Marquis v Marquis v Bullfrog

[actusreus]

Thank-you all for the advice.  Because I overthink these things, I had to go to a nearby town and look at one more.  It's the Aria by Hot Springs.  It's 11,500.  The guy sure talked it up.  Anyone know how it compares to the other ones I mentioned?

[castletonia]

Great hot tub by a great manufacturer.  That's right about where I am when  not having to finance the spa.  Hot Spring High Life collection compares well with Marquis Signature. 

You really need to wet test these spas.  The Show was one of the few Marquis I never saw or sat in when I was a dealer so I cannot tell you how it sits.  I am now Hot Springs and Caldera.  I can honestly say there are things I like about each brand.  I like the moto-massage jet in Hot Spring.  I like the HK40 jets in Marquis when placed hear the upper back and shoulders.  I was less of a fan when they were placed near the lower back, too much power for me unless turned down.  There are things that I think Hot Spring does better than Marquis, but remember that each dealer you visit sells the best brand of spas  .  You are looking at premium quality spas, so how the spa feels to you and how comfortable you feel with the dealer should be deciding factors.

[bwspa]

I liked the corner seat in the Aria, but going directly from the Artesian to a hot spring to try the Moto massage, I was unimpressed and went straight back to the Artesian.  Definitely wet test as I'm sure plenty of people like the feel.  For the Marquis Epic, I loved the tower geyser, and the HK40'S were powerful but they didn't quite hit me where/how I wanted. 

[actusreus]

Hey everyone.  So, update, I splurged, spent a bunch more than I intended, and bought the Marquis Show.  It's blue, in an ash shell.  Love the look.  Went in yesterday, and we broke it in today.  Felt great.  The jets are great, and I really like their individual controls.  One question, the heating seems pretty weak.  It's in the 30's today (October in Idaho), and it simply would not heat when we were out and in it.  It kept alternating between saying nothing, saying "heat waiting," and "heating."  In the hour we were out there, although we had it set to reach 104 F, it eventually dropped to 97 F.  I couldn't find "heat waiting" in the manual.  Any idea what's going on there?

[Sam]

I can't help with the heating issue, but congrats!  That's an awesome hot tub   Stick around and share your experience.

[castletonia]

Never heard of heat waiting on a Marquis.  Unless something has changed in the last 6 months you have either Ready Mode or Rest Mode.  Ready mode means it would keep the temperature at whatever you set it for.  Rest mode would only heat during the filtration cycles, which need to be adjusted.  Marquis was only programmed to run 1 hour twice a day, which is not enough. 

I never sold or saw a Show before, but since that spa has 3 jet pumps, I wonder if the heater shuts off when all 3 pumps are running.  That could explain the heat loss because if the spa was in Ready mode  and the heater running, it really shouldn't lose more than a degree or two.

[MarKee]

You can't really go wrong with any of those 3 models.  They're about the best 3 therapy spas that Marquis offers.  If you're getting the SmartTop on each spa, those are all really good prices because the SmartTop is a $1500-2000 option at most places like hottubguy said.  I would decide on the model based on how many people will be using the spa. In my years of experience, most people think they're going to have huge groups in the hot tub and most of the time it just ends up being 2 at a time, or maybe up to 4 at a time.

Show will seat 5
Epic will seat 5-6
V94L will seat 6-7


Marquis is a great hot tub, good luck in your search. Let us know what you end up with.

[meriflower]

Congrats you your new Show!  I have a Marquis too, Spirit.  I have seen the "Heat Waiting" and then it immediately changes to "Heating".  I'm assumed it meant that the heater was about to be initiated.  I do not see it alternating between the two.  Perhaps Castletonia is correct that it shuts off when all 3 pumps are running.  I wouldn't seen that in mine as it only has one 1 pump and it's a much smaller spa.  I also do not heat it up to 104 as that is too hot for me.  I do live in a cold climate (MN) however it is out of the elements, in a garage.  Perhaps Markee or Hottubguy can confirm about the heater and the 3 pumps running.

[Hottubguy]

Even with all three pumps running the heater should be on. I have seen heat waiting but it’s usually just for a minute then it switches to heating.   

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Call me crazy, but 3 main pumps running and the heater still on?   I don't remember if the original Jacuzzi J-380 3 pump spa did that, but then it had the circ pump.   

[Hottubguy]

Call me crazy, but 3 main pumps running and the heater still on?   I don't remember if the original Jacuzzi J-380 3 pump spa did that, but then it had the circ pump.   

The show does. The only other tub I sell with 3 pumps doesn’t on the 50 amp option but if you wire it 70 mps then that does as well

[MarKee]

Congrats on The Show, awesome spa!  It should run all 3 pumps and the heater at the same time as far as I know.  What temperature did you start at when you were trying to get to 104?  In 30 degree weather it will have a hard time gaining temperature with the cover off, but should be able to come close to maintaining the temperature you started at. Was the spa hooked up at the dealer before you bought it?  There is a 30amp setting that it could have possibly switched in to if the dealer was running it on a smaller breaker, but I doubt they would have done that.