Strong Spas review and general questions

[BigGrabowski87]

Hey guys, I was back and forth between major brands such as sundance, jazuzzi, artics spas and others. After tons of research I went with strong spas. I received the tub in early July and it's used almost every night. I went to the factory in Northumberland PA and got a full tour, showing the process and USA parts used. I felt that strong had the best features and quality parts for the money. The hard shell lid with a lifetime warranty is extremely easy to use and seems very durable. I got the tub fully loaded with every feature available including full LED's, blower pump, infinity sound with blue tooth, fold down step and hard shell cover. The cabinet has a lifetime warranty with an open insulation design that I really like.  So far i haven't seen any spike in our electric bill, we will see how efficient it is in the dead of winter. I just want to let other potential buyers know that Strong is a good company with innovative features. I know when i was trying to get info on the brand not many people knew about them, so I wrote this little review to help with that.

On a side note the manual says I should use granulated chlorine (which I use) and oxidizing shock. I was using the oxidizing shock for a while but did't get the clarity and sanitation I was looking for.  I then bought HTH Spa chlorination shock it it's 10 times better and the water is crystal clear. I heard using chlorinating shock could dry out my seals and gaskets over time.. Is this true? It seems false since I'm using granulated chlorine anyway. I know HTH isn't the best product but it is specifically for spas... Why would them make something that will ruin the tubs.. Any info or input would be great.
Thanks!

[wmccall]

Dan,

Thanks for coming back and letting us know how it has went for you.  Strong Spas is one I've heard of, but has never been in our area.  Feel free to post a picture. 

[Sam]

Thanks for the review.  I'm a fan of Strong Spas based on my limited interaction with them.  They seem to make a quality product and I love the cover.  If they didn't already have a dealer in my area, I would definitely consider selling them.

As to the shock situation.....If you just added more granulated chlorine, you wouldn't need the HTH.  Non-chlorine shock should be sufficient.  But at the same time, if you have a method that works, keep doing it I suppose. 

[livesimplecolorado]

I purchased a strong spa Monaco. I had a few issues with it in the beginning, first tub had a crack in the acrylic (factory defect). I called the dealership, they came out, took some pictures and Strong sent a replacement out (brand new tub) in about a month. A thunderstorm and a wet wire caused the tub to short out and stop working a few weeks after that. I called the dealership and again they came out, basically replaced a wire and had it back and running in about 5 minutes. Now it is 6 months later, no issues, love the tub. I am very happy with the dealership I bought it from (they have been in business for about 20 years) and all they sell are Strong. The tub is very energy efficient too, I hardly noticed much of a change in the energy bill. I have an upgraded base, lights and waterfall with the tub. It is very quiet too. How nice to get in that thing at night and relax. As far as chemicals, I bought a bunch of stuff when I first bought it but find that all I need is  a few bromine tabs in a floater and a splash of granulated chlorine once a week. Small tub, low maintenance and I realized after a month or two of trial and error that less chemicals, not more, works best. As far as final thoughts on tub, if you are looking for a nice small tub, you will have no regrets at all with this one.

[Tman122]

Hey guys, I was back and forth between major brands such as sundance, jazuzzi, artics spas and others. After tons of research I went with strong spas. I received the tub in early July and it's used almost every night. I went to the factory in Northumberland PA and got a full tour, showing the process and USA parts used. I felt that strong had the best features and quality parts for the money. The hard shell lid with a lifetime warranty is extremely easy to use and seems very durable. I got the tub fully loaded with every feature available including full LED's, blower pump, infinity sound with blue tooth, fold down step and hard shell cover. The cabinet has a lifetime warranty with an open insulation design that I really like.  So far i haven't seen any spike in our electric bill, we will see how efficient it is in the dead of winter. I just want to let other potential buyers know that Strong is a good company with innovative features. I know when i was trying to get info on the brand not many people knew about them, so I wrote this little review to help with that.

On a side note the manual says I should use granulated chlorine (which I use) and oxidizing shock. I was using the oxidizing shock for a while but did't get the clarity and sanitation I was looking for.  I then bought HTH Spa chlorination shock it it's 10 times better and the water is crystal clear. I heard using chlorinating shock could dry out my seals and gaskets over time.. Is this true? It seems false since I'm using granulated chlorine anyway. I know HTH isn't the best product but it is specifically for spas... Why would them make something that will ruin the tubs.. Any info or input would be great.
Thanks!

Sundance, Jacuzzi, Arctic are bad comparisons to Strong. They make a value tub that is less money with less warranty, engineering and less longevity and reputation that the others mentioned. Now if you want to compare it to other value tubs then you will have a good comparison.

Please stick around for a few years. We want to know how these things hold up over time so we can make a GOOD comparison

[BigGrabowski87]

Thanks for all the input.. I will let you guys know how the spa holds up within the next year.. I will also try to post pics ASAP.
Thanks!

