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Jacuzzi J355 or Trevi Balneo 1000


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RE: Jacuzzi J355 or Trevi Balneo 1000

Help!  I am looking at purchasing one of those 2 Spa's.  I am a 50 year old athlete looking for something to help provide some relief after training.   I like the look of both and the Balneo has a lot more jets (which I have learned is not necessarily better).  Ultimately, the Jacuzzi is about 30% more expensive and I really don't want to spend that money for a little gain.  The sales person tried to convince me the Jacuzzi jets were much more powerful due to their size and will give a better massage.  Also less maintenance as he said the Balneo jets need to be removed and bearings cleaned time to time (As they twist around)  The Balneo sales person said nothing regarding this.  Both claimed their spa we super quiet.  Jacuzzi did say their cover is a premium cover to help maintain water temperature during our cold (Montreal) winter (I will use the spa year round). But Balneo's are made in Quebec and I am told well made to perform during our winters.   My primary considerations are...

1) massage therapy effectiveness

2) as silent as possible 

3) low maintenance

 Thank you for any thoughts you may have!

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Larger jets offer more therapeutic value than smaller jets. The Jacuzzi salesman is right.

Never heard of Balneo spa's. Maybe our friend @CanadianSpaTechcan chime in here about them.

From what little info they have on the website, I don't see anything about insulation type. In the frozen north, I would get the best insulated tub I could find. I know the Jacuzzi is well insulated.

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2 hours ago, Jeepers22 said:

But Balneo's are made in Quebec

@Jeepers22 @cranbiz Looking at the promotional video on the Trevi Website the Video is made at the Dynasty Spas Factory in Tennessee but everyone in the Video is wearing Trevi shirts...lol. So Balneo Spas are likely NOT made in Quebec. I know Trevi sells a LOT of spas and has a large dealer network in Quebec. Most if not all are relabeled Dynast Spas. I don't think Trevi actually makes spas even though you will see their name embossed in the acrylic. The Balneo line will likely come out of the Dynasty Spas factory. I am not knocking any of that. I really like Dynasty Spas. Vetting the dealer should be top on your list. Trevi vs Jacuzzi. Dealer Reputation, Call out fee's, Warranty should all play a critical role in your decision. Jacuzzi is what it is. You will pay extra for the name but they also hold resale value better than most down the line.

What model Balneo are you looking at for comparison.

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@CanadianSpaTech@cranbiz Thank you both!  I am looking at the Balneo 1000 https://www.trevi.com/en/pools-and-spas/spas/ligne-balneo/balneo-1000-s-50007

 https://www.jacuzzi.com/en-ca/j-355-hot-tub-with-comfort-lounge-seating-and-cool-down-seat/J-355.html

I think Trevi offers 3 years but not sure it covers all part.  I need to find out.   And Jacuzzi is 5 and I believe it does cover all parts. 

Of note is the sale person at Trevi said their spas are made in Quebec...so perhaps not.

Edited by Jeepers22
added wrong link!
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Warranties NEVER cover ALL parts. Especially those that can be damaged by neglect or bad chemistry.

For example, they say things like "10 year plumbing warranty", but don't mention that they don't consider jet inserts to be "plumbing". So when your spinners start blowing ball bearings into your spa, it's not covered. Same goes for gaskets/o-rings, light bulbs, and even heaters and pump seals in some cases.

Likewise, there are exclusions, such as freeze damage, which is considered neglect even when it resulted from the failure of a warrantied part and you called for service the day it tripped the breaker but the dealer can't get there til next tuesday and by then it froze. Not covered.

You can read the fine print but it won't help. You only find this stuff out after you submit a claim and it is denied.

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4 minutes ago, Jeepers22 said:

I think Trevi offers 3 years but not sure it covers all part.  I need to find out.   And Jacuzzi is 5 and I believe it does cover all parts. 

But are they pro rated over the life of the warranty? What do each charge for a trip fee to come out to service the warranty? Can range from $60 to $180 CDN. Jacuzzi will likely be somewhere on the higher end. 

There are a lot of jets in that Balneo spa but most are small type jets and you might not find them very comfortable.

