Unwilling to commit - inflatable hot tub?

[nicegirlannie]

After spending half of our last vacation in the hot tub at our hotel, my husband is now determined that we have one at home. Trouble is, we have nowhere to put it - our house and yard are tiny and overcrowded to begin with. He insists that we can find space and once it's there, it'll be so fantastic I'll wonder why I ever objected in the first place. I have my doubts.

So I've been googling around, looking for a compromise, and I think I've found it in the form of an inflatable hot tub (http://www.saferwholesale.com/Inflatable-Spa-p/inflatablespa90.htm). Has anyone had any experience with these that they can share?

[wmccall]

Welcome to the forum.  Most inflatable tubs run on 110 and reportedly heat very slowly and don't have much jet action.   I would probably stick with a smaller permanent tub.

[SpaGuy911]

stay away from 110, not worth it.  you are better off sitting in a bathtub and blowing bubbles with a straw then sitting in a 110 spa...

[Mongy]

I have a 450 gallon Spa2Go inflatable hot tub, and WE love it!
Certainly worth the small investment, honestly...it gives the same sensation as being in a big, jetted tub....Hot Water and pretty powerful air jets!!

All that and I just plug it in.

[wmccall]

I have a 450 gallon Spa2Go inflatable hot tub, and WE love it!
Certainly worth the small investment, honestly...it gives the same sensation as being in a big, jetted tub....Hot Water and pretty powerful air jets!!

All that and I just plug it in.

450 gallon inflatable?  I'll admit to never seeing one of those.

[Chas]

I would like to politely disagree with SpaGuy911 - you can get very good tubs which run on 110 volts. However, you really need to stick with the name brands if you do so. I would say that tubs which have a circ pump, are well insulated, and especially if they put a shroud on the jet pump motor to recycle the hot air - that way they don't tend to cool off while the jets are running.

But be aware, there are 110 tubs which are "plug and Play," which can plug into a 15 Amp outlet. That's a standard household outlet. Those usually have only a 1000 watt heater, and may not have all the other design features which allow them to work well on 110. Those have given the 110 tubs a black eye, for sure.

Also be aware, that if you go name-brand, you can usually count on needing to run in a NEW 110 volt outlet so the tub doesn't share the circuit with other appliances, and that can be half the cost of running in 220. If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated outlet in the place you put your tub, you can always try it for a season or two on 110, and then convert to 220 if you find that want the extra heating power.

Finally, consider a used tub to start with, to see if you will really love it as much as we all think you will - then trade up.

HTH

 

[Mongy]

I have a 450 gallon Spa2Go inflatable hot tub, and WE love it!
Certainly worth the small investment, honestly...it gives the same sensation as being in a big, jetted tub....Hot Water and pretty powerful air jets!!

All that and I just plug it in.

450 gallon inflatable?  I'll admit to never seeing one of those.

My Mistake...its 250 gallons :-)

[faeriegirl]

I say, go for it! I had an inflatable hot tub, and it was fantastic for what it was! The bubbles were powerful enough to pound the back, and it gave me an idea of what owning a hot tub was like, plus showed me that it was not a fad for me, and I have upgraded now.
The only problem I had, was that I have cats, and cats and inflatable tubs do not mix!
It lasted 2 months before it got scratched and punctured.