Likely the most common question

[Stryker11]

Hey folks. New to the forum. Looking forward to expanding my knowledge by those that have experience. My wife and I have been interested in a hot tub for nearly 6 years now and are indeed ready to buy, but branched away from research and pretty much clouded my memory of all the things I learned. Hoping you can help me here, and throw out brand suggestions, construction, insulation I need to consider, so on and so forth. Looking forward to your advice. 

We live in Western Washington, so weather is mostly mild. Very few single digit days in the year if any. I think I want the full foam insulation. I'm ok to spend $$$$$ but of course, saving is a nice thing too. I guess I am just trying to figure out a good reputable company that has proven quality, good warranty that we can have for 10 + years. Sorry for the open ended questions.

[Tman122]

Marquis

[cranbiz]

I'll say Artesian. My Artesian fit all my check boxes, has full foam insulation, seating and jet arrangements I wanted, is comfortable to be in and a self supporting shell.

However Marquis, BullFrog, Hot Springs, Caldera and Jaccuzi are also top quality brands.

Most if not all are full foam tubs. What you really need to do is sit in all of them and find out which ones are comfortable and have the features you want. Wet test if possible as tubs are different when filled. You also can see which ones have jets that suit you.

[Stryker11]

Thanks for all the advice. For some reason, I never thought of hopping into one. Lacking some common sense there. I've been actively looking into Bullfrog and Marquise. Artesian, I have yet to look into. Thank you for that suggestion. Ill see what they have to offer.

[Stryker11]

One other question. Many of these have features I can add or chose between, such as, salt water tub, ozone, oxygen enriched, etc. Some of the things I have heard, but not sure on the facts or opinion, are;

Saltwater tubs are great for your skin, but bad for the hot tub in general. Diminishes life expectancy?
Ozone requires less chlorine for filtration, but is very dangerous? (this one did interest me, but curious on the danger)
Trillium jets last longer.

[Spatech_tuo]

One other question. Many of these have features I can add or chose between, such as, salt water tub, ozone, oxygen enriched, etc. Some of the things I have heard, but not sure on the facts or opinion, are;

Saltwater tubs are great for your skin, but bad for the hot tub in general. Diminishes life expectancy?
Ozone requires less chlorine for filtration, but is very dangerous? (this one did interest me, but curious on the danger)
Trillium jets last longer.

Anyone who isn't selling a tub that uses a salt generator will tell you to avoid them.
Anyone who is selling a tub that uses a salt generator will tell you that's what you need.
Anyone who isn't selling a tub that uses wood frames will tell you to avoid them.
Anyone who is selling a tub that uses wood frames will tell you that's what you need.
Anyone who isn't selling a tub that uses ozone will tell you to avoid them... and so on.

The common thread is that when shopping at a dealer, they'll tell you that what they have is what you want and if they don't have a feature you're interested in they'll tell you its not something you want.

Take it all with a grain of salt!

[tnlandsailor]

The question about ozone intrigues me as well. I was involved in the ozone business for a while and I use ozone all the time in my house for deodorizing strong odors and reducing allergens and such. I have generators on my central heat and air that come on at a low level whenever the fan is on. The ozone is great for sanitizing the air that travels through the ducts and can even kill any mold that might be in the ducts themselves given enough time. Ozone itself really isn't that harmful. It's an irritant to your lungs if you breath a big dose of it and if you have asthma you should limit your exposure. Ground level ozone like they talk about on the weather reports is actually a result of ultraviolet light reacting with ground level pollution and creating the ozone. When the ozone is created, it hangs around for about 15 minutes, then reverts back to O2 if it finds nothing to oxidize. Higher levels of ozone are an indicator of pollution and not the actual hazard itself. But I digress...

Using ozone in a hot tub sounds like a great idea. I'm at the beginning of my hot tub search and being familiar with ozone, I wanted to incorporate it into the water treatment aspect of the tub. Does anyone have experience using ozone in their tub? How do you like it? How much does it reduce the overall chemical usage for you?

[Tman122]

Ozone makes a fine SUPPLEMENT to a proper sanitation regimen. Get proper sanitation figure out first.

[The Wizard of Spas]

Ozone makes a fine SUPPLEMENT to a proper sanitation regimen. Get proper sanitation figure out first.

+1.  Also - Filtration is oversold.  Like ozone, it is a great supplement but there is no substitute for proper water chemistry.

And to further what Spatech_tuo astutely pointed out - The benefits of a brand / negatives of a competing brand tend to be framed in how said brands are sold.  Lots of "Look over in my right hand so you do not notice what is going on in my left hand" tactics out there. 

Find the spa that is comfortable, then research the dealer.  Let that organically narrow your search.  Makes the decision much easier w/o having to be an expert first.

Good luck moving forward.