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Author Topic: Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?  (Read 11627 times)

Tubnewb

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Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
« on: August 19, 2013, 11:54:20 pm »
Hi folks,

Is anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
Do they produce a high quality hot tub compared to more well known brands such as Marquis, Jacuzzi, Hot Springs, Clearwater or Beachcomber?

If you're familiar with Birch Bay, what's your experience with dealing with the company? How are they with handling warranty issues?

I saw the Birch Bay BT-7L in the flesh filled with water and with running jets but I haven't wet tested it yet. I quite like the configuration and layout of the tub but have never heard of the company so I'm not sure if I should proceed any further.

I tried google search and searching this forum but couldn't find any info on Birch Bay tubs.

Thanks in advance for the help. 

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Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
« on: August 19, 2013, 11:54:20 pm »

MarKee

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Re: Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2013, 03:52:08 am »
It's a low end Clearwater tub

Tman122

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Re: Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2013, 06:30:08 am »
Clearwaters value line. One of them. I think they have others.
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Tubnewb

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Re: Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2013, 09:23:09 pm »
Clearwaters value line. One of them. I think they have others.

Hmmm... That's interesting.

The dealer priced this birch bay tub (BT-7L) at $7000 whereas he price Clearwater branded tubs at lower price points: Clearwater XS Series 93L for $6750 and the Clearwater XS Series 84L for $6500.

I'm confused on the pricing...

Do you know if the birch bay tubs use cheaper components to that of the Clearwater branded tubs?

Thanks for the help guys.


Tman122

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Re: Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2013, 06:05:52 am »
I thought we had some Clearwater folks around here. I think the XS series is also their value series under the Clearwater name.
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Sam

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Re: Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2013, 01:35:55 pm »
Birch Bay are made by Clearwater.  They still use balboa controls and aqua-flo pumps.  Some of the differences are:

- The synthetic cabinet is stronger in the Clearwater line
- Things that are standard on most Clearwaters are options on Birch Bay, like ozone, circ pump, LED, waterfalls, etc.
- Birch Bay uses a wood frame, though it is not structural
- The warranty is a little shorter in Birch Bay

The reason for the confusion is because up until recently, the XS series was clearwater's lower end line.  There are some Birch Bays that are more expensive than the XS series because the Birch Bay would be larger and have more jets.  The differences that I listed above still mostly apply though. 

All of this said, the Birch Bays are great tubs when it comes to bang for buck.  Imo, they have the strongest shell in the industry.  This is backed up by the best shell warranty in the industry, 20 years on structure and surface.  I think the next closest surface warranty is 7 years.  That's a big difference.  Keep in mind, Birch Bay only has 10 year structure and surface, but it is made the exact same way as the full Clearwater line.  The 2 lines are actually very similar.  They use some old molds for the Birch Bay, which is another way they are able to lower the cost.

They are not one of the big 5 mentioned here all of the time, but I think they are excellent tubs.

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Re: Anyone familiar with Birch Bay Hot Tubs?
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2013, 01:35:55 pm »

 

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