Hello everyone,
After over 6 months of creeping on this forum (and others), I finally purchased a Bullfrog A6L in January.
DISCLAIMER - I am by no means an expert, just thought I'd share my experiences with Bullfrog Spas and @Ease SmartChlor for anyone looking to get into it.
I first started to look into tubs around June of 2019. The wife and I enjoy them when we stay at hotels and I also have service related disabilities I try to manage. I figured it was a good time to consider purchasing one. I am 26 years old and have a solid job which allows me to have this type of luxury item. If you are not financially stable, I would suggest waiting to purchase a tub.
Initially, the water chemistry was a little overwhelming. After several months of learning the basics, and on top of actually balancing the water for the first couple of months, it starts to make sense and you'll get the hang of things.
Read Nitros guide to water chemistry over and over. Then read it again! Once you have that down, it'll make everything a little bit easier.
https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/13634-nitros-approach-to-water-maintaince/First, I'll start with my buying experience and what I got:
After looking at Hotspring, Caldera, Sundance, and Nordic, we pulled the trigger on a Bullfrog A6L floor model from a local dealer in southeastern Connecticut. We only got to wet test the Bullfrog, Hotspring and Caldera. The wife and I were sold on the Jetpack system and the overall appearance so we went for it.
Note - Without knowing what we wanted, we set our budget at $5000. We quickly discovered that was not viable and ended up extending it to $8500. We looked at it as an investment. If we ever sold our house, we could sell it to the buyers or simply take it with us. We weren't looking for top of the line, but we wanted something that was going to last.
I definitely suggest wet testing and researching each tub before going to look at it. I called all of the local dealers and wrote down each model they had available so I could familiarize myself with them before looking in person.
Pricing - After some negotiation, I agreed on $8200.00 out the door, delivery included, for the A6L with the following features:
Two pumps
Auxiliary jet controls
Ozone Generator
Interior / Exterior Lighting package
Cover & Lift
DuraSteps
6 months of @Ease Smartchlor
4 matching jet packs (obviously)
The A6L was manufactured in June of 2019 and delivered to the dealer's store new. The tub was used a handful of times for wet testing, including ours, and was kept inside. I am very particular and hesitant when buying expensive used items, so I made sure everything was legit before purchasing it. The dealer was making room for the 2020 models so I'm sure he wanted to get rid of it as well.
Overall, I think we got a pretty good deal compared to the other tubs we looked at and what other people were paying according to the internet. A new A6L would have been a few thousand dollars more and out of our set price range.
Note - I went to another dealer who was trying to sell me the exact same model A6L for $11,000 out the door (plus the circulation pump). I gave him the other price I was quoted and he told me there was no way he could come close to that. Do your research and talk to different dealers, you'd be surprised some of the price differences.
Pre-delivery purchases:
All the tub products I use are Leisure Time unless noted otherwise. I went with them because I can get it amazon prime and it's decently priced.
Calcium booster
Spa Down
Metal gone
Foam down
Alkalinity Increaser (before I figured out it's just baking soda)
Renew - MPS shock
Defender - Scale protection
Cartridge clean
Spa choice - Dichlor granules
Proteam - Gentle Spa borates
Clorox - Unscented bleach
Arm & Hammer - Baking soda
Taylor test kit K2006
Taylor 9265 Magnetic stirrer (easy testing)
Taylor 7 way test strips
Extra Frog test strips
Mesh hand skimmer
Handheld Spa Vacuum
Rubber ducky
New Bullfrog Wellspring Filters
Duck Covers - Patio table cover 92" (this fits perfectly over the tub and protects it from the sun).
I bought these items over 3 weeks as I was waiting for the tub to be delivered. This broke up the start up expenses and gave me time to prepare properly.