you what I'll do, just for you" type bs. I do not recommend them on principle if for no other reason. And delivery is to the end of your driveway. At least that is what I have heard from multiple owners.

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10 minutes ago, RDspaguy said:

I have worked on many, but I would not deal with the warranty. They tried twice, I laughed and hung up twice. They are a mediocre spa with frequent plumbing issues, no insulation, and cheap cabinets but decent equipment. They have a high jet count for marketing but they are tiny no-frills jets often used as foot jets by other brands, and gobs of them on a single pump so pressure is low.

Their deal is high pressure sales and frequently no warranty service available because nobody with experience will work that cheap. I certainly wouldn't. You have some independent guys so could probably get it serviced, but most dealerships won't touch them. They send a salesman to your house who uses used car tactics, "Let me call my manager", "price is good for today only", "tell you what I'll do, just for you" type bs. I do not recommend them on principle if for no other reason. And delivery is to the end of your driveway. At least that is what I have heard from multiple owners.

Agreed

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Thanks. Before I even began my research I was leaning towards salt water and after talking to the dealer today he sold me on that system. (I realize other brands can as well but Hot Springs seems to have the best system)  I also like the fact that parts will be very easy to find for years to come which is important. I loved my last HT but the company called Sun Spas went out of business so I was on my own after that. That won't happen (I hope) with Hot Spring. 

But I am confused about this cartridges not being available online. These seem to be identical (Hotspring freshwater  Ag Sanitizer) to the one the showed me today and it says made for Hot Spring Jetsetter. Is this something else from the $100 part the dealer mentioned? 

 

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Thanks. I was confused because it looked similar and also needed to be changed every 4 months. This must be what you are talking about. Salt Cartridge

I noticed that is a 3 pack. So when my dealer said replacements would cost $100 did he mean for a 3 pack?  That isn't bad because that is only $100 for treating the water for a year. But if he meant they would cost $100 each or $300 for that 3 pack then that seems excessively expensive.

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The 3-packs retail for $349 which amounts to approx $116 each.  Sounds like your dealer sells the 3-pack at $299.

The whole idea was for the cells to be user replaceable and affordable.  The previous salt system, ACE, had a cell that lasted about 2-2.5 years but was almost $1,000 to replace and in most cases required a service tech to replace it which added to the cost.  Hard pill to swallow asking a customer to spend $800-$1,000 every 2 years even if they already new the cost.  Much easier to stomach the lower cost more frequently.  

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So it looks like I can expect about $400 annually for sanitizing with the Hot Spring. What could I expect to pay annually for the Bullfrog R5L ? I realize that depends on a lot of factors and which chemicals I use. Just a rough estimate to keep the water nice and clean. 

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37 minutes ago, gwmac said:

So it looks like I can expect about $400 annually for sanitizing with the Hot Spring.

Just to add my $0.02 - I do not use the Freshwater Salt system in my tub. Instead I use 1 teaspoon of dichlor56 pellets per 30-minute soak (approximately $0.072 per soak or roughly $22 per year), and about $11 in baking soda per year, plus three silver mineral cartridges which are $30 a piece.    So with the ozonator and dichlor setup, my Jetsetter costs me approximately $123 annually in chemicals to keep my water sanitized and crystal clear. 

Oh and if we want to take water filling into the equation, at a local cost of $0.00825 approximately per gallon, my 200 gallon Jetsetter costs about $1.65 per refill, which I am supposed to do annually (although I'll likely do it twice per year for good measure lol)

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54 minutes ago, ratchett said:

Just to add my $0.02 - I do not use the Freshwater Salt system in my tub. Instead I use 1 teaspoon of dichlor56 pellets per 30-minute soak (approximately $0.072 per soak or roughly $22 per year), and about $11 in baking soda per year, plus three silver mineral cartridges which are $30 a piece.    So with the ozonator and dichlor setup, my Jetsetter costs me approximately $123 annually in chemicals to keep my water sanitized and crystal clear. 

Oh and if we want to take water filling into the equation, at a local cost of $0.00825 approximately per gallon, my 200 gallon Jetsetter costs about $1.65 per refill, which I am supposed to do annually (although I'll likely do it twice per year for good measure lol)

That's good to know. I didn't realize you had the option not to use saltwater in the Jetsetter LX. But I'm guessing the Ozonator is not standard and it is an upgrade. I thought the controller and everything else was set up to only use saltwater. That is good to know and thanks for letting me know what you use. I will email the dealer and see what he thinks. It's not only a cost issue but my worries about corrosion.  I wonder how much the Ozonator upgrade cost?

