Bullfrog spa - Labor Day Sale

[darin.brown]

we've just started looking at hot tubs and of course the local dealer is saying the Bullfrog is currently having a great Labor Day sale but we have to purchase this weekend. Unable to do a wet test because they're selling so fast, etc.. which raises some red flags as I've gathered the wet test is absolutely critical before purchasing. They had an A6 for around $7,500 (cover included). Is that a screaming good deal or could we come close to that if we were to wait and do some more research (wet test, etc..).. We're in Texas if that matters.

[Sam]

That's a really good deal.  I see them sold for over $9k usually.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Yes really good deal.  I sold an R6 yesterday for 7200.00

[av8r]

It's a good price.  Does that include the $500 in options/accessories or are they on top of that price?

Delivery included?

[darin.brown]

quote includes exterior LED lighting ($90) which we wouldn't need since we're getting this installed in-ground. It also includes a cover and Covermate I lifter for about another $600 and I imagine we can do better than that elsewhere. The lifter wouldn't even work with an in-ground install from a quick glance so we could knock off $300 or so by dumping the exterior LED lighting and cover lifter. Looks like the A6 package includes tub, stainless steel jetface, 1 pump, premium control pad, 4 jets, LED surround lighting, wifi cloud control (~$400) and an aux premium control. No ozone or circ pump included. Sale price is $8200 before tax and then a $500 rebate. Is the $500 in options/accessories part of the Labor Day sale or just the rebate essentially? I'd have to see if that includes delivery.

looks like the A7 might be a worthy upgrade since it includes a 2nd pump? I'd have to get a quote for that and see. Any general idea on the $ differences to the A7? A8? Sounds like the R7 is a pretty close substitute to the A8 so I guess I could look into that as well

[av8r]

The R has a simpler control and one less jetpak (usually) but is quite a bit less expensive.

I was told the $500 was for options when buying, but maybe can be used as a rebate instead.  The Cloud Control was quoted to me a $179.  Seems the pricing on options is all over the place.

[dporter22]

I would recommend the A7 with the much better controller, 2nd pump, and another jet pack.  We've had ours for almost 5 months now and love it.

[Tman122]

I would make sure I wet test which ever one you want and compare it to other manufacturers. You may not like the way it feels.

[av8r]

I would recommend the A7 with the much better controller, 2nd pump, and another jet pack.  We've had ours for almost 5 months now and love it.

Just to clarify, the control panel on the R series has the exact same control functions as the R.  It's a menu driven system with textual LCD display.  The A series control panel is only "better" if you prefer the way the LCD display works.  I figured the A control panel would be touchscreen as that's what it looks like, but it's not.  It's a similar menu system only with a prettier display.  Another $12 for a digitizer would have made the A control panel a home run.

Once you set up the controls like filter cycles you never have to touch the control panel again on the A series.  You can use the secondary touchpad jet controllers to run the tub.

[darin.brown]

local dealer is steering us away from the optional ozone and circulation pump. Said the sun here in TX should suffice and make the ozone unnecessary and that we could run the two filters at different times of the day in lieu of the circulation pump. those both appear to be pretty standard in most spa packages but perhaps that's due to dealer markup. any thoughts on either of those?

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

the sun here in TX should suffice and make the ozone unnecessary

WTF? Would one have to leave the cover off the spa for the sun to have 'some' effect? And since the sun has no relationship to ozone, what exactly would that effect be? Or does the sun somehow magically penetrate the cover and create ozone though some special Texan voodoo curse?

[darin.brown]

yeah, I didn't quite get their reasoning for the sun/ozone. We bake down here in TX but it's not THAT powerful 

ignoring whatever convoluted reasoning they may have given.. is the ozone purifier more of a nice-to-have or a need-to-have? is it going to be a nightmare to maintain the spa without it?

[Spatech_tuo]

the sun here in TX should suffice and make the ozone unnecessary

WTF? Would one have to leave the cover off the spa for the sun to have 'some' effect? And since the sun has no relationship to ozone, what exactly would that effect be? Or does the sun somehow magically penetrate the cover and create ozone though some special Texan voodoo curse?

Wow, that requires some hip boots!

[av8r]

yeah, I didn't quite get their reasoning for the sun/ozone. We bake down here in TX but it's not THAT powerful 

ignoring whatever convoluted reasoning they may have given.. is the ozone purifier more of a nice-to-have or a need-to-have? is it going to be a nightmare to maintain the spa without it?

People have maintained spas for decades without Ozone.  Ozone, IMO has more disadvantages than advantages.  It'll eat up plastic, the underside of the cover, etc just for a couple.

[hottubdan]

yeah, I didn't quite get their reasoning for the sun/ozone. We bake down here in TX but it's not THAT powerful 

ignoring whatever convoluted reasoning they may have given.. is the ozone purifier more of a nice-to-have or a need-to-have? is it going to be a nightmare to maintain the spa without it?

People have maintained spas for decades without Ozone.  Ozone, IMO has more disadvantages than advantages.  It'll eat up plastic, the underside of the cover, etc just for a couple.

Only on cheap spas not built for ozone.

I would question everything this dealer is saying with this ozone/sun statement.