Got It Down To An Hs Grandee (the Newer Model)

[cancel99]

1 - some say get the ozonator and some say don't, more the former. from my research it appears that w/o the ozonator i would have less work to do but the water quality would be slightly less clean (for lack of better terminology). there would only be a 3 step addivtive of chemicals (something called baqua (spelling??)) to follow if i go without the ozonator, unlike with the ozonator which would require more and harsher chemicals (like chlorine or bromein(spelling again??)). if i go w/o the ozonator upon purchase and decided to get it at a later date that can be done (hmmm, i forgot to ask at what cost). any comments or guidance on this would be appreciated.

2 - if i make the purchase through dealer that is about 55 minutes away from my home and in another State (who i feel very comfortable with) vs one that is 15 minutes away and in my State can i expect to encounter a problem getting service (warrantee or otherwise)? it is not as if i dislike the in State dealer in any way, it's just that the out of State dealer was visited first (without any intension of try to skirt around the in State dealer), he was very imformative, helpful, and no hard sale at all, the in State dealer did a hard sell either. pice may dictate this (see #4 below) but right now they are close enough that this is not an issue.

3 - The Grandee is a large tub and i was told that it would be best if it were to be placed on a level concrete slab of at least 4". I guess that this makes sense. my questions are... Can the Level Concrete slab be made at this time of the year in Central NJ? how long before it is cured and strong enough for the Grandee to be placed on it (and filled to 6,300 lbs). I would love to have it for Xmas or New Years Eve but more important then the gratification of getting it sooner rather then later is safety and avoiding foundation problems. Also should the Grandee sit directly on the concrete slab or should something be placed between the two. i recall when i had my deck built the weight bearing wood posts holding up the deck were not put directly into the cement footings, there is some sort of metal thing-a-ma-jig between the two. a Mason i am not.

4 - Pricewise they are comparable at about $9,100 to $9,200 (even taking into consideration approximately $500 additional that would be tacked on for sales tax if i buy from the in State (no sales tax if purchased from the out of State dealer - so obviously the out of State guy is chagring more for the tub). i should mention that i did not pursue any conversation with the in State dealer regarding the price.

i must say thank you to all that have provided responses to my prior posts as well as posts from others that i read. it was very informative and helpful to me in narrowing down the field.

for those "newbies" (like myself) who read this, take the advise given by many and do the Wet Test. As you can tell from my previous posts i originally thought that the Sundance Optima was for me, but at that point i did not consider any hot spring tubs. There were just too many brands to consider in my original weeding out process and Sundance rose to the top of about the 8 or so that i originally considered. HS was not one of them. The grandee came into the picture only after i decided that the Optima was for me. then after reviewing the HS Grandee (its to long of a story to expain how that came to be) i was on the fense between the two. Todays WET TEST eliminatede the Optima. Thus my last 4 considerations, as stated above.

i hope all of you had a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope to be in my Grandee by News Years, considering of course what i find out about #3 above.

thanks,

M

[stl-rex]

The method you choose to sanitize your tub is independent of ozone. Ozone is a supplement. It can make your water a bit easier to keep clear and can perhaps cover for occasional mistakes, but it is not a substitute. Chlorine and Bromine are the top two sanitizers. I believe Baqua is a distant third. You must choose one of the three regardless if you have ozone or not. Baqua is the most expensive and not necessarily the most effective. You certainly can effectively use Chorine or Bromine whether you ozonate or not. If you are being told otherwise, your dealer is not being truthful.

[Roger]

The method you choose to sanitize your tub is independent of ozone. Ozone is a supplement. It can make your water a bit easier to keep clear and can perhaps cover for occasional mistakes, but it is not a substitute. Chlorine and Bromine are the top two sanitizers. I believe Baqua is a distant third. You must choose one of the three regardless if you have ozone or not. Baqua is the most expensive and not necessarily the most effective. You certainly can effectively use Chorine or Bromine whether you ozonate or not. If you are being told otherwise, your dealer is not being truthful.

1 - some say get the ozonator and some say don't, more the former. from my research it appears that w/o the ozonator i would have less work to do but the water quality would be slightly less clean (for lack of better terminology). there would only be a 3 step addivtive of chemicals (something called baqua (spelling??)) to follow if i go without the ozonator, unlike with the ozonator which would require more and harsher chemicals (like chlorine or bromein(spelling again??)). if i go w/o the ozonator upon purchase and decided to get it at a later date that can be done (hmmm, i forgot to ask at what cost). any comments or guidance on this would be appreciated.

True, 0-3 or ozone is not a recognized sanitizer. in conjunction with chlorine or bromine it can help to reduce the quantitys of both required. Baqua is not as harsh as chlorine, but as fas as this being a problem, no. A proper chlorine routine will have you soaking in 0-PPM chlorine. Baqua is 30 times the cost of chlorine (just speculation I know its spendy) and is not recomended for heavy hot tub use (it can't keep up). But there are some out there that have had good luck with it so give it a shot. The worst that could happen is you will have to change to another sanitizer method down the road at a water change time.

I used OZONE for 4 years until my 2nd UV (bulb) style ozone generator wore out. I also used N2 mineral cartridge. When the UV Ozone generator burned out my N2 was also 3-4 months old so it was water change time. This was the water change before the last one. I did not get a new O3 generator and I did not get a new N2 cartridge, for the whole 4 month water cycle. The water was harder to maintain, in other words I had to go out there between uses (we typicaly only use our tub 2-3 times a week) and add chlorine or I would loose the handle on my water and would have to shock and extra filter to get it back. This tells me that between uses the ozonater and the N2 were doing something (maintaining my water) I will be installing a new Ozonater (easy, plug it in and hook up the hose to it, just make sure the check valve is facing the right way) And I will be getting another N2 cartridge. Makes it easier between uses.

[stl-rex]

Something else to keep in mind is that you can go from Chlorine to Bromine without emptying the spa. To go from Bromine to Chlorine, you would need to drain it to get the Bromine residual down. If you start with Baqua, from what I've read, you have to thoroughly drain it and use other chemicals to completely rid the spa of Baqua. For that reason alone I would suggest you start with Chlorine or Bromine simply because to switch between the two is easier than if you start with Baqua and later want to switch.

[Chas]

Something else to keep in mind is that you can go from Chlorine to Bromine without emptying the spa. To go from Bromine to Chlorine, you would need to drain it to get the Bromine residual down. If you start with Baqua, from what I've read, you have to thoroughly drain it and use other chemicals to completely rid the spa of Baqua. For that reason alone I would suggest you start with Chlorine or Bromine simply because to switch between the two is easier than if you start with Baqua and later want to switch.

This is good advice.

I'm not sure what chemicals you are referring to when going off Baqua - I would be interested to learn more about it - but I do know that a very thorough water change and cleaning of the filter are called for.

[thestallion]

This is good advice.

I'm not sure what chemicals you are referring to when going off Baqua - I would be interested to learn more about it - but I do know that a very thorough water change and cleaning of the filter are called for.

I believe there is a special flush you use when getting away from Baqua.