Electrical Connection to Master Spa LSX 900 - Underneath vs Side

[Gary B.]

I'm preparing a concrete patio that will have a 7'x9' hot tub with a Vac-Formed ABS Pan Bottom. Master Spas shows the location of a 6"x6" location underneath where to run the electrical. The local hot tub shop where I purchased the tub however said NOT to come up through the pan bottom but have the electrical come up through the slab outside the tub and the run the conduit through the side wall of the tub. That sounds easy enough but isn't very appealing to the eye or friendly to toes and shins.

 

I'm looking for recommendations or Pros/Cons for doing it either way.

 

If we come up from underneath, is the conduit supposed to be cut flush so the tub can just slide over it? The dry weight on the tub is 1,485 pounds! The electrician would need to cut a hole in the pan, hopefully right over the conduit, and extend the conduit up through the pan and then pull the wires. What have people used to seal the gap between the conduit and hole in the pan to keep critters out? Is this method really that tuff for the workers setting the tub or for the electrician?

Thanks,

Gary B.