Hello, I am doing an addition to my back porch (new slab 10x30) and adding a hot tub . Any makers to avoid , suggestions? 200v vs 110v ?
lighting etc...it will be just a 4/5 person and nothing to fancy. I live near Dallas and was hoping to have it shipped/delivered to my place . my budget is about 5k, thanks !
Shawn

Costco online has some good deals if you are a member.

Timely topic as SHMBO has informed me a few weeks ago (after we visited my sister near Austin) that we NEED a hot tub again.

We went an visited the largest hot tub dealer in NC last weekend and sat in several. There are a lot of subtle differences between the various makes and models.

The two brands we are interested in (so far) are Wellis and Everest but I don’t know if that means anything… I have been told that getting a tub wired for 220V is the way to go.

We have the Thermospa guy coming over tomorrow. Personally we are leary of buying online as many of the reviews have horror stories about getting any warranty service done.

Had three. Now have Hot Springs, best so far.

Yes, the online experience leaves a lot to be desired so it seems. Most folks are saying buy local/repaired local.

I bought a Swim Spa made by Endless Pools.
I did a lot of research before I bought. There is A lot of junk on the market, I would avoid anything sight unseen.
Many tubs are all flash. Customers do not check the internals. Fiberglass construction formed over plywood is a construction method that will fail.When the wood gets wet and metal supports that are not treated get wet they decay and the fiberglass that was formed around them breaks.
Also consider maintenance and repairs, many tubs are very hard to get to for repair, no consideration to this when built or slapped together.

I would NOT consider anything that is 120v; 220V is the only way to go.

I bought a Hot Springs Grandee, 500 gallon, in the fall of 2012. Still using it today. I remodeled in 2011 and had a large slab poured behind the house. When it was being prepped to be poured I had my electrician run 220 for power. It's been a very good tub for me. I have replaced a pump, had one leak, and had some sediment build up in the line totaling about $800. I would only consider Hot Springs or Caldera today. No real experience with Caldera but a good friend has had one for 5+ years and has had no problems with his.

Amazon is hard to beat for best pricing on spa chemicals. Buy your chemicals in bulk. I use the Frog Serene Floating System in my tub. I run my tub from September to May. I drain and shut down over the summer. The hardest thing to learn for me was getting my water balanced. Every one will have different water chemistry, but our water is ph high. I go through way more ph- than the other way. I add 1 bromine tab weekly for the first couple months. I add ph-, shock, stain and scale preventer, and foam down almost weekly. After about 3 or 4 months I taper off the ph-. I do use some PH+. If I let the water sit too long and don't use something to combat scale I will get scale build up and it's like sandpaper. It will cover everything. It comes off but don't let it get that far.

Good Luck!

Had a Hot Springs at the last house, and will buy another for this house soon.

I really really like the salt system. Much better than chlorine for the skin and also for swimsuit longevity.

There is a learning curve on managing the salt system, but it is actually really easy. The key is to start with SOFT water. If you don't, you'll never get it right. Tweak the pH and then it should be trouble free for months. The difficulties we had were when the grandkids and others get in with lots of lotions and hair products on their bodies. Idk if regular chlorine tolerates it better, but the salt system struggled with clearing soapy residues. I always had to shock it after their visits.

Our system was 220v.

We have a Limelight 6 seat hot tub we’ve had since about 2008. Ours sits under a roof which is invaluable during inclement weather. It has a couple of skylights but they’re more to break up gloom than looking through at the sky. Keeping it covered will go a LONG way to limit wear and tear; ours looks quite good being out of direct sunlight/rain/snow/etc. Bear in mind that hot tubs don’t last forever; they have a lifespan like any other product. Here is a list of issues I’ve encountered and health with myself when necessary.

Replaced recirculation pump.

Replaced heating element.

LED lights went dark about 5 years ago (would be too expensive to fix)

Hidden leak. Began about a year ago. We’ve used a compound that finds and supposedly seals leaks twice. Both times, the leak came back, though currently it is extremely minimal.

If something truly life ending for it occurs (like, say, a big pump dies, or the motherboard takes a dump, etc), we’ve liked having it enough to replace it but might spring for an extended warranty next go around.

I think we spent about $5k in 2005 for a 4-5 person one. We replaced it a couple years ago with one the same size, but better quality materials for $9k.

We had a Hot Spring Grandee as well. IMO they are top of the food charts. 220 is a must - especially in cold climates where fast recovery is important. Circulating water can cool fast at 0°.

mcrimm is right, 220 only. Same for pool pump motors, 220 only.

I used to have a hot tub, came with the house, my buddy and I used to sit in the tub in the dead of winter, sometimes under sleet and snow, with wide brim hats drinking port with Macanudos. One time a meteorite, or a piece of one of the skylabs in orbit that burnt up some years ago, streaked down over my roof, right over our heads, and I later found a piece of it in my pool. For a second I thought the end of the world might have been at hand (alcohol may have been involved).

And don't forget an insulated top cover, heating a hot tub in the Winter is not exactly cheap.

that is the good stuff LOL, 220 it is and thank you to the above for the slab pics, helpful for sure..

did you specify any specific PSI on the slab??

Water weight approx 8.3 lbs per gallon x tub gallons capicity plus weight of the actual tub gets weight for PSI rating on the concrete needed.... Over pour rating now instead of repairing later due to failure. .............. drill sgt.

What he said, verify with your concrete contractor.

500 gallons at 8.5# per gallons = 4250# + 750 for the tub and 1200# for 4 occupants= 6200# standard spec for concrete is 2,500 psi so as long as the tub bears on more than 5 square inches you should be plenty fine with whatever mud your guy can scrounge up. It’s what’s under the concrete that determines how the slab performs.

Not a hot tub expert but we put one in our backyard two years ago.

Ours is sunken in the patio about half way. Our landscaper installed an 8" slab and built the pit walls out of block. The trick is to make the pit about 1' wider and 2.5' longer so you can access the tub side panels if something needs maintenance.

We went with the Marquis spa after several months of research. Marquis has one of the better warranties and I liked the quality. I little more expensive but I'm hoping to get 20 years out of the spa.

I spent time on this Hot Tub University site to read up on the opinions and educate myself on the spas. Take it with a grain of salt as he is biased towards the Master Spa as he's a rep for the company.

Hot Tub University

We just visited our Hot Springs dealer and were pretty impressed.
For those that have the salt system how do you like it? Does it really reduce your maintenance?
Thanks!

To above post. Yes it reduces maintenance. Once you have one, you'll never have one without.

We don’t have one but friends do. Sitting out at night, summer or winter, with drinks and watching the sky is awesome. I’d never put one under a solid roof.

I like the idea of wide brimmed hats. That would help when it snows.

And yes salt is The Way.