getting my first new / used hot tub

[benalexe]

hello,
I am new here.  My brother has a 2003 thermospa manhattan. I think it is like an $8,000 tub. Giving it to me for free.

Bear with me as I am sure I will have a lot of Q's in the future but my first one is this.


I am a little concerned about the electric bill for this  so my first question is, is there a way to turn off the heater  or turn it down very low.  In the summer maybe I don't need to heat it. And in the winter months can's I keep it at like 50 degrees unless i plan on using it?

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

You can turn the heat down for the summer, but to turn down to 50 in the winter thenheat it back up is not going to save you money unless you only plan on using the tub once every couple of months, plus 50 is much closer to freezing if the power goes out, higher temp is going to take longer to get to 32 degrees in those situations. There are other ways you can help reduce heating costs, first being to check the insulation. Some thermos were full foam, some are not and the ones that are not did not utilize the best thermal pane/dead air space technologies. The control system they used back then should have the option of an economy mode also. Check into that, it may help a small amount.

[Swell-Tub]

hello,
I am new here.  My brother has a 2003 thermospa manhattan. I think it is like an $8,000 tub. Giving it to me for free.

Bear with me as I am sure I will have a lot of Q's in the future but my first one is this.


I am a little concerned about the electric bill for this  so my first question is, is there a way to turn off the heater  or turn it down very low.  In the summer maybe I don't need to heat it. And in the winter months can's I keep it at like 50 degrees unless i plan on using it?

I'm kind of new here myself and I am waiting the delivery of my new spa. I don't know if this applies to your tub or not but I was told most tubs cost around $20/month for electricity.  I live in Las Vegas and I'm sure it costs more up North. What part of the country do you live in?

Scott  

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

$20.00 a month after the intial heating of the water and if it is 60 outside, not counting if you turn on the main pumps...more use equals more energy consumption. Our small Clearwater, which passed the CEC testing came out with these results, with tub up to temp....

Based on an operating tempreture of 102 degrees constantly. With an average electric rate of 10 cents per kWh. Ambient air temp. of 60 degrees constantly. Used 138 kWh/month at an average of $9.90 per month. This is for a small 3 person tub.

[hottubdan]

Swell Tub,

What do you pay per KWH?  I question $20.00/month.  What are the use parameters?  Where is the documentation?

Hill Billy,

So, what does it cost for power if you actually use the tub?

[Swell-Tub]

Swell Tub,
What do you pay per KWH?  I question $20.00/month.  What are the use parameters?  Where is the documentation?
Hill Billy,
So, what does it cost for power if you actually use the tub?

You got to remember we don't need to use our heaters here in Las Vegas.  

[Swell-Tub]

Swell Tub,

What do you pay per KWH?  I question $20.00/month.  What are the use parameters?  Where is the documentation?

Here is what Hot Springs say the cost of a tub will be.

http://www.hotspring.com/Spa_Showroom_Hot_Tub/energy-efficiency.html

Our cost per KWH is tiered. The more you use the more it costs. On the lowest tier I pay .12/KWH.

Scott  

[Spatech_tuo]

hello,
I am new here.  My brother has a 2003 thermospa manhattan. I think it is like an $8,000 tub. Giving it to me for free.

Bear with me as I am sure I will have a lot of Q's in the future but my first one is this.


I am a little concerned about the electric bill for this  so my first question is, is there a way to turn off the heater  or turn it down very low.  In the summer maybe I don't need to heat it. And in the winter months can's I keep it at like 50 degrees unless i plan on using it?

INSULATION. The high bills are due to the shoddy insulation on those spas. Take off a side and you'll see. Go to Home depot with a picture of what you have and ask them what options they carry for better insulating the spa.

[benalexe]

i live in Long Isalnd  our electric rates are the highest in the country.   so as much as i would want to use it in the winter i see myself turning it off  in the fall.  The tub is free so the price is right.

[ndabunka]

i live in Long Isalnd  our electric rates are the highest in the country.   so as much as i would want to use it in the winter i see myself turning it off  in the fall.  The tub is free so the price is right.

If it's a full foam unit then your monthly average bill will probably only go up by about $20/month.  However, if it is the (cheaper to make) Thermal Pane unit (i.e. very little foam internal and uses an "air barrier" for insulation), then the cost may go as high as $50/month in your area during the winter months.  But hey, it's Spring/Summer Time so it shouldn't cost you any more than $20/month to run it during the summer.  One factor on cost to run is how it is wired.  A spa capable of running on a 30amp won't cost as much as one that is wired to run on a 60amp when both are on "full load" so if you are trying to be conservative and have the option of using the lower 30amp setting, you may want to do that.

Also remember that you are still probably going to have to pay an electrician around $600 to run the 220v wiring in the first place unless you are handy and capable of doing it yourself which then may only cost you $200 for the GFCI and breaker boxes that it will need.

[Bonibelle]

$20.00 a month?  Does anyone on here pay $20.00 a month to run their tub?  :-/

I ran my tub in economy mode all winter and I am sure I saved electric, but doubt seriously that it only cost me $5.00 a week to heat and run my tub.

[In Canada eh]

$20.00 a month?  Does anyone on here pay $20.00 a month to run their tub?  :-/

I ran my tub in economy mode all winter and I am sure I saved electric, but doubt seriously that it only cost me $5.00 a week to heat and run my tub.

I sat down last winter and figured out our tubs electric bill.  In January and February our tub cost about $22 to $25 a month, in the summer it was about $17.  I was very pleasantly surprised because almost everyone told me it would be closer to $30 or $35.  Granted our tub is smaller then a lot of the peoples on this board, ours is 300 US gallons.  

Just another reason why I think Bullfrog builds a great tub

[Chad]

              2007

Lowest monthly bill  - $15

Highest monthly bill - $24

Mean monthly bill  -  $19

I live in the STL, pay $.07 per kwhs, and soak 5-6 days a week for about 15 minutes each soak. I also keep the tub between 102-103.

Your spa should use about 10 kwhs a day, give or take a few.

[Swell-Tub]

Your spa should use about 10 kwhs a day, give or take a few.

Well I pay .12 kwh and at 10 kwhs a day that would be $1.20 / day. Making my monthly bill $36.00. My main electrical use will be the pumps as my heater shouldn't have to work to hard here in Vegas.

Scott  

[Swell-Tub]

According to the Hot Springs cost chart posted earlier in this thread it should cost me:

City / Ambient Temp / Monthly kwh / khw cost/ Monthly Costs
Las Vegas, NV      70°      138      $ 0.10      $ 13.80

On the chart we have the highest electrical rate along with Miami, FL and Fairbanks, Alaska. And we still only cost $13.80 a month. Fairbanks was the most expensive at $28.30 / month. So the heater use doubled the cost.

Scott