LA Spas

[Barb]

Hi: I am going to buy a hot tub. I want one about 6' x 7'. I have looked at a Tuscan LA Spa.... Does anyone have one or can tell me if LA Spas are good. I live in Montana so insulaton is important, also quality. I never paid much attention to the types of jets (plastic or metal). I want jets for my feet, legs and neck. I looked at a Bullfrog spa that had solid insulation, as the LA spa has two layers of insulation with air between.  Which is better?
Help

[wmccall]

I looked at a Bullfrog spa that had solid insulation, as the LA spa has two layers of insulation with air between.  Which is better?
Help

Welcome Barb,  We created a whole message board called BEATING A DEAD HORSE for discussing the two types of insulation.  Most people will agree they are both good enough and your decision should be based on more than that one difference.

[glfahlc]

Hi: I am going to buy a hot tub. I want one about 6' x 7'. I have looked at a Tuscan LA Spa.... Does anyone have one or can tell me if LA Spas are good. I live in Montana so insulaton is important, also quality. I never paid much attention to the types of jets (plastic or metal). I want jets for my feet, legs and neck. I looked at a Bullfrog spa that had solid insulation, as the LA spa has two layers of insulation with air between.  Which is better?
Help

i would suggest going to www.rhtubs.com and reading the spa reviews on that website. you'll get a better idea from owners what to expect...

[fatman]

I spoke with a hot tub repair tech recently. He repairs and refurbs all brands.  He told me that LA Spas have cheaply built cabinets.  He is a big fan of Bullfrog spas. Bullfrog has made some nice improvements for 2007 including a poly base.  

[Bama]

Well..........as a LA Spa owner who did extensive research on most all  local brands, we chose LA Spa.  Of course, our research included asking a couple of spa technicians what they thought of the different brands.  We were told LA Spa is a quality tub.  I suppose it depends on who you ask, whether or not a tub is "good" or not.  

We love our LA Spa, Paradise H-2.
  We found the ergonomic seats and loungers to be the most comfortable of all.  Also, the jet placement was from neck to toes, including the tops of the shoulders.  Lots of power, easy filter maintenance, and good insulation played a big role in our selection, as well.

[stuart]

I spoke with a hot tub repair tech recently. He repairs and refurbs all brands.  He told me that LA Spas have cheaply built cabinets.  He is a big fan of Bullfrog spas. Bullfrog has made some nice improvements for 2007 including a poly base.  

Strange for a tech to support more manifolds, plumbing that is constantly soaking and trunk lines in the bar top that is very susceptible to freezing. I doubt that he has thought that through.

The concept is great but the reality is that once you buy the spa you will never change the jet pack.

Let's create a hypothetical situation....Your setting in your spa soaking with your wife and she says "Honey I want to use the other jet pack...will you go get it from the garage and put it in for me to try?

By the time you go get it and swap them out she’s done with her soak!

Look at how many people with "extra" car seats leave them in their garage and never use them!

Further more if you have different height people in the spa you can't change the seat configuration much and still have universal jet packs.

Again, the concept is intriguing but there are a lot better spas for the money. It's more "sales gimmick" than engineering.

Finally, Bullfrog has really not been making spas that way long enough for him to have “refurbed” any of those. If he had he might think differantly of them.

Pay for engineering not concept….

[fatman]

This same repair tech that I speak of refurbs mostly older D-1 and Nordic tubs.  He prefers D-1 over most other brands because they are well built and economical to run.  He refurbs Nordics mostly because of his ability to do quick repairs on them and resell them.
    Not sure how many Bullfrog Spas he has worked on.
     One thing is for sure, he has told me on more than one occassion how badly he hates Cal Spas.  No, I am not looking to start a Cal debate. Just passing along information.

[webboy]

stuart,

You are right that most people do not change JetPaks during their soak. The idea is that you can upgrade different JetPaks. After you customize your spa at the beginning most people won't change a JetPak for a couple of months...but they can, and they do. We can all create hypothetical situations...image the Swedish bikini team is coming over...

[Spatech_tuo]

stuart,

You are right that most people do not change JetPaks during their soak. The idea is that you can upgrade different JetPaks. After you customize your spa at the beginning most people won't change a JetPak for a couple of months...but they can, and they do. We can all create hypothetical situations...image the Swedish bikini team is coming over...

