If you are looking to buy a hot tub....this is a must read

[Pholly]

As a FYI it is for more than just insulation in my opinion.


Jacuzzi Jim, what other benefits are there for fully foam hot tubs besides insulation? I just ordered a Jacuzzi hot tub and I live in Texas where we don't have really cold winters. So, I was thinking fully foam would not be necessary for my hot tub. I was thinking of asking them not to that when it is delivered and set up.

[Tman122]

Really what it comes down to is which tub are you more comfortable sitting in and enjoying the hot tub experience. Whether it's fully insulated or not is a matter of a few dollars a month and anyone who starts an argument regarding fully insulated not being as good because of repair cost is uninformed. I repair all brands and YES.....repairing a leak in the foam sucks and is a lot more work that repairing a leak not in foam. But 99% of my repairs have nothing to do with foam insulation so it should NEVER be a deciding factor in your decision to buy a tub that fits you and feels right along with a dealer that will support their product. Beachcomber makes a GREAT product and I am sorry your experience doesn't attest to that.

Must read....not so much.

[Hot tub Nightmare]

Tman122

Ya you can say that our experience with Beachcomer is not one of satisfaction in fact we are quite bitter. I did not start the debate about the foam/non foam filled tubs... There were many other issues proving to us at least Beachcomer to sell inferior product.

Really my post is A MUST READ sorry you think otherwise we can't all be techs like you. I only hope that people who read this also learn from the mistakes we made in our decision and to let everyone know about our experience with Beachcomer as it has truly been a hot tub nightmare....I mean the level of complacency with this company is staggering!

[Tman122]

15-20 years on this board and others posting to help people and I can honestly tell you this is only the second or third customer complaint about Beach I have seen. And they sell a lot of tubs. And all the major manufacturers that have reputations for reliability and longevity, like Beach, have been mentioned here and on other boards for both excellence and not so much.

So I am not sure using your complaint as a deciding factor to buy Beach or not, is prudent for someone looking to buy. Sorry.

[Hot tub Nightmare]

That is one of the reasons we decided to go with Beachcomber. We also had two personal referrals and we did read all the accolades that Beachcomber boasted. I am only posting our experience (and yes unfortunately it has been a very negative experience) that those that find themselves looking to buy a hot tub can take from it what they will, whether they take this review into consideration or not when they make their decision. Im sure there are many people enjoying their Beachcomber Hot Tubs as we speak, but I sure ain't. I respect what you are saying Tman122 and you are probably an exceptional professional in this field with the unique perspective from a technical stand point as well as years of experience. I'm coming at this from a consumer perspective, I'm not on here to pretend I know anything about the technically aspect, I'm on here to speak of my experience and to give it voice.  Wanna come fix my tub lol 

[Quickbeam]

As a FYI it is for more than just insulation in my opinion.


Jacuzzi Jim, what other benefits are there for fully foam hot tubs besides insulation? I just ordered a Jacuzzi hot tub and I live in Texas where we don't have really cold winters. So, I was thinking fully foam would not be necessary for my hot tub. I was thinking of asking them not to that when it is delivered and set up.

Pholly,

I’m not sure what you mean when you say you were thinking of asking them “not to do that when it is delivered and set up”??? Jacuzzi is a fully foamed tub and will come delivered that way. No one is going to chip the foam out for you nor should they.

I’m not an expert by any means on this, but one of the “benefits” Jacuzzi Jim may have been referring to is some say a fully foamed tub helps to stop vibration of the hoses, fittings, etc., and this helps protect against leaks.

I’m not going to get into the debate as to whether or not fully foamed is better or worse. I tend to agree with Tman. Get the tub your comfortable in and don’t worry so much about whether the tub is fully foamed or not. I would worry more about whether or not I was getting a reputable brand from a dealer with a good track record.

[Sam]

Foam insulation also supports the shell.  Companies that don't use full foam usually require some other sort of shell support.  For instance, Clearwater uses 6" pvc pillars to support key areas, since they don't have the uniform support of full foam.

[Pholly]

Quickbeam, thanks for your response. That just go to show how much of a newbie I am :-)

[Tman122]

In my opinion FF holds more heat in the vessel because, well it's insulated. Those who bring up pump waste heat for insulation better rethink that theory. If 4 hours of filtration a day are required to keep your water clean. Why run the big jet pump anymore to create insulation (there's 20 hours a day left). Seems wasteful of money to me to prematurely burn up a 3-400 dollar or more pump to gain an R-Factor that's nothing more than equal to the fully foamed insulation skeem. If your worried about leaks then by all means buy a perimeter insulated spa. But buy a good one and don't expect it to be less expensive to operate.

