Outdoor Hot Tubs in New England Winters

[sorebikr]

AND, I think we need to charge people more to ask a question.

I would think most anyone over the age of 12 who sees "Minnesota" in a comment about winter understands that they win when it comes to weather.  No inside joke there.  (though I imagine someone from Buffalo is going to pop up at any moment to dispute this theory of mine).

I came here clueless, and have hung around long enough to at least answer some of the reallllly easy questions so that Dr. Spa and the like don't need to be bothered.  I consider it "paying it forward".

Maybe some people should hang out more than 2 days though, before telling the moderators what they "should" be doing.  Just sayin.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

first off, great purchase, I'm not much of a "lounger" guy but I absolutely love the lounge in the Aria...as too your question most of "winter care" is common sense stuff and some has already been mentioned: use a soft bristle broom to keep snow off the cover as much as possible, make sure when you open the cover your not folding it onto a big chunk of ice, if your cover lifter has moving parts and/or shocks try to go easy on it as much as possible because of course things tend to break much easier during the winter...some other tips would be to always have a clean set of filters "ready to go" because nobody is excited to do maintenance on tub when it is 10 degrees outside, so its always nice to pop in a fresh set and have the ability to clean the others in the warmth of your basement/garage/etc. at your leisure...also try to keep chems someplace relatively warm, its hard to add a couple tbsp. of pH decreaser when it is one 3lb. brick     good luck and enjoy the spa for years to come



oh and yes I am in Minnesota...the winters suck, but not nearly as bad as North Dakota, its bad enough to have -20 degrees but when you that temp and you add on the constant 20mph wind in North Dakota its realllly bad...during a heavy snow day you can literally leave the house and come back to 3'-4' snow drifts in your driveway in a matter of hours, its ridiculous

[hotubhotub]

Thanks Twin
  That's exactly the kind of info. that I was looking for. There are some obvious common sense things, but hearing from people who have dealt with the elements and have some helpful hints to share, well that's what I was digging for.
  I won't pretend that our winters are like yours or the Dakotas, (I am here by default but I couldn't handle it out there since I have a serious affinity with the sun and beach), however our winters are just a huge mixed bag. You just never know what you're going to get. We get anything from blinding 2 day storms with arctic wind chills, to Noreasters with heart attack snow that's like shoveling cement, to ice storms and you just name it.
  While the tub will certainly offset the winter blues to a degree, I can see it being a potential added chore on storm days.
Finally I am pretty excited about the make and model we bought. We don't always go high end with our toys, but this is a sweet hot tub with a good track record. After the wet test, I was sold.

[Tman122]

Thanks Twin
  That's exactly the kind of info. that I was looking for. There are some obvious common sense things, but hearing from people who have dealt with the elements and have some helpful hints to share, well that's what I was digging for.
  I won't pretend that our winters are like yours or the Dakotas, (I am here by default but I couldn't handle it out there since I have a serious affinity with the sun and beach), however our winters are just a huge mixed bag. You just never know what you're going to get. We get anything from blinding 2 day storms with arctic wind chills, to Noreasters with heart attack snow that's like shoveling cement, to ice storms and you just name it.
  While the tub will certainly offset the winter blues to a degree, I can see it being a potential added chore on storm days.
Finally I am pretty excited about the make and model we bought. We don't always go high end with our toys, but this is a sweet hot tub with a good track record. After the wet test, I was sold.

I would add a rug to the bottom of your access stairs. You can easiely bring it in to thaw. May save a fall on the ice that accumulates there.

Oh and that other poster. They supplied a lot of usefull information....NOT!

[hotubhotub]

The snow beat out my hot tub installation! I guess I can get some practice in now. ughhhhhhhhhhhh 

[Grandpaclark59]

Wow, seems like some guy woke up on the wrong side of the bed I'm sorry the snow beat you out!  Hope you're enjoying it!  I sure am glad I don't have to deal with all of that winter weather stuff, seeing as that I am from Huntington Beach! Come join me on the beach if you get frozen!