What else are they offering? Things like delivery, start up chems, steps and cover lifters, GFCI... can all add up and can usually be negotiated into the sale to get you to sign but do it at the end after they have given you a price. No extras no deal good bye... "no wait come back".. "ok just spoke with my manager and they say if I add them in will you sign on the dotted line" is usually how it goes. Remember they are likely on commission and it is their job to get as much $$$ out of you as possible. Most will break before loosing a sale. Some $$ is better than 0 $$ at the end of their week. IMO always take them to the brink then walk away at least once. 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, CanadianSpaTech said:

they pro rated over the life of the warranty?

Oh yeah, the dreaded pro-rated warranty. After a month, you pay 90% of parts and 100% of labor. And your % goes up every year after until you are paying 200%. Scamtastic! It's just like la-z-boy.

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Hydrospa is not on the same level as Artic. Artic makes a good spa that does have decent insulation.

 

As far as a spa with low maintenance, my input is to go with the Frog @ease system. It's a bit more expensive than the dichlor-bleach method but so far, in my experience, it's super simple.

It uses smartchlor cartridges which keep the levels low and constant. Depending on the size of the tub, you can get 4-6 weeks out of one before changing it. I started by checking my water once a day and now only need to check it once a week. I have a 310 gal tub, the smartchlor cartridge is set for 2. The chlorine level is between 1-2 ppm consistently. It's been 3 weeks and the cartridge is around half full at this point and I figure 5 weeks safely.

Clean the filter once every week or so, do a full water analysis with the Taylor kit and check the Nature 2 cartridge, shock it and I'm done. Maybe takes 30 minutes total unless I have to adjust the ph.

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4 minutes ago, CanadianSpaTech said:

Sorry I hate to be a downer about a Canadian Biz but I am a hard no on Arctic. I get that a lot of folks love them... but I have seen things...lol

That's why I tagged you earlier. You have seen things, all I got is what I saw in the showroom and people's posts on them.

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5 hours ago, CanadianSpaTech said:

but I have seen things...

Mysteriously tantalizing statement. I'm sure we'd all like to hear about the things you have seen. Well, those that pertain to spas anyway. Nobody wants to hear about that OTHER stuff.😉

5 hours ago, CanadianSpaTech said:

minimum 5 years old...

🤐

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Beachcomber is a solid brand. There are 2 downfalls in my opinion. 

1) In almost all models, the pumps, etc. are located outside the main spa space. In my opinion, this leads to more potential for freezing of the plumbing.

2) the side skirts are not removable. This can lead to costly leak repair as the tub needs to be drained and accessed from the bottom of the spa. Warranty leak repairs usually mean the tub has to go back to the dealer for leak repairs while under warranty.

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3 hours ago, cranbiz said:

Beachcomber is a solid brand. There are 2 downfalls in my opinion. 

1) In almost all models, the pumps, etc. are located outside the main spa space. In my opinion, this leads to more potential for freezing of the plumbing.

 

Thank you for the reply! Will that make it louder!?  I want it to be super duper silent 🙂 

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@cranbiz@CanadianSpaTech @RDspaguy Thank you all once again for your help!  So I think it's down to 2 Spas

Baleno offers 1-3 year warranty depending on what it is, Jacuzzi is 5 years all in.  Other than that important difference, and any technical difference, the rest is the same (delivery, incentives, price etc...).  Any thoughts on either of these 2 (I upgraded my choice with Trevi from 1000 to 5000 based on trying to compare to the Jacuzzi Tub!

https://www.jacuzzi.com/en-ca/j-355-hot-tub-with-comfort-lounge-seating-and-cool-down-seat/J-355.html

https://www.trevi.com/en/pools-and-spas/spas/ligne-balneo/balneo-5000-s-50014

Thanks again guys!

 

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@Jeepers22 I'm a Hotspring Highlife fanboy, but between those two spas my vote is entirely for the J355.  The J300 series has been around since at least the 90's and Jacuzzi is obviously the oldest name in the industry (seriously, the J350 was available way back in the early 90's - slightly different styling but same general seat layout!). The J300 series is a cut above the average mid-grade hottub in the industry in my book.

I was seriously looking at a Jacuzzi originally before I found my Hotspring Jetsetter, but back then in 2019 the styling of the J300 series was hideous, the redesigned 2020 styling is much more sexier in my opinion (more befitting of the name brand and price point).

But as others have said - be sure to ask the local dealer about call out fees, not all dealers for the brand have the same callout fees.  My dealer for example includes five years free callouts and warranty service on most components (but not all), although some dealers only offer six months to a year free callouts before charging a diagnostic fee to come out and look at your tub.

 

 

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