[Kev B]

 Ok, last point on this, then it can go to dead horse file.
 Last spring I went to a service call for a Clearwater which is not full foam. Homeowner was in Argentina for winter and gfci popped and caretaker drained tub. Freeze caused 3 twelve port manifolds to shatter. two lengths of 2" flex to crack and all three wet ends to crack. I had the entire job completed and tub running in less than 5 hours.(Now tell me how much money was saved or lost) I submit to everyone in here a full foamed tub would have been given up on....especially a Hot Springs because all the sides are not removable and the foam is hard as a rock on the outside. And I have many other stories like that to tell. Not to mention that cleaning the foam off the pipes is very tedious and requires even more time.
 I do not sell tubs and I repair and maintain so My opinion is based on nothing more than what I see, not because I have to back up my brand.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Ok, last point on this, then it can go to dead horse file.
 Last spring I went to a service call for a Clearwater which is not full foam. Homeowner was in Argentina for winter and gfci popped and caretaker drained tub. Freeze caused 3 twelve port manifolds to shatter. two lengths of 2" flex to crack and all three wet ends to crack. I had the entire job completed and tub running in less than 5 hours.(Now tell me how much money was saved or lost) I submit to everyone in here a full foamed tub would have been given up on....especially a Hot Springs because all the sides are not removable and the foam is hard as a rock on the outside. And I have many other stories like that to tell. Not to mention that cleaning the foam off the pipes is very tedious and requires even more time.
 I do not sell tubs and I repair and maintain so My opinion is based on nothing more than what I see, not because I have to back up my brand.

  I would look at the fact that a full foam spa wouldn't have had as much damage as a non foam spa.  From a shell aspect, Jacuzzi and Sundance also use 6" pvc supports as well. 

[Tman122]

Ok, last point on this, then it can go to dead horse file.
 Last spring I went to a service call for a Clearwater which is not full foam. Homeowner was in Argentina for winter and gfci popped and caretaker drained tub. Freeze caused 3 twelve port manifolds to shatter. two lengths of 2" flex to crack and all three wet ends to crack. I had the entire job completed and tub running in less than 5 hours.(Now tell me how much money was saved or lost) I submit to everyone in here a full foamed tub would have been given up on....especially a Hot Springs because all the sides are not removable and the foam is hard as a rock on the outside. And I have many other stories like that to tell. Not to mention that cleaning the foam off the pipes is very tedious and requires even more time.
 I do not sell tubs and I repair and maintain so My opinion is based on nothing more than what I see, not because I have to back up my brand.

Ive done plenty of repairs just like this one. Freeze up can be devastating to any tub and even more so on FF. This is why we offered our program for freeze protection. This is also why I bought my tub tent and propane heaters for here in Northern Minnesota. Freeze prevention instead of repair. A well maintained tub that is inspected daily should never freeze. And here in the winter going away needs to be handled differently FF or not.

I'm not disagreeing with you. Just saying that IMO the insulation skeem should never be the deciding factor in your choice. Because I have also disposed of 20-25 year old HS tubs and I have never disposed of any other brand that old or even close. And they were not disposed of because of leaks in the foam.

Do you have a hot wire foam knife?
 

[Spatech_tuo]

Ok, last point on this, then it can go to dead horse file.
 Last spring I went to a service call for a Clearwater which is not full foam. Homeowner was in Argentina for winter and gfci popped and caretaker drained tub. Freeze caused 3 twelve port manifolds to shatter. two lengths of 2" flex to crack and all three wet ends to crack. I had the entire job completed and tub running in less than 5 hours.(Now tell me how much money was saved or lost) I submit to everyone in here a full foamed tub would have been given up on....especially a Hot Springs because all the sides are not removable and the foam is hard as a rock on the outside. And I have many other stories like that to tell. Not to mention that cleaning the foam off the pipes is very tedious and requires even more time.
 I do not sell tubs and I repair and maintain so My opinion is based on nothing more than what I see, not because I have to back up my brand.

I'd rather save the $25 to 50 a month on energy bills by getting the better insulated Hot Spring over the Clearwater rather than worry about the repair of a freeze up which happens a small % of the time and is avoidable. That $$ adds up over the months and years especially in colder climates and/or areas with high KWH rates.

[Kev B]

 Save 25 to 50 a month with a Hot Springs over a Clearwater, Arctic or the like? Oh PLEASE!!!!

[Kev B]

  I would look at the fact that a full foam spa wouldn't have had as much damage as a non foam spa.  From a shell aspect, Jacuzzi and Sundance also use 6" pvc supports as well.

 Your saying a full foam tub would not have shattered manifolds or wet-ends in the exact same manner as a non-full foam? Jacuzzi Jim...I have repaired countless tubs in Denver Co and the ski slope areas and respectfully must disagree with that statement fully. Unless of course you catch the GFCI trip or whatever within the first 72 hrs but many people do not and they are screwed just the same. I have a bunch of videos of my repairs of fully foamed tubs.