[wmccall]

Put yourself in the position of someone reading your posts for the first time, people that find this place by surfing the web are not going to be in on your personal relationships and dont have the time to surf all your old posts to try and figure it out, you need to be tecnical and save the fun little jabs at eachother for a forum more suited to that kind of bnanter.

Technically, we use an H in that word and keep our sentences to under 75 words.  

I'm totally kidding, we don't normally make fun of spelling or grammar, but missing the H in technical is kind of funny, and we do try to keep a sense of humor here as long as its not personal and I have to think anyone who reads "southern province of Minnesota" would know that is a joke.  

[hotubhotub]

Well we had one of the worst October storms in history, and as far as damage goes, one of the worst period. That delayed my installation by almost a full month. But after some delays and aches & pains with getting the tub up and running, I am very happy to say that we are fully enjoying our Hot Springs Aria. The spa is totally amazing. Nothing beats stargazing on a cold crisp night with perfectly clear skies.
 

[Tman122]

Well we had one of the worst October storms in history, and as far as damage goes, one of the worst period. That delayed my installation by almost a full month. But after some delays and aches & pains with getting the tub up and running, I am very happy to say that we are fully enjoying our Hot Springs Aria. The spa is totally amazing. Nothing beats stargazing on a cold crisp night with perfectly clear skies.
 

There ya go.

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

Well we had one of the worst October storms in history, and as far as damage goes, one of the worst period. That delayed my installation by almost a full month. But after some delays and aches & pains with getting the tub up and running, I am very happy to say that we are fully enjoying our Hot Springs Aria. The spa is totally amazing. Nothing beats stargazing on a cold crisp night with perfectly clear skies.
 

very nice 

[Tman122]

3 deg on my thermometer this am. Yep farenheit

[Chas]

Welcome to Spatopia!

As I am shivering in a 65 degree cold snap, waiting for the furnace to do it's job and getting a cup of coffee just to have something warm to hold on to, I like to sit here are read about having to shovel snow and thawing out rugs. You guys have my respect for living with cold, I just couldn't do it.

Of course, having a hot tub (and a sense of humor) might make it bearable.

Enjoy your Aria - I keep changing my mind, but I think that may end up being our next spa. They shoved all the power and jets of the Vista into a more compact package, and I like it a lot. I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy it, even in the cold.


 

[Tman122]

Welcome to Spatopia!

As I am shivering in a 65 degree cold snap, waiting for the furnace to do it's job and getting a cup of coffee just to have something warm to hold on to, I like to sit here are read about having to shovel snow and thawing out rugs. You guys have my respect for living with cold, I just couldn't do it.

Of course, having a hot tub (and a sense of humor) might make it bearable.

Enjoy your Aria - I keep changing my mind, but I think that may end up being our next spa. They shoved all the power and jets of the Vista into a more compact package, and I like it a lot. I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy it, even in the cold.


 

Had -4 this morning and a high of 16 for the day. This kind of weather is a concern when a tub goes down.There was another thread regarding how long before a freeze up and what to do. It would only take a few days before it would be a problem in this weather. Got a call from a guy today who did a drain and refill last week. He noticed this am that his display was flashing FL and the circ pump on his 2007 Tiger River had quit. It has been suspect for a while as it was starting to make noise. He called me after he put a small heater inside his equipment bay and asked how to replace it without draining. Smart guy.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

My guy went out last night to check on things, as the weather report said it was going to be the first night of below freezing temps of the season. He found his freeze protection wasn't working. Figured he'd deal with it in the morning. Temps dropped to 0 over night.

[Tman122]

My guy went out last night to check on things, as the weather report said it was going to be the first night of below freezing temps of the season. He found his freeze protection wasn't working. Figured he'd deal with it in the morning. Temps dropped to 0 over night.

So my buddys tub ended up freezing the circ lines last night anyway. No problem though he was quick enough, got it drained and blown out and has both pumps and the heater in the house. I will help him put it back together when the part shows. 29 for a high today.