Sunrise Spas - Any comments?

[Silent Water]

I'm in the middle of spa shopping and ran across this brand of hot tub.  
The other brands that I'm considering are good quality and would be well known to anyone from this forum.

I know very little about Sunrise Spas except the following:
They use a galvanized steel frame like Coleman
TP insulation style
Manufactured in Grimsby, Ontario
10 yr structural, 7yr surface, 3 yr equip & plumbing warranty
Think they only distribute to Canada and Europe

I might have dismissed this brand from my search, but I was impressed by the dealer, the comfort of the seats, and the price.  Are there any owners/dealers/service experts out there that could give me some inside scoop on this company and their product line, please?

[Vinny]

I saw it here in the US. I wanted a tub without a lounger and saw one at a dealer. They seemed powerful but the one tub I saw had a funky setup and their wasn't a large dealership network around if the dealer went out of business.

BTW, I didn't ignore your PM but I get error codes when I try to respond ... I know your Canadian but are you an Extraterrestrial?

[In Canada eh]

Silent Water

   I took a look at them when we were shopping and wasn't very impressed they just seemed to be average and nothing about them stood out other then the made in Ontario thing.   The local dealer that sells them had a questionable reputation for service so I didn't get very far with regards to controls, warranty, insulation, etc.

Sorry I couldn't help much

[Silent Water]

I know that they're positioning themselves as a value brand, much in the way that Honda did in the 80's.  They seem well-built though and priced about $1.5-2K less than "big brand" spas of similar size & features.

Should I be afraid? Or are they worth a second look?

[Gary]

Had a friend that use to sell them he quit because of all the problems with them. He had lots of leaks!

You should ask if they use Viton pump seals, Incoloy 825 Heaters, if they are not using these basic quality items they are probably cutting corners everywhere else also.
Quality cost!

[Silent Water]

Thanks, Gary.
As I newbie, I only heard the term Viton seal yesterday.  That's a double porcelain seal, right?  I haven't heard of Incoloy 825 Heaters; are they the standard titanium coil jobs that the dealers tout? I've also heard that the standard "motherboards" in good spas should be Gecko or...um, one other that I can't remember. Must be... REACHING OVERLOAD!!!

Are there any other quality names in parts that I need to watch for?

[Vinny]

I think your reading too much into this. All QUALITY manufacturers will use good components ... Gecko or Balboa is a personal choice as is every aspect of choosing a spa.

Ask the questions you do reguarding spefic spa manufacturers but don't fret about the components, even the biggest names have some problems too!

[Silent Water]

Balboa!  Right... the ROCKY circuit board (can you hear the theme?) :-/ "ADRIAN!!!!!

Thanks, Vinny.
I'm really not too hung up on the "innards" of the tub but I do want to make sure that the one I choose is a QUALITY brand, as you suggested.  For the experienced folks out there, determining quality may be second nature; you know where to look to find the shortcuts. It's all so fresh for me right now that I sound like I'm picking every spa to bits.

I guess what I'm looking for is a list of things to ask this Sunrise Dealer to see if their product measures up to the Caldera/Sundance/Beachcomber tubs that have made my short-list so far.

[Silent Water]

I guess what I'm looking for is a list of things to ask this Sunrise Dealer to see if their product measures up to the Caldera/Sundance/Beachcomber tubs that have made my short-list so far.

In the end, if the Sunrise measures up to the quality questions and, more importantly, the wet test, I'd rather save the 2 grand to spend on other things! We'll see.

[Vinny]

The problem is (and this has nothing to do with the Sunrise brand in particular) is that anyone can put quality components in a tub and still build a piece of garbage.

How many dealers are there?  What happens if the dealer goes out of business? The dealer I would have bought from seems to be going out of business.

WE ALL were where you're at. I am just a consumer!  I didn't buy a "top 4" manufacturer and my dealer was the only Artesian dealer around when I bought but it was mentioned positively on a few of the boards and I felt good but still a little nervous about my purchase. I was concerned the the only dealer would go out of business but others have popped up.

The Sunrise I saw (the Aquarian) was about $600 more than my tub and it was a 2003 price (I bought my tub at 2004 pricing). The dealer was selling Beachcomber for the same price as the Sunrise.

I know getting a tub for less money is appealing and quite honestly I started at $5000 looking for a tub and purchased mine at $7000 with tax. Take your time, look around and learn ... all the tubs you see will probably be there in a month.

[Silent Water]

... all the tubs you see will probably be there in a month.

Hee hee!  So will the snow with my luck!  It's OK.  I'm content to wait until I'm sure.  But I'm surprised that the Sunrise was priced on par with the Beachcomber where you are.  'Round here, I got a quote for a Beachcomber 578 at $9.6K, PLUS taxes (13% - zoinks!). Caldera Hawaiian and Sundance Bahia come in around $8K + tax and the Sunrise Poseidon giggles at them all at a price of $7.5K, inclusive!  Ah...  therein lies my dilemma.

[Vinny]

Maybe in your case Sunrise is more of a "local" tub. I know their made around Grimsby so maybe they do concentrate more in Canada.

E-mail or call Sunrise and ask specific questions to them - I would think that a real concern other than comfort or price is service. There is a Beachcomber dealer very close to me and every time I went to go see what he had he was closed ... weekends, weekdays and I even e-mailed him and it took a few days for him to respond! He told me business was light and he decided to close up  for a few days. I e-mailed Beachcomber and asked about what would happen if I bought a tub from this dealer and my tub broke. Their response was that a tub being down isn't a big deal and I would have to wait until he got back (at least that was my interpetation), I walked away!

I was told that my tub is $10000 in Canada, I wouldn't have bought it if it was - too expensive IMO!

[Silent Water]

E-mail or call Sunrise and ask specific questions to them - I would think that a real concern other than comfort or price is service.

Thanks, Vinny.  I'll do exactly that.
The local dealer impressed me so that says a lot and they've been around for almost 30 years (in pools and spas) so they must be doing something right!
Cheers!

[Hot Tubber6500]

I own a Sunrise tub and am not impressed with it. The 10 year warranty only applys to the actual tub, not the structure. the metal frame will rust and the side panels will fall apart and they have 5 year coverage.
I would not buy another Sunrise spa.

[Hottubprosne]

We sold one of the sunrise brands called white water. There pump seals suck and when that leaks long enough it rusts out that stupid metal frame. We don't sell them now if that means anything. But if the dealer is doing his job its not any worse or better than beachcomber or a lot of middle road brands. Sundance and Caldera are better brands. IMHO Good luck