Serious major melt down

[clover]

With 28 years in this industry, I haven't seen this happen since 1985.  Our customer calls our cell # on a Saturday evening to tell us his spa has over heated, parts have melted, and the jets have been blown out. 

Yeah, sure, we thought it was an "overly excited homeowner" trying his best to describe his dilema.  But, there are multiple safety switches and other measures that prevent this from happening.  Needless to say, we were not epecting what we found.

To our amazement, he was absolutely correct.  The jet's blew out of their sockets and were sitting in the seats and foot well, the filter lid "melted and sagged" like I have never seen before, the suction lines on the pumps and the related pvc fittings were "sucked in" and collapsed, the tub was half full when we got there, and the water had cooled down to a simmering 108°after sitting for 32 hours.  This is a "major, well known manufacturer" with sophisticated electronics circuitry, and there is no way "in our minds" that this could possibly occur, BUT, it did. 

Has anyone accross the country had any similar occurences.  This spa was manufactured and delivered in August 2005.

[Chas]

I have only seen a tub really hot - but never as hot as you report - when the jets were left running with the lid tightly closed. That can over heat most tubs.

Having said that, most tubs will shut off the jets after a set amount of time, just to keep this from happening.

Mystery.

[.]

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[clover]

So will the warranty cover this disaster?

Yes, Dealer trip charge to look, (3 mile trip) $125, $500 shipping, $500 Dealer, $500 for disposal, no new warranty (a few months remain on original unit which will apply to the new unit), no investigation or explanation for cause, they don't want it back.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Would love to see some pictures!!  That thing must have gotten hella hot to do that. 

[soak-king]

Would love to see some pictures!!  That thing must have gotten hella hot to do that. 

+1 

[In Canada]

OK I don't get it.

What kind of warranty forces a consumer to shell out $1625 to replace something that was clearly defective?  The costs should be absorbed by the manufacturer not the consumer.  The only charge I can somewhat agree with is the dealer trip charge other then that, no way, the owner was in no way at fault here

Never mind the pics I want to know the "major, well known manufacturer" so I can avoid them in the future

[Vanguard]

OK I don't get it.

What kind of warranty forces a consumer to shell out $1625 to replace something that was clearly defective?  The costs should be absorbed by the manufacturer not the consumer.  The only charge I can somewhat agree with is the dealer trip charge other then that, no way, the owner was in no way at fault here

Never mind the pics I want to know the "major, well known manufacturer" so I can avoid them in the future

Maybe the home owner got mad and took a blow torch to it!!   

I'd like to know what brand as well.  Seems crazy to me that the anyone would have to pay that kind of money for a melted spa that is still under warranty.

[Spatech_tuo]

Yes, Dealer trip charge to look, (3 mile trip) $125, $500 shipping, $500 Dealer, $500 for disposal, no new warranty (a few months remain on original unit which will apply to the new unit), no investigation or explanation for cause, they don't want it back.

$500 for Shipping AND $500 for Disposal? Yet they're not taking it back? Have them make up their mind, are they taking it back or are they just disposing of it. I assume thats all in the warranty but without knowing the mnaufacturer we can't check it out to see. Just include a few wide angle shots and we'll know the brand. If I'm the customer can I say "I'll cut it in half, show you the dealer the pieces and dispose of its myself to save the $1000 for shipping and disposal"?

[.]

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[Pathfinder]

Ive seen what happened twice in 12 years. Once on each pack maker & different brands but they were both made in early 90's. One reached 112 & the other was at an amazing  117 with deformed parts & water leaking through fittings and jets.  Needless to say it was a write off.

 Basically all manufactures have written that they are not responsible for the removal & shipping cost for their tubs.  But in reality and good business practice a dealer shouldnt be charging anything unless there's a crane needed or its completely decked in & those costs should be at cost you are not supposed to make money on warranty. The only company I know that stopped taking tubs back is Cal at least in Canada anyways. They started that back in 2007 since it was not cost efficient to send a tub to Cali & a new one back on their dime they left it to the dealer to dispose of the faulty one.

[VTXMAN]

OK I don't get it.

What kind of warranty forces a consumer to shell out $1625 to replace something that was clearly defective?  The costs should be absorbed by the manufacturer not the consumer.  The only charge I can somewhat agree with is the dealer trip charge other then that, no way, the owner was in no way at fault here

Never mind the pics I want to know the "major, well known manufacturer" so I can avoid them in the future

Every warranty (Hot springs, D1, Caldera, Cal...) I have ever read in this industry reads that way, now that does not mean some will not take care of it.

If it states those are not covered in the warranty the consumers has no gripe with the manufacture. They agreed to those terms with they bought the spa. Yes they can be upset but sometimes life is not always a bowl of peaches.

[Spatech_tuo]

Every warranty (Hot springs, D1, Caldera, Cal...) I have ever read in this industry reads that way, now that does not mean some will not take care of it.

If it states those are not covered in the warranty the consumers has no gripe with the manufacture. They agreed to those terms with they bought the spa. Yes they can be upset but sometimes life is not always a bowl of peaches.

Actually I don't think all spa makers state or do this BUT your point is valid that it was spelled out in the Sundance warranty if you take teh time to read it all:

If Sundance Spas, Inc. determines that repair of the covered defect is not feasible, we reserve
the right to instead provide a replacement spa equal in value to the original purchase
price of the defective spa. In such an event, costs for removal of the defective spa, shipping
costs for the replacement spa and delivery and installation of the replacement spa will be the
responsibility of the spa owner. The replacement spa warranty will be equal to the balance,
if any, remaining on the original spa.

[VTXMAN]

Every warranty (Hot springs, D1, Caldera, Cal...) I have ever read in this industry reads that way, now that does not mean some will not take care of it.

If it states those are not covered in the warranty the consumers has no gripe with the manufacture. They agreed to those terms with they bought the spa. Yes they can be upset but sometimes life is not always a bowl of peaches.

Actually I don't think all spa makers state or do this BUT your point is valid that it was spelled out in the Sundance warranty if you take the time to read it all:

If Sundance Spas, Inc. determines that repair of the covered defect is not feasible, we reserve
the right to instead provide a replacement spa equal in value to the original purchase
price of the defective spa. In such an event, costs for removal of the defective spa, shipping
costs for the replacement spa and delivery and installation of the replacement spa will be the
responsibility of the spa owner. The replacement spa warranty will be equal to the balance,
if any, remaining on the original spa.

I guess some may cover all those cost I have just never seen it. That is I why I stated the ones I have read, also warranties can change from year to year so the customer needs to insure the are reading the warranty for their year spa.

Me just being a lonely on repair guy I just get frustrated sometimes when folks make comments like "why should I have to pay" when they have never read the warranty on the spa and me being on the front line I get take the abuse with a smile on my face.

[ejf The Spa Guy]

it is true that on almost all manufacturers put a section on the event the spa is deemed to be non repairable in the field it is the responsibilty of the homeowner for removal, shipping both ways, and reinstalling... I have seem some manufacturers step up big time and some fall flat, I do not know if this is tru for Cal but when we sold them 2004-2006 we had to send a spa back and they charged freight we as a dealership ate it. just recently took back a Cal with bad shell problems, Cal did not want the spa sent back to them, we did not charge customer a dime we took care of the delivery and such,,, i believe that is part of business, that make us a loyal customer,i have only seen 1 spa do that in 10 years, also with any product you purchase not hust a hot tub , there comes service call charges or trip charges...But i also think on the replacemant of a spa the manufacturer takes on a case by case, D1 replaced a spa and there was no freight costs, that is standup for a company to do..