Preparing to prepare to purchase a hottub

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

I don't know of an electrician that would even start the engine in his truck for only $200.00 :-)

[Bluetobb]

Thanks for opening my eyes to the electrical. I thought running a 50 amp 240 would be sufficient for any hot tub I would buy. Sounds like I should wait and find out what I am buying first. Easier to run 2 or 3 wires together than 1 then another and then another haha.

I think now I wait and watch. Start to put together a pad and get my local hot tub codes figured out.

I will be throwing up links now and again for opinions. I appreciate all the great knowledge and advice!

Dan

[Bluetobb]

So My wife wants me to ask. Why not Costco? http://www.costco.com/Divine-Hot-Tubs%E2%84%A2-DL-1040-Deluxe-2014-115-jet%2c-7-person-Spa.product.100104585.html

Her reasoning is if we go used then I am committing to doing upkeep and maintenance. Which she knows I am capable of. Then what are you getting out of an older used main name brand that you are not getting from a new Costco hot tub?

I hate when my wife uses logic!

Dan

[Hottubguy]

So My wife wants me to ask. Why not Costco? http://www.costco.com/Divine-Hot-Tubs%E2%84%A2-DL-1040-Deluxe-2014-115-jet%2c-7-person-Spa.product.100104585.html

Her reasoning is if we go used then I am committing to doing upkeep and maintenance. Which she knows I am capable of. Then what are you getting out of an older used main name brand that you are not getting from a new Costco hot tub?

I hate when my wife uses logic!




Dan

Take a garden hose out and put it on your back.  If that pressure is sufficient to you then by all means buy that tub.  That tub has 115 jets but many are the tiny not much flow jets.  I would never buy that tub without being able to try it first

[Hottubguy]

Plus that things 7k, you can get a much better tub for that price

[Ryan VSO]

The Divine is new to me , I have checked out their website and it look fine to me . On some pictures , theres a chinesse topside controller and on other its a balboa , I would make sure you get the balboa one .  This one come with 3 single horse 5hp pumps and 1 circ pump , assuming they provide a 4 or 5.5 kw heater , you would need a 60 amp breaker instead of 50 amp like they advertise. Despite this tub offer 115 jets , they look randomly inserted and compacted on 3 seats. It does not include any audio or any water sanitation system other than the ozone wich is standard .

Considering that this company doesnt have any background and that most of the manufacturer doing business with Costco go bankrupt , considering that its a curbside delivery meaning that you will have to spend an extra 200 $ to bring it into your backyard , No cover lifter wich you will probably need , the 6999 $ price seems expensive to me .. at 5999 $ that would be a deal . I would look for a local dealer if you have the budget or look at a company that have a good reputation that sell online .

[Bluetobb]

Thank you for the insightful feedback. Point well taken and I can't wait to share it with my wife.

I hate the idea of going to a dealer. I am envisioning buying a car and I hate car dealers. But I think I need to go to get an idea what each brand is. I still think I am leaning used. I think I just have to be patient and be ready to pounce.

[couchsitta]

If it makes you feel any better I just went through the wet test tour last month.  We met with 7 different dealers, and didn't have and bad experiences.  No pressure at all.

[Sam]

The Divine is new to me , I have checked out their website and it look fine to me . On some pictures , theres a chinesse topside controller and on other its a balboa , I would make sure you get the balboa one .  This one come with 3 single horse 5hp pumps and 1 circ pump , assuming they provide a 4 or 5.5 kw heater , you would need a 60 amp breaker instead of 50 amp like they advertise. Despite this tub offer 115 jets , they look randomly inserted and compacted on 3 seats. It does not include any audio or any water sanitation system other than the ozone wich is standard .

Considering that this company doesnt have any background and that most of the manufacturer doing business with Costco go bankrupt , considering that its a curbside delivery meaning that you will have to spend an extra 200 $ to bring it into your backyard , No cover lifter wich you will probably need , the 6999 $ price seems expensive to me .. at 5999 $ that would be a deal . I would look for a local dealer if you have the budget or look at a company that have a good reputation that sell online .

Fyi, the company that makes that tub is Clearwater Spas and they have been around since 1976.  That's a pretty long "background".  I'm not saying that  it's a good tub.  It certainly isn't as good as their full line.  But they have been around for awhile.  They had to cut a lot of corners to get that tub in that price range.

[Ryan VSO]

why would they use chiness pack ? why does it look like a whirlpool jets configuration ?

[DamSam]

If it makes you feel any better I just went through the wet test tour last month.  We met with 7 different dealers, and didn't have and bad experiences.  No pressure at all.

