Hey Ebay!It's the worst excuse for a spa I've seen

[stuart]

I just went on a service call for a pinnacle spa purchased off eBay and was appalled by what I saw.

1. The frame was 3/4 x 4 pallet wood stapled together.

2. There was no insulation at all other than some bubble wrap with a reflective backing on the inside of the cabinet.

3. The cabinet was an expanded styrene foam with strips of poly glued to the back of it to hold it together. There were over 30 screws in each panel that where deteriorating. They needed that many to keep the panel from warping.

4. The jets were an aftermarket no name that would not even turn after 4 months of use.

5. the manifold for the jets was against the outer wall without insulation open to potential freeze up.

6. More  water was moving through the bypass than the filter.

7. The cover had only 2 locks that were torn and the cover was beginning to take on water.

I will be back out there this week and try and take some pictures!

He paid over $3000 plus shipping to have this dropped off in his driveway. He called us because his drain was stuck half open in freezing conditions and he wanted to protect his "sizable investment"

He did his research, he thinks it’s a good deal and he hopes it will last 15 years…..If it lasts 2 he will be very lucky.

BTW, the spa has an ETL rating!

[jnsjr58]

Thanks for the post Stuart!!!!!!  
They look and sound like the deal of the century. They just about had me.........Thanks to the people and info on ths forum I escaped from the ebay temptation and bought a 'Real' tub from a local dealer and I KNOW I made the right choice!!!........I can't wait till my igloo arrives!

[Chas]

Don't suppose they had no-bypass filtration then, Huh?  

[Gomboman]

Did you break it to the guy that he bought a pile? I'm sure he still thinks he scored....

[stuart]

Did you break it to the guy that he bought a pile? I'm sure he still thinks he scored....

He does think he got a deal....He is a really cool guy and has become a friend through this but I still haven't flat out said that he has a piece of junk that will last 2 years at best.

I've been going through scenarios in my head for the most diplomatic way to tell him that without sounding like just a competitive higher priced brand.

If we hadn’t hit it off so well when he asked for my help I would probably have just told him that we did not want to adopt all of the problems that will be associated with that product over the next few years by working on it and that he should call someone else.

[Tatooed_Lady]

job security for the repair guys, and a lot of headaches for the owners and anyone sympathetic with him and his cause.....that sucks.  

[stuart]

Well here is the first picture of the eBay junk that my buddy bought! NO insulation whatsoever! The foil wrap that you see is not even as heavy as a spa blanket!

The frame you see is 3/4 x 4 inch pallet wood... notice the manifold that sets against the side of the cabinet. The shell is pretty thin and the construction is horrible!

The bypass intake works better than the filter suction but then again considering the obvious engineering I doubt that they did much hydralic testing!

You get what you pay for!

[hottub.pool_boy]

Most likely he'll never buy a spa from you.
No matter what, he'll feel like he's paying too much.

The likely senario is: He'll have future problems that you won't be able to fix on the first and/or second visit. Then he'll bad mouth you over it, and probably not pay for the completed repair. Am I being negative?

Do you secure a credit card and/ or get paid at each visit for working on brand x spas?

[Tatooed_Lady]

but on the UPside.....they threw in extra staples (to the right of the support piece, along the top)! That's very nice of them!   Did they also include a case of "Great Stuff" foam insulation for the DIYer to insulate his new tub?  

[East_TX_Spa]

T.P. Cooter sez:

"Thar ain't nuffin' wrong wit' th' way that thar spa is insoolated.  Ya ain't got to dig thru no foam to fix yer leeks!"

[drewstar]

"Thar ain't nuffin' wrong wit' th' way that thar spa is insoolated.  Ya ain't got to dig thru no foam to fix yer leeks!"

Cooter Brown

Ahhh cooter, you crazy glue sniffin inbred spawn of Don Quiote, why not just build a quality tub that doens't leak?  

[Chas]

On a serious note, I have seen many tubs with that level of construction at Home Base, The Home Depot, Lowes and Costco over the years. The least favorite question I get is "why is your tub priced double this one?"

Most of them have a thin layer of insulation sprayed on the back of the shell, and this one in the picture might have that as well. I have seen a few locally with that thin spritz of foam which then listed "fully foam insulated" on the list of features.

Other features listed were "70 jets," half of which were air injectors, and of course the pumps are all listed by breakdown torque.

Some of the ones I saw in front of Home Base did not have any GFI protection - you were supposed to supply a GFI breaker. But most of them went home in the back of a pickup truck, so I have always wondered how many people who didn't want to pay much for a spa would then go pay a lot for a GFI breaker when a regular breaker is so cheap...

[windsurfdog]

Some of the ones I saw in front of Home Base did not have any GFI protection - you were supposed to supply a GFI breaker. But most of them went home in the back of a pickup truck, so I have always wondered how many people who didn't want to pay much for a spa would then go pay a lot for a GFI breaker when a regular breaker is so cheap...

Chas,  please correct me if wrong........Isn't Hot Springs (or is it all Watkins tubs) the only manufacturer that offers a GFI protected disconnect with its spas?  I don't remember seeing another manufacturer that included it.....certainly a bonus and a sales consideration.

[Chas]

You are correct - Watkins 220 tubs all come with a subpanel loaded with the appropriate breakers, while other tubs do not.

However, if somebody is buying, say, a Sundance tub they are usually also getting professional delivery/setup and the dealer will have most likely either offered to do the wiring or will have at least recommended an electrician. The point is - the new Sundance owner will KNOW that a FGI breaker or a shut-off with GFI will be needed and they will have somebody to guide them in getting it all together.

The big-box tub owner will depend on 'Al' in the electrical isle to pick out a breaker for his new tub.

I guess I'm saying that if price drives your choice of tub, it may very well also drive your choice of installation parts and pieces.

[luvin_tubin_sqezin]

You are correct - Watkins 220 tubs all come with a subpanel loaded with the appropriate breakers, while other tubs do not.

However, if somebody is buying, say, a Sundance tub they are usually also getting professional delivery/setup and the dealer will have most likely either offered to do the wiring or will have at least recommended an electrician. The point is - the new Sundance owner will KNOW that a FGI breaker or a shut-off with GFI will be needed and they will have somebody to guide them in getting it all together.

The big-box tub owner will depend on 'Al' in the electrical isle to pick out a breaker for his new tub.

I guess I'm saying that if price drives your choice of tub, it may very well also drive your choice of installation parts and pieces.

Absolutely right.  Bought a 2005 Sundance Bahia floor model and my electrician just dropped off the 60 amp GFI breaker last night....$108.00 at a not-so-local store.  Hard to find the 60 amp ones...50's are everywhere.