I can't imagine anyone changing their packs after purchase (unless there is an issue). But if they wanted to, how much are the pack replacements if you wanted to change one (say for the "Alee V8" or the "Gyrossage")?

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

I also think it rare for someone to change jet packs after purchasing the spa, though at least there is that option. HOWEVER, with 16 different jet packs it allows for quite a variety of customizing when initially purchasing the spa.

I wonder if any dealers have put together a network of their customers for trading packs with each other?

Every spa manufacturer has their marketing gimmick.

[Spatech_tuo]

I wonder if any dealers have put together a network of their customers for trading packs with each other?
 

Now that sounds like a novel approach. I can't tell from the website though whether all the jetpacks come in one color regardless of shell color or whether the spa pack matches the shell color because if that's the case trading jetpacks would leave coor oddities if you and another person have different colors.

[stuart]

If you've ever cleaned a Moto-Massage niche or any other part of a spa that does not get good water flow you will understand my concern with hoses floating in the water behind the jetpacks.

I had a customer in this weekend that has had his BF for about 5 months and couldn't keep it clean. Turns out that a big part of his problem is water mold up in the plumbing lines in addition to what seems to be poor filtration.

His complaints are:

1. The jets are weak unless he plugs all but one jet pack to increase flow. (I would assume that hooking these packs up in series would make this happen)
 
2. The spa runs continuously on cold days trying to keep up which I would contribute to the inability to insulate the main trunk line around the top of the spa correctly or even just poor insulation. (we've had quite a few below zero day lately)

3. He and his wife both want more variation on the seating. She is tall, he is short and the seats all seem to be about the same depth. (I don't know if all their spas are this way but I imagine they would have to be to make the jet packs universal.

They are going to trade this in on a D1 Diplomat (if they like the wet test) and his final comment was. "I don't want to deal with changing the seats, I want clean water and I want the seats to comfortable. Do that and I will trade."

[East_TX_Spa]

If you've ever cleaned a Moto-Massage niche or any other part of a spa that does not get good water flow...

In all these long years, I've never had to clean a "Moto-Massage niche".  Has anyone else?

"I don't want to deal with changing the seats, I want clean water and I want the seats to comfortable..."

You might want to suggest they look at a HotSpring Spa, then, as a courtesy to them.  You can move some of the jets around without having to move the whole seat and HotSpring is also the only major brand of spa that filters all of the water without actually by-passing the filters.

Terminator

[wmccall]

I
You might want to suggest they look at a HotSpring Spa, then, as a courtesy to them.  You can move some of the jets around without having to move the whole seat
Terminator

This was a big selling point of my model of Dynasty. (Not all models) Initially my dealer let me swap out 4 to get the configuration I wanted.  About 1.5 years later they came out  with a new jet and I gpt 4 new ones for the legs of my lounger.  I then saw a pulsating jet in a Coast spa that Dynasty doesn't sell, I replaced two jets in one seat with them and it makes the best back massage seat in the tub. (I'll bet its at least close to a moto-massage, though I have never been in one.)  Last year, I went to the Coast dealer and replaced the spinning jet in the lounger with the pulsing one and now I use my lounger a lot more and I have another spinning jet to replace one that wears out or gets dirty.


[glow]Interesting, 5 days later the originator of this thread hasn't come back. I guess not everyone is on the net as much as me.[/glow]

[stuart]

In all these long years, I've never had to clean a "Moto-Massage niche".  Has anyone else?

Easy there big boy, don't get your feathers in a ruffle I'm not picking on your brand I'm relating a comparison.

I doubt you've done a lot of service on older spas as a salesman and I also doubt that there are many Hotspring techs on the forum.

To clarify more... I've rebuilt several old HS over the years and we make it a habit to clean out the niche and check things.

One hose on the motomassage doesn't typically get nasty like a “tangle” of hoses would although simply by floating in the water you will replace that piece of plumbing more than any other on the HS line and when you do you will see the breakdown of the material due to its placement.

Mind you... the moto holds up as well as just about any jet on the market but “floating” that piece of plumbing in the water with the chemicals does break it down as it tends to do to the other jets in the water over time.