Plumbing and shell only

[Metivier21]

I recently got a used three person hot tub for free.  It has six jets and the air has been capped off.   I was told it holds water and all the plumbing is good, but that is all that it has.  There are no controls, pump, heater, or anything.  After trying to do some research I am more confused.  From what I understand I will need a spa pack with a pump.  I am somewhat of a handyman and enjoy projects and fixing things so I would do all the labor, but this would be my first attempt on something like this.  I have looked over this forum and found a lot of good information but could not find anything like my situation.  Any help or links to previous similar discussions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Metivier21

[Chas]

First of all - I would look at the cabinet and insulation. If there is no cabinet, you will want to find a way to keep the heat in the thing, or it will be like trying to heat the great outdoors, with an electric heater no less!

Next, figure out if you want to run 110v or 220volt. Then get a system with about 1/4 HP per jet. That's just a starting point - if all six of your jets are the same size, you should get a pump rated at 1.5HP. A two-speed system is by far the easiest to install - as it has one pump which does double-duty: jets on high speed and heating/filtering on low.

You didn't mention filters - so if there is a filter built-in to the shell, go with that. Otherwise you will need an inline filter of some type.