Purchased a new hot tub - Some questions...

[MissionHockey]

Hi everyone! I purchased a hot tub today and had a few questions. I purchased the HotSpring 2014 Envoy:

http://www.hotspring.com/shop-hot-tub-models/highlife/5-person-hot-tubs-envoy

I paid $10,995 which included a cover, electrical box for installation, and delivery. It has a 5 year warranty. Would you consider this a fair price and also any tips for a new/first time hot tub owner? Thank you very much in advance.

[Topline Mike]

Congratulations!  I wouldn't worry about the price you paid, because it's water over the dam now, and prices vary across the United States.  If you're happy, we're happy for you. 

Now, as I'm sure some of the others here know what I'm going to say, get yourself a good water testing kit.  If you can afford an $11,000 tub, you can afford a $50 test kit.  Learn how to balance your water, and then add the correct amount of sanitizer.  I've been a hot tub owner now for a little over a month, and I'm confident that my water is balanced and sanitized correctly because of my test kit.  It's not hard, you just need to do some reading. 

[MissionHockey]

Awesome... will do. Can you recommend any good sites to purchase the materials from? Any good guides to read? Thanks again for your input.

[MissionHockey]

Also does anyone have a check list of routine maintenance that needs to be performed? I'd like to keep this tub in great condition so I can get years of use out of it.

[Tman122]

First thing your going to want to do and this is crucial, soak and enjoy.

[hottubdan]

Who is your dealer?  They should be answering your questions.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Who is your dealer?  They should be answering your questions.

  LOL that's what I thought,  but I didn't want to sound rude.   You pay 11,000 for your spa,  the dealer should be at your house telling  you how to take care of it..   Least we do.   

[Topline Mike]

With that being said, you can have two different types of water.  "Dealer water", or "Your water".  I'm sure there are thousands of hot tub owners across the country using the dealers methods, and every dealer will have a different recipe for your hot tub.  It that's the route you choose, great. 

I didn't buy from a dealer, so I went with the other method, my water.  I was given the left over chemicals from the previous owner of my hot tub.  I haven't used any of them, so far. 

1) Foam Away - Haven't needed it.
2) Power Down - Sodium bisulfate, or dry acid to lower pH.  I used muriatic acid instead, but this product will do the same.
3) Water Polish - No idea what's in it, no use for it. 
4) Spa Perfect - No idea what's in it, will see if it kills weeds in my driveway.
5) Spa Up - Sodium bicarbonate, same exact thing as Arm and Hammer Baking Soda, except for the price.
6) Renew - Non-chlorine shock.  I haven't needed it, but I could just for the heck of it. 
7) Test Strips - I used them to compare against my test kit.  They were close. 

So, you said you wanted to keep your tub in great condition, then I would learn about pH, TA, CH, and your sanitizer levels.  If your spa water is "off", that's when the spa pumps, jets, and heater will suffer. 



 

[MissionHockey]

The hot tub has not been delivered yet. I'm sure they'll answer/explain lots of information to me when I receive it. I just figured I would get a heads start here.

[Quickbeam]

Like you, I am just about to get my first hot tub. We are getting a Jacuzzi J-345 and it will be delivered next Monday! The dealer has told me the following re maintenance:

*   For water care, he said the two most important things are keeping your sanitizer current and the PH balanced. I will also be monitoring TA and CH levels although he told me that once I have the CH level where it should be, I should not have to do anything else with it until I change the water.

*   Hose off the filters once a week and every three months clean the filters in a    solution. I got him to throw in an extra set of filters so I can just swap them out every three months.
   He said we should get about three years out of a set of filters, and I am hoping to   double this seeing as we have two sets of filters. He said we would know when the filters need replacing as the material would get "fuzzy".

*   Do a water change every three months. Note as well that one poster on this forum (I think it was Jacuzzi Jim???) had said in one of his posts a long time ago    that he noticed that people who did a water change after one months use seemed to get better performance out of their tubs. I asked my dealer about this and he thought it was a good idea, so we will also be doing a water change after our first months use.

*   As we are buying a Jacuzzi, we have the "Clear Ray" system, so this bulb needs to be replaced once a year. He told us it really only needs to be replaced every 18 months, but since we are going to try and use hydrogen peroxide as our sanitizer, we have decided we will just go ahead and replace the bulb once every    year. We just want to be absolutely certain the Clear Ray system is working properly.

*   He told us the spa "pillows" can sometimes be difficult to keep in good condition, but if we want to prolong the life of them to just remove them when we are not using the tub.

*   I am also going to try using a spa blanket, as I have read it will help reduce energy costs and also prolong the life of the cover.

Once again, I need to stress that I don't yet have a hot tub, and there are others on this forum who have a lot more knowledge than I do. This is just the initial list of maintenance items I have come up with. Hope it is of some help to you.

[Quickbeam]

One thing I forgot. You might want to get yourself a Taylor test kit. Even though I'm not using Bromine as a sanitizer, I ordered the Taylor 2106 as it will test for everything else I need (PH; TA; and CH).

[Tman122]

If you want a head start get a test kit now and start testing your source water to see where it starts.

[poolpaul]

Then in what price we have to buy Hot tubs and spa.Because i am going to buy in Resort spas who is very famous manufacturer in San Diego.Is it a Good idea.

[Sam]

Then in what price we have to buy Hot tubs and spa.Because i am going to buy in Resort spas who is very famous manufacturer in San Diego.Is it a Good idea.