I'm new to this forum, but Dr. Spa and others have been very helpful with my Son's spa problem. After reading many of the forum entries I've noticed that a lot of the problems are related to heaters, and that they are very expensive. I have an old (spelled ANTIQUE) spa I bought about 20 years ago, and the heater quit working after a short time. It has a brass cast tube through which the water circulates, and has a heater element screwed into the end of the tube. When I contacted a dealer they gave me what seemed to be a rediculous price for a simple heat element, and the one I removed looked exactly like a standard domestic water heater element, so I went to the local appliance repair shop and bought a 4000 watt water heater element. It cost me about $8, and fit and operated exactly like the original. I think the only difference was probably that the spa elements must be coated to be more corrosion resistant, but for the difference in price I can replace elements once a year and still be far ahead financially! Anyone know why they use the expensive units they do now, and would there be a market for one like I have, as a cheap replacement for the expensive units?