Novice Hottub Buyer (Philly / Wilmington DE Area)

[BenW]

I've been looking for a hot tub in the Philadelphia / Wilmington Delaware area, and am a bit frustrated with the search.  I've seen some posts here about the "best" hot tub brands, but generally haven't been able to find any of those in a showroom within 45 miles of where I live.  Websites also generally have many versions generally referred to with some 3 digit code, which makes it difficult to really differentiate, and rarely have prices.

I'm going to use the spa perhaps once every week.  More likely once every 2 weeks after the newness wears off. 

So far I've seen a line of Jaccuzzi ones (which i liked a lot, but i'm not sure that i want to spend 9k-13k for a once a week spa) and a cheaper one from the manufacturer "Sunrise" (which I haven't seen referred to here).  I am tempted to consider a big box retailer (costco or BJs) but am very concerned about buying sight unseen.  The Jacuzzi one that i was specifically looking at was the J-470 which had a leftover 2015 model available for $13k delivered (but i'm not sure if i want to spend that much).

Is there any way to find a retailer that is brand-agnostic in my area?  Is there any guide or post that would indicated what would be a good value for a spa which is well made but not as expensive as some of the higher end ones?  Should i look for the nearest Bullfrog, Artesian, etc dealers (the ones mentioned in other threads) and just call them to see comparative prices before I drive an hour away to look at them?  I really wish there was jsut a thread like you'd get on C*Net when buying electronics that rates products in various price ranges.

Thanks for your suggestions!
-Ben

[Bonibelle]

Hi Ben, Welcome!  If you see my little signature thing it says "support your dealer so they can support you"..I have that because I have an excellent dealer! I bought a Marquis tub in 2005 and although I have had very few issues, my dealer has always been there. I buy all of my chemicals from him because I want him to stay!! He is in Wilmington not far from the Christana Mall on Churchman's Road. He no longer carries Marquis, however he has a wonderful selection of other tubs (Caldera and Hot Springs). He is fair, easy to work with and as I said dependable. As much as I love my tub, my dealer is what made my tub purchase wonderful!

[Compatico]

I'm going to use the spa perhaps once every week.  More likely once every 2 weeks after the newness wears off. 

Why only once a week? Time constraints?

What are you using the tub for, therapy, parties, just to relax, all of the above?

I don't want to mention brands as they all have their merits and negative points. What you need to do is look at some layouts and figure out what you're going to do with it and how the layout will benefit you.

Prices are all over the map depending on size and features and pumps etc. You need to figure out what you need in the way of features and layout. I think layout/comfort is very important. One tub may look similar to another, but when you wet-test them they may feel completely different due to depth of the seating, power of the jets, how many jets, etc.

Speaking of jets, don't fall for the numbers game - more is not always better. You want jets that feel good. Lots of little jets not in the seating areas are meant to just put motion and bubbles into the water.

We're looking for a new tub as we had to sell our older one when we moved, and now that we moved again to a permanent location, we will be buying in the next month or so to install after the ground thaws. We've been in tubs for years and have learned that you tend to get what you pay for, but you can also pay too much for features you don't need or use. We won't be making that mistake this time round. 
Our hunt is almost over...

[wmccall]

Ben,

Welcome to the forum!  Hot tub dealers have been a little dynamic over the past couple of years.  Try going to the website of the manufacurers you see listed and use their dealer locaters.

