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[justaguy]

Hello all, I am beyond confused lol. Looking for my first tub and have narrowed it down to a couple of models. Sundance maxxus, coast spa, arctic spa tundra, and the artesian piper or pelican bay (but i am told to stay away from loungers)....and stay away from full foam and stay away from tubs that do not have full foam (get the picture)....now I know its impossible to answer the question whats the best....and all the above tubs I have read about on forums have ppl that say they are great and ppl that say that they are junk.....any service ppl out there have any history on these tubs...or anyone...please help...lol....I am at the point of just forgetting about getting one....thanks

[Spatech_tuo]

Hello all, I am beyond confused lol. Looking for my first tub and have narrowed it down to a couple of models. Sundance maxxus, coast spa, arctic spa tundra, and the artesian piper or pelican bay (but i am told to stay away from loungers)....and stay away from full foam and stay away from tubs that do not have full foam (get the picture)....now I know its impossible to answer the question whats the best....and all the above tubs I have read about on forums have ppl that say they are great and ppl that say that they are junk.....any service ppl out there have any history on these tubs...or anyone...please help...lol....I am at the point of just forgetting about getting one....thanks

1) I would not say stay away from lounges. I would say do not get a lounge spa unless you wet test firt or unless you're getting a large spa and there are only a couple of you that will use it and its not a big deal if you don't use part of it. If you don't wet test and find out later that you don't like/fit the lounge then you have about 1/3 of the spa that you don't like to use. For those who like the lounge its a great thing, the wet test will tell you a lot.

2) One of the main things I would concern myself with in looking for a spa is energy efficiency, quality and being from a maker known to back its product well. My personal short list would include Caldera, D1, Hot Srping, Jacuzzi and Sundance. All of those are full foam spas so as you see, you can expect to get different advice from different people.

[d00nut]

I agree with Spatech.  However, I would add the into your equation, the dealer.  Getting a good quality spa is important up front, but getting a good dealer is just as an important.  A good dealer can make your experience great, and a bad dealer can turn you off to owning a spa forever.

[Water Boy]

I would agree with d00nut as well. The dealer can be as important, if not more important than the spa you would be getting, so make sure you do your research on the dealer. I would say that the the Arctic and the Sundance are in another class from the rest of the other ones that you are looking at. They are both solid brands of spas that will both stand behind their products, and are backed by good warranties.

[JulieMor]

On the full foam thing, I unintentionally became educated when I was hunting down leaks.  We have a 1993 Hot Springs Grandee.  After many years of problem free operation, the heater failed.  And it was during the winter.  And even though we emptied it as soon as we found cold water in the tub, not everything drained and things froze and cracked.

Hot Springs fully foams their spas.  And, based on energy costs over the years, that's been a good thing.  We hardly noticed an increase in our electrical bills when we first installed it and hardly noticed and decrease when we shut it down.  But if you have to find a leak, full foam makes that more difficult.  However, after we found the leaks and repaired them, we bought a foaming kit and made sure it was fully foamed again.  Besides the insulating quality, full foam adds stiffness and structural strength.  We chose to replace the foam even if it meant finding leaks is harder.  With a well made spa, leaks are rarely a problem.

Looking back, we should have called out a repair guy and had them fix the heater on the spot but someone here  has to fix everything and figures why pay someone else to do it?  Had that someone known to suction out the plumbing with a wet vac, we would have also been fine.

Anyway, we fixed the leaks from the freeze and have already tested it and those leaks are history.  There was a small leak in the pumps but we think we have them fixed now too.  When everything is done the tub will look better than new (new top and siding) and run pretty well too.  Not bad for an 18 year old hot tub.

I only have one other friend who owns a hot tub that's not Hot Springs and she had so many problems the manufacturer finally agreed to replace it for 1/4 new cost plus shipping.  If we ever bought a new one, we'd buy Hot Springs again.

[justaguy]

thanks to everyone who took the time to help out with my questions.....still lots of homework to do i guess...but at least it seems the full foam seems to be the way to go.

[Water Boy]

thanks to everyone who took the time to help out with my questions.....still lots of homework to do i guess...but at least it seems the full foam seems to be the way to go.

I wouldn't rule out Arctic just because they do not full foam their spas.  Many will tell you that Arctic Spas are just as energy efficient, if not more than lots of FF spas. If a spa is built and insulated right, FF or not, you can still achieve very good energy efficiency in those spas, and Arctic does that as good as anyone else. There are also lots of benefits to non FF spas, but I don't want to beat the dead horse on that subject. IMO, on the list of original spas that you had listed in your area, Arctic was one of the best available.  I would still do your homework, not only on the brands, but the dealers as well. Wet test the spas that you are looking at. Look at everything on the spa from top to bottom, inside and out.

[justaguy]

thanks..will do. the only thing i did notice on the arctic spa tunda was that it is kinda loud....this that because of all the pumps or because its not ff or both..im told that ff spas are not as loud but i didnt pay attention when i was checking out the ff spas

[ejf The Spa Guy]

I wouldnt' listen to the hype on the full foam and the thermal chamber spa... if you fid the right one of either they are a good spa,, i like the thermal chamber spas with a 24/7 circ pump,  lounger no lounger debate, depends on how they are designed,,,,,i would just check them out,,,,