I would love to be able to do something like that! Did you purchase? What kind? What price range? Just doing my research.

[couchsitta]

We put money down on a Caldera Martinique.  When I talked to the dealer over the phone he quoted me at 7k, but after the wet test he dropped the price to $6,300.  Can't wait to get it delivered!  In fact I'm going outside after this and I'm going to clean the patio of it's snow and see if we can't quicken the process.  Got one electrician quote at $1,300, but he will drop the price if he can go through my lower level rather than around the outside of my house.  Got to get from one corner of the house to the other...

[Bluetobb]

So some things have developed. The guy with the HS Limelight Pulse for $2800 (The link above is expired and the age of the tub is unknown) actually got back to me.  He wont be back in town until Monday so I have some time to compose my thoughts and what I want to offer. I got an over the phone electrical quote at $600 to $1100. I am guessing it would be higher than that with one of those special HS pulse two circuit 240 boxes (They run 300 to 400).

Some questions:
Where on the unit will I find the model year or manufacturing date?
Pulse is new since 2010 correct? So it could not be older than 4 years?
I was thinking of making a firm offer for $2500 with the sub panel or $2100 without it. Is that a fair price?
Also it looks like the movers which charge $350 to $450. They also do inspections. Would it be prudent to pay them $130 to come inspect the tub when I go and view it? Will they add any value or just check for wetness below, comes up to temp and jets work? (The moving company is also a spa maintenance service as well)

Here is the kicker for me. I think we are going to have a paver patio put in. This will not be ready for month maybe more. Is this deal good enough to move it to our house and make it sit and wait and possible pay movers again? And last question, could I get 5 or 6 friends and move this 10 feet onto the built pad or would I really need to get professional movers to move it to its final resting place?

P.S.  The D1 I listed in my opening post never responded to me but now they have reposted. Either they are clueless or a weird scammer.

Thanks all for the great feedback and knowledge!
Dan

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

So some things have developed. The guy with the HS Limelight Pulse actually got back to me.  He wont be back in town until Monday so I have some time to compose my thoughts and what I want to offer. I got an over the phone electrical quote at $600 to $1100. I am guessing it would be higher than that with one of those special HS pulse two circuit 240 boxes (They run 300 to 400). The post is actually expired but It was unknown age for $2800.

Some questions:
Where on the unit will I find the model year or manufacturing date?
Pulse is new since 2010 correct? So it could not be older than 4 years?
I was thinking of making a firm offer for $2500 with the sub panel or $2100 without it. Is that a fair price?
Also it looks like the movers which charge $350 to $450. They also do inspections. Would it be prudent to pay them $130 to come inspect the tub when I go and view it? Will they add any value or just check for wetness below, comes up to temp and jets work? (The moving company is also a spa maintenance service as well)

Here is the kicker for me. I think we are going to have a paver patio put in. This will not be ready for month maybe more. Is this deal good enough to move it to our house and make it sit and wait and possible pay movers again? And last question, could I get 5 or 6 friends and move this 10 feet onto the built pad or would I really need to get professional movers to move it to its final resting place?

P.S.  The D1 I listed in my opening post never responded to me but now they have reposted. Either they are clueless or a weird scammer.

Thanks all for the great feedback and knowledge!
Dan

you'll need to remove the front access panel (door) and you see a manufacturing label with a serial number which will identify the model and year using number/letters Pulse should start with PLS I believe.

Also the Pulse started in 2008....having a tech give it a once over might not be a bad idea just as an added piece of mind.

[Isaac-1]

I would not worry much about the year since this model was introduced in 2008 and there have been few if any changes to the HS lineup since 2008 or maybe 2008.5 .  Note the year is not listed in plain english inside the panel, but is coded, there are web sites that will decode for you or list the letter to year conversion code.  The part finder at backyardplus is the only one I know of off hand, but there are others.  As to fair price I would say it is in the right ballpark to be fair, since this is one of HS's mid line products.  As to moving it a few feet with the help of a few friends that should not be a problem, but I would have the movers leave it on sections of pipe so you can easily roll it.  My college age son and I unloaded my Jetsetter off a trailer and moved it into place mostly by hand (One place moving it across the grass part of the yard from the driveway we took the easy route and borrowed a tractor with a front end loader and a cargo net.) rolling it on pipes is fairly easy, of course my Jetsetter only weighed about 470 pounds, which is half of the weight of the Pulse.

p.s. you may wish to review some youtube videos of people moving hot tubs, although you should probably ignore the ones where people drop them from cranes.