Anyone purchased one new locally? Where did you go?

also from an older thread:

Quote :

"So I've been doing some more research and it sounds like getting a hot tub with a circulation pump is vital to keeping the monthly bills down. the cheapest one at that spa place on capital in mini city (rec warehouse) that has a circ pump is like $6700 The guy said that anything below that in price will cost at least $40-$50 in bills every month. Does that make sense...you HAVE to have a circ pump if you want your bills to be reasonable? ($20ish)."

Also what features should I be looking for besides a circ pump?

12/21/2008 12:10:45 PM

The ROI period for the extra cost of one with the recirc pump vs the energy savings seems to be terribly long. Really doesn't seem worth it to me.

[Edited on December 21, 2008 at 12:13 PM. Reason : asdf]

12/21/2008 12:13:15 PM

so instead of heating the water directly, you just pull off the water heater with a heat exchanger?

12/21/2008 12:26:36 PM

are you set on a new one? you can find used hot tubs for a fraction of the cost, some barely used at all.

12/21/2008 12:47:49 PM

yeah, i looked around ebay/craigslist for one once..mainly i was just curious what they cost and found used ones were usually hardly used at all and for like 1/4-1/3 the price of a new one

12/21/2008 1:10:18 PM

what is their reasoning for needing a circulation pump. i agree its good, but are they comparing that too running the main pump 24/7?

12/21/2008 5:15:39 PM

Quote :

"what is their reasoning for needing a circulation pump. i agree its good, but are they comparing that too running the main pump 24/7?"

i think they were comparing that to running the main pump every 6 or 8 hours or whatever cycle it has. maybe they were just trying to sell me a more expensive hot tub

12/22/2008 8:30:29 AM

Definitely go to Rising Sun off of Hillsborough. They will tell you everything you need to know and I know they can get you a hot tub with a circ pump for <$6700.

http://www.risingsunpools.com/spas/spas.html

12/22/2008 10:50:56 AM

thank you for not calling them spas. a spa is a building that you go to for massages and shit. i know that might be common use in the business but it sounds stupid.

kinda like "high speed online". online what? online is an adjective.

12/22/2008 11:06:26 AM

when you find one that you like let me know, I may be able to beat the price

12/22/2008 11:48:29 AM

^ cool do you have a shop somewhere or anything? can you get all brands or only certain ones?

12/22/2008 1:12:38 PM

Well we don't really do retail sales, but if it is a brand that I could get through one of our distributors I might be able to beat a price.

12/22/2008 1:17:04 PM

bttt

12/27/2008 6:21:09 PM

bttt

12/31/2008 9:03:56 AM

Atlantic Spa in Raleigh is really nice. That's where my dad got his.

1/2/2009 11:14:22 AM

dont buy a new one. wait for some person to buy one and become bored with it after a couple of years and buy it off of them on craigslist or in the classified section at a HUGE discount.

never buy stuff like this new. chances are, you will get bored of it too.

1/2/2009 2:50:04 PM

huge discounts are cool

but it's gonna come with no warranty, so there will be more (potentially huge) maintenance costs.

and moving it from point a to b has to be a huge pain in the ass. i'll probably have to hire someone to do it [right]. maybe i'll call around the hot tub places and see if they do that.

1/2/2009 7:59:27 PM

Quote :

"dont buy a new one. wait for some person to buy one and become bored with it after a couple of years and buy it off of them on craigslist or in the classified section at a HUGE discount."

Amen.

Just get a name brand one used.

I have a Jacuzzi brand one that I bought of some guy that was going to tear his house down and rebuild a bigger one. I had to round up nine friends to help move it, we had to rig a tarp and some 2x4's to make basically a big sling to carry it through a gate.

Total pain in the ass took all day but we got it back there in one peice. The wire to power it was $3 a foot, about $90. I got the breaker and circuit box off the guy who sold it that saved me some money.

I got the whole thing for $1200 and it has been abused all to hell and never required any service. One of the relays got stuck closed when it was cold a few weeks back and we all passed out with the top off. (heat ran all night)

I unstuck it with a screwdriver and its worked fine ever since.

You are gonna pay out the ass for chemicals, etc, no sense paying out the ass up front for it.

My only regret is not getting a deeper one, when its like 30 degrees out I wish the water was shoulder height without sliding down in it.

Just get an ozone ready one or one with an ozone injector on it already and keep a fresh spa frog in there and you will not have to do much to keep the water balanced.

1/2/2009 11:03:59 PM

theres some big ass pool and spa thing @ the fairgrounds this weekend

1/3/2009 1:26:24 AM

^ I was going to say that b/c saw the commercials on tv at the gym and thought it was odd.

1/3/2009 2:08:41 AM

Quote :

"Atlantic Spa in Raleigh is really nice. That's where my dad got his."

thats what i'm leaning towards...sundances are really nice and the sale guy i'm working with is 0 pressure and doesn't talk trash about other spas/dealers, which seems to be a rarity.

1/18/2009 6:51:43 PM

things to look for

- # of jets
- massage seat
- depth (especially if you are tall and want to use it in the cold)
- ozone injection

1/20/2009 2:52:32 PM

ive been in once today. Im planning on round 2x tonight

1/20/2009 8:31:57 PM

Atlantic Pool & Spas and look at something made by Watkins (pref. Hot Spring but Tiger River & Hot Spot are good quality too). My family (not Atlantic, we cover the western & central part of the state) has been in the hot tub business for over 25 years. We've carried pretty much everybody out there and we've dropped everyone but Watkins. Everyone else had too many quality issues or just plain wasn't as good. Hot Spring has won more awards than any other spa line out there and they keep getting more every year. They're tops in quality, owner loyalty, & energy efficiency.

As for features, what do you want? the biggest thing that I'd look for in what kind of insulation do they have? Most of them (especially the cheaper ones) have low density crap insulation (if any at all). That will have a huge impact on your bill every month. Find out about the warranty & see specifically what it covers. Most newer spas that are decent quality will have settings so that you can change the pump timing from 8-24 hours to reduce load and/or reduce heat fluctuation.

As for the used stuff, be REALLY careful if you go that route. Most people that buy a spa use it all the time. The people selling spas will be either upgrading, moving, or just plain didn't use it. If they fit in the latter category, I'd suggest seeing if you can have a tech come out to give the spa a once over. You can get a lot of damage if it wasn't taken care of properly. Whether it's leaving the top off and the shell blistering or letting the chemicals get way out of line to the point where you have corrosion in lines, fittings, & in the pumps, it's something I would get checked out. If it's someone in the 1st 2 categories then you should be mostly ok. if they're upgrading something that's 5-6 years old, make sure they're not doing it because they're starting to have problems. If they're moving, find out whether they were a religious user or rarely used it at all.

Last thing is to do some wet tests. Try to do it in the specific spas that you're considering. If that's not possible, try to get as similar as possible. It's amazing how different people are and what people end up liking is quite often completely opposite of what they originally wanted. We've had people come in saying that they had to have a lounger. They'll do a wet test & find out that their body will just float out of a lounger so they get no benefit from it. Others will think they want as many jets as possible on their back and then find out that it's only 1-2 specific spots that really matter for them. Of people that don't use their spas, I'd guesstimate that somewhere around 85-90% never did a wet test. In reality, that's the most important thing. It's like buying a car without ever going on a test drive.

1/21/2009 1:13:05 AM