[leweezo]

Hey Strong owners, Can you give us some updates now that winter has started? I live in Ga and I want especially to know about the power bill. I can live with a little lesser quality if I can work on the darn thing. I had a bullfrog that started leaking and it became a nightmare and eventually I cut into pieces and took it to the dump. My only worry is that to get the "ambient heat" from the pump to keep the water warm, does the pump have to run alot more?  I only ran the BF in econo mode so it only ran 4hrs a day.

thanks
M.C

[Chartreux]

Leslies Pools have started selling these and to me, they look cheap  and something that would be hard to keep clean.
Sorry, that's my opinion...I'd rather put the investment into a Sundance...
I felt the strong spa and it felt plastic, hard to imagine that it would be comfortable for me...

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

"something that would be hard to keep clean". What appears to be different from this bucket of hot water, making it any more difficult to clean than another bucket of hot water?

[Tman122]

Hey Strong owners, Can you give us some updates now that winter has started? I live in Ga and I want especially to know about the power bill. I can live with a little lesser quality if I can work on the darn thing. I had a bullfrog that started leaking and it became a nightmare and eventually I cut into pieces and took it to the dump. My only worry is that to get the "ambient heat" from the pump to keep the water warm, does the pump have to run alot more?  I only ran the BF in econo mode so it only ran 4hrs a day.

thanks
M.C

This is a very good question MC. You are correct in assuming that running the pumps longer is required to maintain the same r-factor as say a fully insulated style tub. Generally no matter what the brand or quality perimeter style insulation costs more to operate because the amount of run time required to keep the cabinet warm with a energy hungry jet pump out weights using that heat to slow heat loss. After all if you only need 4 hours of filtration that leaves 20 hours that you are wasting energy running a pump unnecessarily. Not to mention shortened longevity of a pump. They don't insulate a perimeter instead of the entire cabinet cavity because it's more efficient. They do it because it's cheaper in Strong's case.

[leweezo]

Thanks for your reply. I don't know alot about R-factor or heat transfer, but I asked a question on Amazon and a dealer came back and said that it would cost me 100-125 a month runninmg it 6hrs a day.. OOOF!!!!!!!!!!!!   I ran the  for 25-30 a month @ 4hrs a day.. I can't do it.. I guess I will go full foam again. I am wondering if it starts to leak, will a repairman fix it @ my home? or will I have to go through the whole sending it off nightmare?

[Sam]

$100 per month sounds awfully high for a Strong Spa under average usage.  I don't know how accurate that is.

[livesimplecolorado]

Hi leweezo,
I tried to respond to your message today and for some reason I do not have permission to respond to inbox messages. Oh well...

As far as cost to heat my tub, I have not noticed a huge jump, maybe 20-30 bucks a month when I use it a lot? I have it set on Standard Mode, which is supposed to use the most energy for now because I don't want to wait too long for it to heat up during cycles when I get home from work (just want to up the heat and jump in). I use it pretty much every night for maybe about a half hour or so. Once I get out, I lower it down manually to about 86 degrees and leave it at that until the next evening. Because it is a small 2/3 person tub, it does not take long to heat up at all. Now, my tub does have an Economy mode that you can use set it to if you are not using it a lot or say you are going on vacation. This would probably lower the cost per month even more. Since I am pretty much the only one using the tub, this size is perfect for me. It is smaller, perfect for 2 people with just a bit more leg room. Hopefully that answers your question! I don't think 100-125 a month for cost is accurate at all, seems super high for a small tub. Mine is also very well insulated (all of the Strong Spas have a nice insulated base without full foam), I notice that on the coldest day with the top on it, the temp stays fairly consistent. Now, I have not run it through winter yet (just set it up this summer) but I have been in it in minus 6 degrees so far, heats up quickly and maintains the heat just fine.

[Tman122]

$100 per month sounds awfully high for a Strong Spa under average usage.  I don't know how accurate that is.

I agree with this. 20-30 in the summer, 40-50 spring fall, maybe 70-80 in winter for 1-2 months depending on your location. That makes a lower average than 100. I am in Northern Minnesota. Further south a state and then less. It's hard for even a new Hot Spring to do better than 40-50 in winter here. And you'll pay 2 times as much upfront.

So if you assume 20 bucks a month higher average, times 12 is 240. The higher priced spa better last for 20 years to recoup.

But there are other things that garner some of the double or more price tag up front. Some argue this but..............I think it's undeniable.

[leweezo]

Thanks Livesimple and Tman, That sounds really good to me. I don't need alot of bells and whistles on my tub, I just want some good jet power and a good 102 temp. If it's a little lesser quality but I can actually fix things myself, well that saves me $..  If it costs you that little in Colorado and Minnysotts, well then here in Ga it should not be bad at all.. I was reinforcing my deck today in a thin short sleeve shirt.  Gonna go check one out this wkend:)  I will let you know what I find

M.C