Upstate NY Posted October 22, 2021 Report Share Posted October 22, 2021 This is my second hot tub and replaced a 23 yo Vitaspa with the Hot Springs Beam. My Vita runs on 220 so all the wiring was already installed and ready imo. My dealer talked me into using the 110v option rather than the 220. I asked him if the performance of the tub would be affected in anyway using that option and he said after initial start up there would be no difference. After paying $800 for install from breaker box to hot tub I already have my doubts. I'm 18 hrs post fill up and the temp has gone from 59f to 87f in 18 hours, that seems weak to me. Also I ran the jets while the heaters were on to check the amp usage and the jets on high seem very weak. Please tell me I'm wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranbiz Posted October 22, 2021 Report Share Posted October 22, 2021 Unfortunately, I don't feel that you are wrong. The difference should only be that it's going to heat more slowly and usually can't heat when running the jets. Pump speeds should be the same. IMHO, your dealer didn't do you any favors. If you had 220V available, that's what you should have got. I suspect this was a dealer selling something he had available. Really, do the math, the numbers don't lie. 50A at 220V or 30A at 110V. Which one has more power available to run different features? Your heater is probably set tor 1300W at 110V vs a 6000W heater at 220V. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upstate NY Posted October 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2021 2 hours ago, cranbiz said: Unfortunately, I don't feel that you are wrong. The difference should only be that it's going to heat more slowly and usually can't heat when running the jets. Pump speeds should be the same. IMHO, your dealer didn't do you any favors. If you had 220V available, that's what you should have got. I suspect this was a dealer selling something he had available. Really, do the math, the numbers don't lie. 50A at 220V or 30A at 110V. Which one has more power available to run different features? Your heater is probably set tor 1300W at 110V vs a 6000W heater at 220V. My gut has been telling me this since the beginning of the purchase process. I had to wait 10 weeks for one to come in. Same dealer I bought my vitaspa from 23 years ago, new owner who was top guy for the old owner. I asked him point blank if there was any difference in performance using the 110 and he assured me once the tub was to temp it would operate the same. I knew that if it dropped a degree while using it it might not heat back up quick but that didn't bother me. Now I wonder about the 'therapeutic" jets but won't have anything to compare too. I'm so pissed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranbiz Posted October 22, 2021 Report Share Posted October 22, 2021 In general, Hot Springs makes a decent tub and has a much better shell than the Vita's of today. However, if you were looking for maximum therapeutic value, this probably wasn't the tub to get. It only has a couple of high flow, large jets. Large high flow jets are what you need for maximum therapeutic value and this tub has an abundance of small jets. Was this bought because of price or was it size or was it features described to you? As far as flow, the performance won't be different. The pumps all spin at the same speed on 110V or 220V. The difference is the heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upstate NY Posted October 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2021 1 hour ago, cranbiz said: In general, Hot Springs makes a decent tub and has a much better shell than the Vita's of today. However, if you were looking for maximum therapeutic value, this probably wasn't the tub to get. It only has a couple of high flow, large jets. Large high flow jets are what you need for maximum therapeutic value and this tub has an abundance of small jets. Was this bought because of price or was it size or was it features described to you? As far as flow, the performance won't be different. The pumps all spin at the same speed on 110V or 220V. The difference is the heater. I purchased it after research and wanted a salt water tub. Therapeutic I meant the heat mostly, my wife never runs jets and I do occassionally. Of course on a new tub I'll try everything out. I'm glad you said the pumps all spin the same, I'll have to watch the heat. And the dealer really presented the tub as a tub made for 110. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranbiz Posted October 22, 2021 Report Share Posted October 22, 2021 A lot of the 110V tubs can be converted to 220V. Have you looked into that? For heat therapy, you are fine. Unless you are soaking for hours, you won't have a lot of heat loss and you should be able to recover before the next soak. It just will take a bit longer to recover with a lower wattage heater. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletonia Posted October 22, 2021 Report Share Posted October 22, 2021 If you have a Beam 1, which is the 110V version, there will be no difference in jet pressure if you run the hot tub on 220V. Only difference you will have is that the heat up time will be reduced drastically and the heater will be able to run concurrently with the jet pump. On average, you are only going to gain 1-2 degrees an hour on 110 volt so that 28 degrees in 18 hours is within reason. If you had a Beam II, which is the dedicated 220V version, then yes there would be a performance difference because it has a larger pump. Regardless which version of the Beam it is, if you're running on 220V, the heat performance and heat retention would be the same. It's been probably 2+ years since I have sat in a Beam 1. From my memory, it had very respectable jet pressure for being a 110V/220V hot tub. You will want to keep the air controls open, just like you would with most any hot tub to get the most power. You also have a diverter valve which will allow you to select which jets get max power. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upstate NY Posted October 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2021 2 hours ago, castletonia said: If you have a Beam 1, which is the 110V version, there will be no difference in jet pressure if you run the hot tub on 220V. Only difference you will have is that the heat up time will be reduced drastically and the heater will be able to run concurrently with the jet pump. On average, you are only going to gain 1-2 degrees an hour on 110 volt so that 28 degrees in 18 hours is within reason. If you had a Beam II, which is the dedicated 220V version, then yes there would be a performance difference because it has a larger pump. Regardless which version of the Beam it is, if you're running on 220V, the heat performance and heat retention would be the same. It's been probably 2+ years since I have sat in a Beam 1. From my memory, it had very respectable jet pressure for being a 110V/220V hot tub. You will want to keep the air controls open, just like you would with most any hot tub to get the most power. You also have a diverter valve which will allow you to select which jets get max power. I have the Beam 1. I plan to run it on the 110 for this winter and see if there are any issues for me with the heat. If so I'll switch to 220. Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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