[Isaac-1]

I can understand not wanting to spend the price of a new car on a hot tub, and there is another potential alternative to buying the junk that is sold in big box stores.  That is buy a refurbished or good condition used tub that was built by one of the major brands.  The simple fact is used hot tubs can be an incredible deal, dealers get them on trade in upgrade deals for the cost of haulling them away, meaning that they can replace the common wear components (heaters, circulation pumps, etc.) clean up and freshen the tub, maybe add a new cover, and still sell them for 1/4 of the price of a new tub.  If these tubs spent their lives in sheltered locations, a 10 or even 15 year old tub may still have plenty of practical life left to it.  Best off it lets you get into a hot tub find which features you like, vs which ones you thought you would use but in reality don't so you will be better prepared if and when you decide to upgrade to a new tub.  Unless you a real do it yourselfer I would suggest staying away from the used tub market, I say this even though I bought my hot tub as a used tub off an ebay sale, but I still think mine was a good deal (about $1,000 for a used 1998 Hot Spring Jetsetter that spent most/all of its life in doors and had been sitting in storage for several years when I bought it 2 or 3 years ago).  Still I had to spend another $400 or so fixing it up, replacing the circulation pump, the ozonator, rebuilding the diverter valve, replacing the cracked pillow, etc.  plus driving 100 miles each way to pick it up, thankfully the seller could at least load it on my trailer, and is is a small tub (but still weighs 500 pound or so empty) I had access to equipment and help to unload it and get it in place.  So in the long run if there would have been a good refurbished tub available I would probably have been better off, but there was not and I live in the middle of nowhere...

The big downside to buying a refurb quality brand name tub is styling, if you look at a hot tub from 10-15 years ago they were functionally very similar to todays models, but with far fewer bells and whistles, lights were likley single color, not color changing LED, also most only had 1 light, no soft surround lighting, no lit water falls, no integrated sound system,  ...

and in case you are wondering what an 18 year old used tub might look like (other than the ones that need a free ride to the dump)

http://www.troublefreepool.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=27479&d=1392561137

ps google found this place near you that sells refurbs http://www.thebackyardfunstore.com/our-showroom/buy-used-hot-tubs/  but does not list prices online, as I said above it is common to find actual refurbs for around 1/4 of new price, used tubs even less

[BenW]

Thanks for all the replies. 

@Compatico:  As far as why i will only use it about once per week, i honestly just think that's how much i'll enjoy it.  I don't have a lot of time (5 kids).  By the time i'm done work, done dinner, kids are done homework, we clean up afterwards, and i make lunches for the next day, i have about 2 hours before i go to sleep.  I don't expect to want to spend more than every once in a while in the hot tub. 

@Bonibelle:  I'll look at your dealer, thanks!

@Isaac:  I'm looking for a fun hot tub, not the most therapeutic one really.  So i think the colored lights and bluetooth is more important to me than the jets and settings.   I can look at refurbs from 2-3 years old (with the lights etc), that's a good idea if those exist. 

Overall, what i'd LOVE to understand is what are the best mid-tier hot tubs out there.  Here's a parallel with cars as i know how to shop for those...  I don't want a cheap mercedes (ie a low-end car from expensive brand).  I want a honda accord (ie a good mid-tier car with nav and leather seats) that is going to be very good on maintenance.    That's the best way i can explain it!

Thanks!
-Ben

[Isaac-1]

The car analogy is a good one, but unfortunately does not really work well for Hot tubs, unless you consider various brands like Yugo that are not imported into the US as it seems the sheer volume of tubs sold are from the Yugo like junk end of the build spectrum.     Many of these junk tubs come equipped with lots of bells and whistles to appeal to first time buyers, like an insane number of jets (sort of like marketing a car with 48 cup holders, sure cup holders are nice, to a degree, but should not be the sole point to make a buying decision on, and 8 or 10 are enough, and 12 may be nice).      This leaves the major quality players, Hot Spring, Jacuzzi, Dimension One,  etc., these are the GM, Ford, Toyota's etc of the Hot tub World, most produce 2 or 3 tiers of products lines, which work out as a Entry, Mid and High line (Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, like those three used to be when it comes down to it most of the stuff under the hood is the same, and the tiers are mostly about feature count, and maybe a couple of exclusive features for the tier that will cascade down in a couple of years).     Then you have BullFrog which is unique due to the modular interchangeable jet packs, otherwise I would lump it in with the others.  In addition to  this you also tend to have the Costco tub of the year, this tub  is usually built by one of the big companies, but they tend to cut so many corners (less insulation, fewer jets, weaker pumps, etc.) to meet the Costco price point that they are only slightly better that the vast sea of junk sold by the fly by night, whats the name of the company this month manufacturers.     In addition to this are a a handful of true high end companies producing products like hand made redwood tubs, and some niche companies like Arctic Spa which is sort of the Subaru of the hot tub world, made in Canada for Canada level winters, sort of like the wonderful world of Subaru, except for the fact that I don't live in Montana, and much like Subaru, Arctic Spa's are trying to market to the rest of us with their southwest themed line of tubs for less than arctic conditions.  I am sure I left out several of the major brands, but then again I did not say anything about Mazda or Dodge either.      The point being before you buy look at the reviews of the given brand on here, most will have a people that hate them for no good reason, what you want to  watch out for is the ones that everyone hates except for a few likely company shills.

