Maax Spas- what do you think of them

[Starman]

Saw Maax Spas today they use zinc coated steel frame and have 2 3hp 56 frame motors pumps but no tiny circl pump.
Frame is lifetime warranty as is the insulation vesell is 10 years the surface is 7 and the equipment plumbing is 5 years
filtration circulation is 1000gpm they use corona discharge plus ,

what is the verdict about their quality and support?

[Hottubguy]

Decent mid level tub as long as you are not near the ocean. Don't fall for the metal frame gibberish though. There is wood in that tub. Being in Florida energy efficiency won't be a big concern for you. Should be under 6k for a lot of there tubs

[MarKee]

I agree with Hottubguy.  Decent mid level tub but most would not put them in the class of a Marquis or HotSpring.  MAAX is primarily a bath tub company, and hot tubs are a very small part of their business.  The metal frame is just a story, I have pictures of a 1 year old MAAX Swim spa with pretty bad rust already all over the frame.  The metal can sweat inside the cabinet with the hot water temperature and the cold outside temperature (kind of like if you took a can of soda out of the refrigerator and set it on your counter at room temp).  When it sweats it can promote rust or mold, that's why they have the washable recycled jean material as the insulation.

[Tman122]

I agree also. We had a local dealer for awhile and they were only OK. The hype about the steel frame and easy to fix plumbing seemed dumb to me. Around here that means energy hogs, and noisier. The dealer is gone from up here but I think they are strong in the metro area of Mpls/St Paul.

[Sam]

Agree with the opinions above.  They have created a great story, but it's a lot of b.s.  The whole appliance grade thing is just silly to me.  All of the top manufacturers build their spas with wood frame designs and full foam insulation, and they have done so for almost 40 years.  There is a reason that they continue to do so. 

There are a couple of smaller companies that have come along and they try to carve out a niche with a unique or different design.  The story sounds great but in my experience, it doesn't add up. As said above, that metal frame rusts.  I've seen it myself.  Read the fine print of the warranty and you will realize that the lifetime warranty will still end up costing you thousands to have repaired if it's ever required.  Removal costs, shipping costs, etc.  They don't cover any of that. 

As to the no full foam thing, well the foam supports the plumbing and glue joints from the weight of water and vibration of the motors.  Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon.  That constant pulling and vibration on the glue fittings will mean you will have more likelihood of a leak in an open cabinet design.  Sure it might be a little easier to fix a leak but you will have a lot more of them.  It's really not hard to fix a leak in a full foam spa if you know what you are doing. 

In my opinion, the Maax spa story is just that....,... a story.  I would recommend at least 5 or 6 other brands over a Maax, but they certainly aren't the worst choice either.

[Tman122]

I would recommend at least 5 or 6 other brands over a Maax, but they certainly aren't the worst choice either.

I would recommend 10-15 brands over MAXX

[The Wizard of Spas]

I carry 3 brands that use wood frames.  I've been in the business since '98.  I cannot remember one time in which my company had to pay out on a frame warranty. 

Additionally- I only had one shell warranty that I paid out on.  It was an Outback Spa (Out of Florida.  That company has gone out of business and came back with a different name so many times).

I think frame and shell gamesmanship is the biggest waste of time.

[Tman122]

Your talking to a guy who has disposed of maybe close to 100 tubs. Seemed like a nitch.....but to much work now.

A 27 year old Hot Springs was the oldest tub I disposed of (sawzall, trailer and muscle) I think the top 10 or so were HS (I hate them guys) just kidding. Others stand out Marquis 18-20yo, Sundance, Beach, other obscure brands for some reason. But I think this data can also be area skewed. Who is here. Chime in if you have seen older. This is important.

My point is, I have seen rotten wood. But I have never seen rotten wood be the reason for a disposal. I remember a guy who had me haul away his tub. It was rotten wood and sagging. I asked him when this happened and he said 2 years ago. Then he said the tub hasn't worked for 9 years. I just want it gone. It was a 21 YO Calspa. I don't imagine a 21 YO neglected metal framed tub being any different than a 21 YO neglected wooden framed tub. However, it has a better fire rating if that matters.