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You absolutely have the option of not saltwater.  The hot tub is plumbed for it but unless the controller is installed and the cartridge is added, its not saltwater.  Ozone will run $300-$400 depending on the ozone.  I sell the Hot Spring ozone at $349 and an aftermarket one at $399.  As ratchett said, you can make this as cheap or expensive as you want.  Only thing I would strongly disagree with is the annual drain cycle that ratchett mentioned.  With anything non-saltwater you should drain every 3-4 months and in my opinion with a smaller hot tub it should be closer to 3 months.

I have no worries about corrosion with the low salt levels.  I have more concern about damage caused by low pH.

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Yeah I emailed the dealer and will paste his reply. I also asked him about that dichlor method and he wasn't too keen on that. 

From Dealer "

Quote

 

I’ve been a Hot Spring dealer for 19 years and have never heard of such an approach.  Cannot say it won’t work, I would just prefer to use the manufacturer’s recommendations over someone I do not know.

As far as using the Ozone system, it is a great system.  We will include either the Ozone system or the Freshwater Salt System at no additional cost. The Salt System lists for $399 and the Freshwater III for $349."

 

 

I was really looking forward to going with saltwater but it looks like due to costs and advice here I will go traditional. 

 

 

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19 minutes ago, castletonia said:

have more concern about damage caused by low pH.

Every salt system I have seen in pools causes high ph. Now I am even more confused about this system.

Unless you mean low ph from dichlor? It is 7.0 in solution, and as close to neutral as chlorine gets. With the small amounts used and the aeration of the ozone injector,  I find I need acid in my spa on the rare occasions I need to adjust my ph. But then, I do have quite a bit of carryout with my 8 year old and my fill water is high ph. Liquid is high ph, and tablets are low, so the dichlor/bleach method should not result in low ph, but a tablet floater will drag it down continuously.

And I drain every 3-4 months, which is what I recommend.

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"Overall it was a valuable trip because I also got to ask for contacts for laying the cement patio after I tear down my deck and also mentioned if they knew people to haul away my old one."

I used the E-Z Spa pad - much easier than paving/pouring cement.  

https://www.ezpads.com/purchase.html

 

"By the way, have you guys heard of Thermospas? I was wondering how you would rate them."

Ten years ago,   I bought my Arctic.   I had no fixed budget but wanted the best value for the  money.    In comparing Arctic,  Jacuzzi,  and ThermoSpas,   TS ranked #3.   Looked like a good product but overpriced for what I was willing to pay.   And they had no local dealer.   Plus the sales rep unwittingly insulted us by saying "Why would you buy anything Canadian?"

Went with the Arctic.   No regrets - but we are in a much harsher climate than Georgia.  And we had a local dealer.   And the price was a little less than what we would have paid for the ThermoSpa (or around the same,  I forget).

Also mystified - and - I guess it's your business,  but a three person tub seems rather unusual.  If you are a couple and want to host another couple,  the three-person won't suffice...

 

 

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5 hours ago, ratchett said:

Just to add my $0.02 - I do not use the Freshwater Salt system in my tub. Instead I use 1 teaspoon of dichlor56 pellets per 30-minute soak (approximately $0.072 per soak or roughly $22 per year), and about $11 in baking soda per year, plus three silver mineral cartridges which are $30 a piece.    So with the ozonator and dichlor setup, my Jetsetter costs me approximately $123 annually in chemicals to keep my water sanitized and crystal clear. 

Oh and if we want to take water filling into the equation, at a local cost of $0.00825 approximately per gallon, my 200 gallon Jetsetter costs about $1.65 per refill, which I am supposed to do annually (although I'll likely do it twice per year for good measure lol)

Ditto with my Arctic.   Shut off the salt sanitizer when the salt-generating cells had their warranty period reduced.

Now I use SpaGuard Chlorinating Concentrate and PH Increaser,  and Spa Sentry when I  change the water.    Test strip it twice a week,   I'd guess between filters and chemicals it's around $100 a year if even that.

 

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3 hours ago, RDspaguy said:

Every salt system I have seen in pools causes high ph. Now I am even more confused about this system.

Unless you mean low ph from dichlor? It is 7.0 in solution, and as close to neutral as chlorine gets. With the small amounts used and the aeration of the ozone injector,  I find I need acid in my spa on the rare occasions I need to adjust my ph. But then, I do have quite a bit of carryout with my 8 year old and my fill water is high ph. Liquid is high ph, and tablets are low, so the dichlor/bleach method should not result in low ph, but a tablet floater will drag it down continuously.

And I drain every 3-4 months, which is what I recommend.

Sorry if I wasn't clear.  Generally speaking, you deal with high or higher pH with the salt system.  This is primarily due to the fact that aeration causes pH to rise and the fact that you are not using dichlor, mps or stain & scale on a regular basis to counter it.  I was more referencing that I've seen customers have more issues related to low pH than I ever have from the salt.  Many times I have seen customers use trichlor tabs and assume that just because their water was clear everything was good...... Well, when your pH is about a 6 and the water is that acidic it will be clear almost 100% of the time.

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