If you want to keep it simple buy something built by Hot Spring or Jacuzzi, you really can't go wrong with either one, this goes along the lines of, No one was ever fired for buying IBM equipment, the same can not be said for E-Machine.

[Compatico]

Thanks for all the replies. 

@Compatico:  As far as why i will only use it about once per week, i honestly just think that's how much i'll enjoy it.  I don't have a lot of time (5 kids).  By the time i'm done work, done dinner, kids are done homework, we clean up afterwards, and i make lunches for the next day, i have about 2 hours before i go to sleep.  I don't expect to want to spend more than every once in a while in the hot tub.

If you're only using it once a week, I'd definitely look at the used market or refurbished in a store as suggested. No sense paying a lot for a rarely used market.

We used our tub daily...it was great going for a 20 minute soak before bed. On weekends we would often use it for an hour or more - pruned fingers and toes for sure. 

[BenW]

Right now my decision is between a Bullfrog R7 or the Caldera Vacunza Vanto/Marino...  Bullfrog is a more expensive ($1500 more, even with a floor model discount) but i do like the pod jets and some of the control that would give you. 

The one question i have is regarding ozone or some sort of ultraviolet sanitization.  I had read that it dramatically reduced chemical needs.  The bullfrog dealer mentioned that ozone tends to make the pads (behind your head - pillows?) and the cover degrade faster due to ozone gas between the water layer and the cover...  They (bullfrog dealer) recommend the Frog floating chlorine/bromine dispenser:  http://www.kingtechnology.com/product/atease_floating_system/

Any thoughts on that?  Given per previous posts i only expect to use this once per week (kids may use it more during the summer), i would like to minimize maintenance and chemicals.  I also don't want to ruin the kids bathing suits or to have a lot of "suds" in the water when they have some lotion on.  I will probably make them rinse off before using it as a rule.

Thanks, this forum is SO helpful for a newbie like me!!
-Ben
 

[Sam]

He is correct that ozone degrades pillows and covers somewhat.  The @ease system is great.  You can easily skip the ozone generator with that system. 

Also, there is a reason that that Bullfrog is more expensive.  You get quite a bit more with it.  It's got more jets, bigger pumps, more filtration, the spa itself is almost a hundred gallons more, and of course the JetPaks.  You should really be comparing the Bullfrog X7 to that Caldera.  The X7 will still have bigger pumps and more gallonage, but it would be the most comparable and probably a lot closer in price if not less.

All that said, Calderas are good spas and I'm sure you would be happy with it.

[hottubdan]

Check out Springdance Hot Tubs.  They sell Hot Spring and Caldera.  The Hot Spot and Vacanza series would fit what you are looking for.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

" I had read that it dramatically reduced chemical needs"

Dramatically? hahahahhaha, ok, define dramatically.

[Mikester]

Check out Springdance Hot Tubs.  They sell Hot Spring and Caldera.  The Hot Spot and Vacanza series would fit what you are looking for.

I'm thinking about getting a Hot Spring from Spring Dance, they seem good.  How about All Seasons, in Cherry Hill?  They've been around for a long time, carry Sundance.