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I believe that MOST quality built spas are full foamed. Whether they are ABS or fiberglass backed shouldn't matter. Don't buy a spa from a dealer that tells you that you need to be concerned if you have a leak. That typically is the responsibilty of the dealer in which you buy from, a spa that is full foamed will leak normally within the warrantee period, you would hope.With over 8000 spas sold, all of them full foamed, I've had leaking problem with 2 of them. The odds are pretty good that if you select a good quality manufacturer for your spa and a stable dealer for your purchase, the dealer will handle your concerns with leaks if and when they may occur.
I found the below article at the following website: http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/hottubs/shells.html Acrylic backed by ABS plastic; this material on the surface looks much like the acrylic that is backed by fiberglass, but rather than adding a stiffening agent (fiberglass) the surface material is backed by (co-extruded with) a sheet of ABS plastic. ABS plastic is impact resistant and when co-extruded in this fashion rarely comes away from the acrylic surface. (Fiberglass will not stick well to ABS so it's use as a stiffening agent is very low for this material) The down sides to this material can be, that in order to make the vessel sturdy enough to withstand the pressure of the water it contains, most manufacturers will fill the cabinet with foam, which can make the servicing of leaks extremely difficult especially for a technician that does not have much experience with this type of repair. And in many cases spas that are foamed this way will have cabinets that cannot be removed, further compounding the problem with plumbing service. Also if the tub cracks, I have yet to see a way to fix it. If you go with this type of shell make sure it has a long structural warranty. The reason most manufacturers use this material is that it lowers labor costs, with nobody needed in production to fiberglass and as EPA and state regulations on the discharge of air pollutants gets stronger you will start to see fewer manufacturers using the old method of fiber-glassing. It seems to back-up my intuition with regards to full-foam as more of a shell structural element. In addition, if you have to dig into the stuff to fix something, you would essentially degrade the structural integrity of the shell laminate, which one may deduce could potentially lead to cracks, bubbles, delamination etc. IMHO. It would be interesting to know if in fact anyone has experienced those problems after having to dig out the foam to make repairs. Does anyone know if in fact the full-foam spas such as Sundance and HS have laminate shells containing Acrylic backed by ABS plastic?
Someone wanna pass me that 10 foot pole? Steve
To me thats why I would never do anything other that full foam.I just don't think partial foam could do that but if I could be proved wrong thats ok. Thanks Ivan
Other than to generate traffic on web boards, what good is worrying about this?There are tubs which use FF which work great. There are tubs which use TP which work great.Provided we are talking about a well-engineered tub, you are going to get about the same performance. This should not really be such a big deal.