I can liken it to a metal framing stud and a treated wood framing stud. Drill a few holes in each and set about a 2' piece in the wet grass for a few years see which looks best? I've built metal stud walls. They ARE NOT stronger than wood walls. Thats not the purpose. Metal studs are designed to meet the load capacities of wood studs and have a better fire rating. You can exceed the ratings of wood with less metal but that's not what a tub or a house uses for a frame.

[The Wizard of Spas]

Your talking to a guy who has disposed of maybe close to 100 tubs. Seemed like a nitch.....but to much work now.

A 27 year old Hot Springs was the oldest tub I disposed of (sawzall, trailer and muscle) I think the top 10 or so were HS (I hate them guys) just kidding. Others stand out Marquis 18-20yo, Sundance, Beach, other obscure brands for some reason. But I think this data can also be area skewed. Who is here. Chime in if you have seen older. This is important.

My point is, I have seen rotten wood. But I have never seen rotten wood be the reason for a disposal. I remember a guy who had me haul away his tub. It was rotten wood and sagging. I asked him when this happened and he said 2 years ago. Then he said the tub hasn't worked for 9 years. I just want it gone. It was a 21 YO Calspa. I don't imagine a 21 YO neglected metal framed tub being any different than a 21 YO neglected wooden framed tub. However, it has a better fire rating if that matters.

I can liken it to a metal framing stud and a treated wood framing stud. Drill a few holes in each and set about a 2' piece in the wet grass for a few years see which looks best? I've built metal stud walls. They ARE NOT stronger than wood walls. Thats not the purpose. Metal studs are designed to meet the load capacities of wood studs and have a better fire rating. You can exceed the ratings of wood with less metal but that's not what a tub or a house uses for a frame.

Agreed.  If I was really digging deep in a presentation against another salesman that was pushing steel framing I'd toss out that wood allows for 'flex' whereas steel does not and this can encourage spidercracking on the shell.  But I'd only say that if the other salesman was being particularly dirty and unreasonable with his presentation/relaying of information/being heavy-handed when speaking of my product.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Your talking to a guy who has disposed of maybe close to 100 tubs. Seemed like a nitch.....but to much work now.

A 27 year old Hot Springs was the oldest tub I disposed of (sawzall, trailer and muscle) I think the top 10 or so were HS (I hate them guys) just kidding. Others stand out Marquis 18-20yo, Sundance, Beach, other obscure brands for some reason. But I think this data can also be area skewed. Who is here. Chime in if you have seen older. This is important.

My point is, I have seen rotten wood. But I have never seen rotten wood be the reason for a disposal. I remember a guy who had me haul away his tub. It was rotten wood and sagging. I asked him when this happened and he said 2 years ago. Then he said the tub hasn't worked for 9 years. I just want it gone. It was a 21 YO Calspa. I don't imagine a 21 YO neglected metal framed tub being any different than a 21 YO neglected wooden framed tub. However, it has a better fire rating if that matters.

I can liken it to a metal framing stud and a treated wood framing stud. Drill a few holes in each and set about a 2' piece in the wet grass for a few years see which looks best? I've built metal stud walls. They ARE NOT stronger than wood walls. Thats not the purpose. Metal studs are designed to meet the load capacities of wood studs and have a better fire rating. You can exceed the ratings of wood with less metal but that's not what a tub or a house uses for a frame.

Agreed.  If I was really digging deep in a presentation against another salesman that was pushing steel framing I'd toss out that wood allows for 'flex' whereas steel does not and this can encourage spidercracking on the shell.  But I'd only say that if the other salesman was being particularly dirty and unreasonable with his presentation/relaying of information/being heavy-handed when speaking of my product.

Simply stop the presentation and ask "let me ask you a question, you went into XYZ brand store to shop for a spa and all they could do was bash what I sell, how did that make you feel?" 90% of the time you will get "kind of weird" or "it was really odd" now flip them and say here we like to sell the entire experience, from educating you on the product to taking care of you after the sale with our in-house delivery staff,onsite technicians, in house water testing, etc etc etc now if you wouldn't mind i'd love to show you what we offer here.......You've just cut that other salesmans jugular :-)

[CCC]

Damn, am I glad I am not in the retail sales game anymore! I don't know what sucks worse, being a salesman or being a customer.