First Time Buyer - Hot Spings Pulse Saltwater

[lakersfreak]

Hi everyone! I live in Los Angeles and just purchased a Hot Springs Pulse with Saltwater. Should be delivered in a few weeks while my backyard remodel finishes. I have never owned a hot tub before and have several questions. Hoping I can get some help here. I do have about 30 days to change my order if necessary.

1) Did I get a good price? - I paid $9,600 out the door for the Hot Springs Pulse with saltwater, a year supply of salt, a year supply of filter, cover, cover lifter (the better one with the spring), regular steps, electric panel box, delivery, install, demonstration, and the salesman promise that I can bug him 24/7 on his cell phone    

2) Saltwater - I hate the smell and feel of chlorine so we went with the saltwater system, but I have been reading a lot of potential issues with saltwater eating away filter, light fixtures, etc... should I be concerned?

3) how easy is maintaining the saltwater? I know this isn't a good comparison, but I had a saltwater fish tank, and it was a huge pain in the butt to maintain.

4) Connextion? does anyone recommend upgrading the system to the connection system? I don't necessarily need it to control my tub while I am away, but I want to be able to read water levels such as the Ph remotely if necessary, and send me warning signs to my phone. Is the upgrade worth it?

Thanks in advance to everyone who replies!

[Johnrb3]

Did you happen to get a price quote on the Connextion?  I’ve been wanting to check into it. Seems like it would be nice to be able to control the spa remotely.

[lakersfreak]

No price yet. I believe the salesman mentioned about $500 plus yearly fee of $200. I'll check and provide an update.

[castletonia]

Really good price.  I recently sold my display model for $10,999, as a point of reference.

Salt level is low, 1700-1800 ppm.  The ocean is over 10,000 ppm.  Never seen or heard of the salt system causing corrosion.  If you left the output set to 10 and never used the hot tub, I'm sure the chlorine could get high enough to cause issues, but again, I've never seen it.

I sell Connextion at $699 + $199/year.  Keep in mind that it doesn't work with the Freshwater Salt System right now. 

[lakersfreak]

Thanks for replying! This is probably a stupid question, but can you clarify what you mean by chlorine level in a saltwater tub?

[castletonia]

Saltwater is chlorine.  Instead of adding either granular or liquid chlorine, the chlorine is being created by electrolysis and the salt in the water.  The result is softer feeling water, minimal to no chlorine odor and in my opinion and easier to use water care routine.

[lakersfreak]

Thank you. Thoughts on my other questions in my original post?

[castletonia]

I personally think the saltwater systems are easier to maintain.  You are adding less product to the water that can affect the pH, add TDS and CYA so you are able to get longer water life.  Plus since you have an automatic way of generating chlorine, you don't have to worry about the water if you forget to check the tub for a few days.

I think Connextion works fine, but I'm not going to recommend it unless the hot tub is at a vacation home and you want to monitor it remotely.  I just can't personally justify the cost when the hot tub is sitting in the backyard.  Walk outside and check the temperature or look at the logo light if you need to know the working status.

Even though I have a 210-gallon saltwater fish tank in our store, I don't do any maintenance other than feeding the fish and cleaning the glass so I cannot compare to a hot tub. 

[bud16415]

I personally think the saltwater systems are easier to maintain.  You are adding less product to the water that can affect the pH, add TDS and CYA so you are able to get longer water life.  Plus since you have an automatic way of generating chlorine, you don't have to worry about the water if you forget to check the tub for a few days.

I think Connextion works fine, but I'm not going to recommend it unless the hot tub is at a vacation home and you want to monitor it remotely.  I just can't personally justify the cost when the hot tub is sitting in the backyard.  Walk outside and check the temperature or look at the logo light if you need to know the working status.

Even though I have a 210-gallon saltwater fish tank in our store, I don't do any maintenance other than feeding the fish and cleaning the glass so I cannot compare to a hot tub.

About a year ago I started adding salt with my water change even though my tub doesn’t have a chlorine generator system. I use dichlor switching to bleach method of sanitizing.

The first time I added salt was because I was thinking of buying a saltron mini generator as a simple add on. I wanted to get a feel for the salt water before I committed to going that way. The feel of the water was excellent and I found the overall upkeep of the water seemed easier with the dichlor/bleach. More stable it seemed. I still haven’t bought the saltron mini but I will be doing my 4th water change with added salt soon.

My tub a Caldera Geneva around 350 gallons I’m adding 7 pounds of pool salt. I’m still on my first bag that was under $10. So the cost to have the benefit of the salt is really low.

I haven’t noticed nor do I expect any problems with the tub because of the salt.

I know I will be using salt going forward with or without a salt gen tub.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Really good price.  I recently sold my display model for $10,999, as a point of reference.

Salt level is low, 1700-1800 ppm.  The ocean is over 10,000 ppm.  Never seen or heard of the salt system causing corrosion.  If you left the output set to 10 and never used the hot tub, I'm sure the chlorine could get high enough to cause issues, but again, I've never seen it.

I sell Connextion at $699 + $199/year.  Keep in mind that it doesn't work with the Freshwater Salt System right now.

This is my 10th or 11th year selling Saltwater Systems on Spas and I agree, the only people left who 'bash' saltwater systems are those who's wallet is being affected by losing either chemical sales or spas sales to them....People always want to talk corrosion, but what I find funny is that extremely low and/or mis-managed pH will 'corrode' the metal components within a spa 10x faster than ANY salt system on the market but yet you don't hear people talking about that

[Hottubguy]

Really good price.  I recently sold my display model for $10,999, as a point of reference.

Salt level is low, 1700-1800 ppm.  The ocean is over 10,000 ppm.  Never seen or heard of the salt system causing corrosion.  If you left the output set to 10 and never used the hot tub, I'm sure the chlorine could get high enough to cause issues, but again, I've never seen it.

I sell Connextion at $699 + $199/year.  Keep in mind that it doesn't work with the Freshwater Salt System right now.

This is my 10th or 11th year selling Saltwater Systems on Spas and I agree, the only people left who 'bash' saltwater systems are those who's wallet is being affected by losing either chemical sales or spas sales to them....People always want to talk corrosion, but what I find funny is that extremely low and/or mis-managed pH will 'corrode' the metal components within a spa 10x faster than ANY salt system on the market but yet you don't hear people talking about that

Agree 100%

[lakersfreak]

Really good price.  I recently sold my display model for $10,999, as a point of reference.

Salt level is low, 1700-1800 ppm.  The ocean is over 10,000 ppm.  Never seen or heard of the salt system causing corrosion.  If you left the output set to 10 and never used the hot tub, I'm sure the chlorine could get high enough to cause issues, but again, I've never seen it.

I sell Connextion at $699 + $199/year.  Keep in mind that it doesn't work with the Freshwater Salt System right now.

This is my 10th or 11th year selling Saltwater Systems on Spas and I agree, the only people left who 'bash' saltwater systems are those who's wallet is being affected by losing either chemical sales or spas sales to them....People always want to talk corrosion, but what I find funny is that extremely low and/or mis-managed pH will 'corrode' the metal components within a spa 10x faster than ANY salt system on the market but yet you don't hear people talking about that

Very interesting....how often will I have to check pH levels?