Chris Wheatley—-master spas and artesian spas—-Hot tub University

[Johnrb3]

I’m just curious what others think of this guys opinions on hot tubs and if he’s on the right track?  I hate to call one person out one way or another, but he’s really put himself out there with his opinion so i’m not as adverse to it.  He dogs on Hot Spring and Jacuzzi spas as basically mid level inferior made products for their price level.  That they are engineered to fail and etc.  implies the shells are weak.
He recommends like Master spas and Artesian spas.  Which I thought were mid level spas myself. Is he onto something?  Or does he just have a slick way of selling his product?  I’m not even sure what he sells. Thanks for feedback.

[Tman122]

He's a Master Spa schill.

He has some good points about keeping things simple and using non proprietary components but he is way off on the advantages of spending money on engineering for efficiency.

If their shells are so terrible and thin why do they not put a longer warranties on their shells.

His opinion should hold as much value as anyone else here.

Want some real world data, Master Spa is poorly insulated and cost a ton to operate in colder climates compared to Hot Springs.

[MarKee]

He is a Master dealer, how could he not be bias?  He posted a video dogging on a mid-level Marquis with limited insulation (full foam is an option on the model he reviewed), and when I posted a picture of a Signature Series Marquis with Icynene foam coming all the way out the walls, and the beautifully constructed equipment area on the Signature Series Marquis, he quickly deleted it.  Why would he delete my photos?

[The Wizard of Spas]

In general - I appreciate the light he shines on the industry, and I like his "everyman" approach.  He has a great platform, and he's is very good with his personal brand, as well communicating with those that reach out to him.  I applaud him for his general honesty and ability to convey succinct answers to some of the more common questions / issues that arise in this industry. 

As others have noted, he has very good points, and other points that are rooted in some form of a bias.  Review this entire forum and you'll see disagreements on virtually every single post, and most of these disagreements are philosophical rather than tangible.

Therefor, I do not find fault with any of his views, his take on Master Spas, and his other two favorites (Artesian, Marquis).  However, I do find some of his thoughts on certain aspects to be curious, as they run not quite in-line with most of the professionals in the industry.  But alas - we are all partial to our likes / dislikes, and those again are based on personal experience, and who / how we were trained on spas.

While we don't see eye - to - eye on Master Spas, in generally I feel as a whole he's way more good than harm for the industry. 

But then that is just my opinion, which is ironic as I am giving an opinion of someone' opinion.  So take that for what its worth

EDIT:  Spelling

[Hottubguy]

He is a Master dealer, how could he not be bias?  He posted a video dogging on a mid-level Marquis with limited insulation (full foam is an option on the model he reviewed), and when I posted a picture of a Signature Series Marquis with Icynene foam coming all the way out the walls, and the beautifully constructed equipment area on the Signature Series Marquis, he quickly deleted it.  Why would he delete my photos?

They are still there on his YouTube page. I saw them today.

[MarKee]

I see the comment is now viewable, thanks for pointing that out. Originally it wasn’t, I looked twice, unless I missed it both times.

He has a lot of good points, and he is right for the most part, but everything can be spun towards a certain brand.

What I hate is when customers come in to the showroom asking questions like “are these waterway Jets?”. According to several acquaintances of mine, Master now uses all CMP Jets, which is what a lot of the industry uses.

[Gomboman]

He's a good salesman and has some good points for sure. I'm waiting for him to tear apart and review a Hot Spring Highlife spa.

[Spatech_tuo]

He's a good salesman and has some good points for sure. I'm waiting for him to tear apart and review a Hot Spring Highlife spa.

He relies on part good ideas, part opinions, part exaggerations and part flat out falsehoods.

He realizes his audience isn't composed of spa pros so they won't know when he's being a technician and when he's being a salesman so the hope is they'll take his "opinion" as fact.

If the product had a better reputation it would be easier to swallow but I'm sure it sells a certain number of spas.

[Hottubguy]

I see the comment is now viewable, thanks for pointing that out. Originally it wasn’t, I looked twice, unless I missed it both times.

He has a lot of good points, and he is right for the most part, but everything can be spun towards a certain brand.

What I hate is when customers come in to the showroom asking questions like “are these waterway Jets?”. According to several acquaintances of mine, Master now uses all CMP Jets, which is what a lot of the industry uses.

Marquis standard foam on Vector/ Elite series is more foam then on most Master Spas I've seen also.  He does make a decent amount of good points but my bggest complaint with him is all he does is push Master Spas.  I've seen a lot of comments on his buyer's advice post from people in Colorado.  There is a big dealer out there that he claims is HTU All Star dealer.  When you google that company they have terrible google reviews and lots of complaints with the BBB.  Obviously his agenda is to push Master Spas not send them to a reputable dealer.  Another of my pet peeves with him is the way he pushes those getaway tubs versus the Nordic Tubs.  Number 1 has anybody seen one?  They are so sloppily built it's not funny and the other thing is he used to sell Nordic but they dropped him as a dealer for a good reason.  He says Artesian and Master are the 2 best tubs but yet he always steers people towards Master even if the Artesian guy is a better company. 

[silversun]

a number of posts mentions he makes some good points. what are they?

[Johnrb3]

Thanks guys!  I’d also like to know what opinions of Chris others agree with?  I just purchased a Hot Spring Grandee, and Chris does a great job of tearing them apart as a mid-level product designed to fail with a list of reasons to never buy. Based on feedback from this site I thought Hot Spring was a solid performer...if not one of the better tubs. 

[Gomboman]

Here's his last YouTube video. I think it would be great if Chris stopped by here and said hi. We could have some good discussions I'm sure. At the end of the day, we all just want to be in hot water LOL.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Kkf_4VE8I

[Hottubguy]

a number of posts mentions he makes some good points. what are they?

Thanks guys!  I’d also like to know what opinions of Chris others agree with?  I just purchased a Hot Spring Grandee, and Chris does a great job of tearing them apart as a mid-level product designed to fail with a list of reasons to never buy. Based on feedback from this site I thought Hot Spring was a solid performer...if not one of the better tubs. 

He talks about buying from a tub with good insulation.  Specifically full foam. He’s a big proponent of icynene foam which is good. I think polyeutherine and fiber core is just as good. Problem with his stance is Master is not full foam at least on ones I’ve seen and pictures from on here. Also thinks he brings up good points on bases of hot tubs. If a hot tub is built good it doesn’t matter if it’s wood or Full enclosed ABS pan. Plenty I don’t agree with him on but that website is there to sell master Spas. It’s not some independent guy it’s a master spa dealer. John the grandee is a great tub. You will get years of enjoyment out of it

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Thanks guys!  I’d also like to know what opinions of Chris others agree with?  I just purchased a Hot Spring Grandee, and Chris does a great job of tearing them apart as a mid-level product designed to fail with a list of reasons to never buy. Based on feedback from this site I thought Hot Spring was a solid performer...if not one of the better tubs.

I've been in the Hot Tub industry for 16 years and I can tell you unequivocally a Hot Spring beats Master Spas in every facet from insulation, construction, side panel quality, topside control quality, factory support, parts availability, etc....EVERYTHING except maybe lighting, you know why? because they have to put 100 lights in a Master so they can sell that crap for 9-11K out of a parking lot or convention center

[gwrace1]

This youtube review is about the worst I've ever seen. He was not happy because Marquis would not let him tour the factory because he was not a dealer. This is a revenge review.
If he is this unprofessional I would steer clear of any advice he provides. Everything he recommends is sold on his site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYF5whxG-vc