Anyone have a Hot Tub?

[FISHGUTS]

We've had a lazy spa for a year & really enjoyed it (for it's cost), but now I fancy a proper one.

I'm looking for owners advice. There seems to be no advice on the internet on brands, owners experiences, etc.

There seems to be a huge difference in price from the ebay cheap China models, to getting one from say the hot tub superstore, who's products may be overpriced due to the 0% finance over 5 years??

I'm tending to shy away from the cheap unbranded Chinese stuff as I've heard & read too may horror stories.
Is it you get what you pay for like most products?

But then again the price differences for similar looking models vary by about 5k.
I'm tempted to buy a private seller, used, branded hot tub off ebay, that's 1-2 years old.

I can afford 5-10k on one. Finance not essential.
And yes I know it won't add value to my house. I'm not looking for that.

Cheers for any advice.

 

[FISHGUTS]

Here's a site with a lot of useful information and approved retailers/installers and engineers

http://www.bishta.co.uk/

Thats great. Thank you.

 

[FISHGUTS]

I've ended up with a new branded Chinese tub, a Platinum Spas, Kenya.
Chinese made, but with a semi decent american acrylic shell & american pumps & controls.
It has 2 loungers, which I wanted.

The what spa website was informative & the free book they send out was good.
http://www.whatspa.co.uk/

I looked at a lot of fairly new second hand ones on ebay of various makes, the trouble with these I found out, was the warranty is generally not transferable.
Also the cost of moving is often prohibitive.
I learned the shell condition is the most important thing as generally everything else can be fixed fairly easily.

After asking a lot of questions to different sellers, both internet & shop I was pretty happy with the quality I'd be getting for the money, the insulation wouldn't be the best or are the speakers.

I got a fantastic price on it as a straight purchase without finance. Buying out of season definitely helped getting a great deal.
I've had it for around 3 weeks now and I'm more than happy with it & the quality for the price. I guess time will tell on this though.

I've spent just over £100 on extra insulation stuff.
2 sheets of 50mm kingspan for the side panels, 25mtrs of foil bubble insulation, which I've insulated most of the internal pipes with & wrapped all the internal sides and put a few more layers on the floor.
I also bought a pool thermal cover that sits on the water.
It's been a bit time consuming doing the pipes, but was easy enough & has made a massive difference to heat loss & reducing the noise of the pumps.

 

[FISHGUTS]

It's around £500 to £600
in electricity & chemicals a year. I buy chemicals in bulk though.
I bought a pool cover as an extra insulation material for it, which makes a big difference(IMHO) for the minor inconvenience of pulling it off & putting back on.
That is with use of around 3-4 days a week at 30 mins a shot.
What hot tub do you have & insulation levels?

 

[FISHGUTS]

Yes the Santorini is different layout, same setup/insultion.
I knew it was a decent shell & pump, but crap insulation when I bought it.....but you can save thousands on a new price of a better tub for doing it yourself.
I did my homework.
Tbh I could still do better.
I put 50mm celotex in all exterior panels & the accessable floor areas. & all pipes have been done in pipe lagging, which again is cheap.
I probably spent £100 to £150 on insulation. It's a ball ache in labour, maybe 12-16 hours total, but if your a handy fella it can save thousands.
The pool cover material as an extra that sits on the water top is a massive improvement, check out ebay for that.
In essence you can turn a cheaper hot tub into a hugely better one if you put the effort in.

 

[FISHGUTS]

Sorry to hijack the thread but I am just wondering... if the hot tub is only to be used once in several months, theres no point runnint it constantly?

We currently buying a house and owners are leaving a hot tub, which they often use and run it 24/7.
But we wont probably use it at all untill summer or use it very rarely.

Thanks

No not for that usage, but if your not really interested, is there any point in having it?

 

[FISHGUTS]

In summer I had it at 37 deg, now between 38.to 38.5. If it's giving wet & windy for more than 3-4 days & I know I wont use it I'll turn it down to the minimum of 26deg.
Where are you & what is your usage?
Interested in what you got told on buying it?

 

[FISHGUTS]

Glad it worked for you