Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: sksmoker on June 07, 2014, 01:53:57 am
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Hey everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. The wife and I are in the process of wet testing tubs. So far we have wet tested a 2014 Grandee, Coast Zenith, and an Arctic Tundra.
All three of these spa's we are having a hard time sitting in the seats, unless pretty much straight up and down. I am finding that I float, which surprises me because in my friends pool, I need 4 noodles wrapped under my arms to keep my chin out of the water. My wife knows she floats, so we are known with that.
Here is the issue. In the Grandee we wet tested, we both couldn't even sit in the moto dx loungers as we couldn't stay seated. We both floated really badly in that tub. The Coast we didn't float as much and the Tundra the wife floated a bit, and I floated a lot. We have never really had this issue before as we have both used hot tubs, pools, etc and I always sink like a stone. The common between the tundra and the grandee is that they were salt tubs. Is it possible that the dealers have jacked the salt levels so much in these tubs that what didn't float before, now does? We watched the salt generator in the Arctic tub and it looked like an alka seltzer commercial. Is that correct, that it should be bubbling that much?
Needless to say, we are getting a bit frustrated at this as we aren't skinny minnies and we aren't giants either. If salt makes that much of a difference in buoyancy in the salt tub, then we will forget salt altogether. We are going to try an Arctic Summit in the next while, thinking the chairs might be a bit more snug and keep us in place. We are going to revisit Bullfrog as well.
All we want is a tub that we don't float out of the chairs to come home to and enjoy. The rest is really unimportant at this point. Are we alone in this? Any info you could shed would help a lot. This is our first experience with salt.
Thanks!
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Salt should not make that much difference, the salt level in hot tubs with SWG's is less than 1/10th of the salt level found in the ocean, and yes the SWG's should bubble that much, at least mine does, and they do in all the videos I have seen, etc. On the floating issue, I don't really have much advice other than to keep trying tubs, since you have used hot tubs in the past and not had floating issue, there must be some "right ones" out there for you.
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In regards to past tubs. I should clarify that most of our experience is related to not floating in other hot tubs. We have only used others hot tubs at places we have rented in the past and they are far, far from the quality of the "spas" we are testing out. They would be the cheapest of the bunch for sure with basic almost bench seats :)
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Re: Grandee. Try adjusting the Comfort Control levers to reduce the amount of air pressure and water coming through the jets. My wife did this and it worked for her. It may make a difference for both of you.
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Hi sksmoker,
Don't know anything about salt systems, and am a new, first time tub owner. When we were wet testing we found a couple of lounges that we floated out of. Didn't have that with any seats though. Once we got our tub (Jacuzzi J-345) we found that if we have the jets on full power we will get "pushed" out of the seat. This is where the foot dome on the floor of the tub really comes in handy. If you put your feet against the foot dome you can anchor yourself to the seat and still have the full power.
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Uh-oh...shoot this is not good. I'm 5'6 about 107 lbs so I'll prob have to borrow some ankle weights from the bf.
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Uh-oh...shoot this is not good. I'm 5'6 about 107 lbs so I'll prob have to borrow some ankle weights from the bf.
Actually a waist weight belt might be in order.
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Hey everyone. We are going to wet test a bullfrog A8L on tuesday. It has no salt in the tub. We are also going to go back to the Arctic dealer later on to test another tundra with no salt water, just straight up chlorine.
We were at the arctic dealer in the Summit XL that they transferred bromine-salt water from a swim spa. Completely different experience. I barely floated and my wife didn't float much at all. The summit unfortunately wasn't for us as the wife just couldn't get comfortable in the summit in any chair. I on the other hand, was very comfy :) We were amazed at the difference right away when we sat in the chairs. We could actually sit in the seats and evaluate the tub!
We were then able to jump into an Arctic swim spa with a salt system in it and there I floated, just like I did before in the other tundra that we tested. Not as bad as the grandee.. something is wrong with that water for sure.
So something is definitely up for us with any added salt. We are going to confirm our results on Tuesday with a no salt water tub in the bullfrog. Stay tuned..
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Alright jokes aside,..is this floating matter for real? Those who have wives that are on the slim side say under 130 lbs,..is floating in the lounger is a by gone conclusion with every lounger seat? or does it varies and occur on certain models? :o
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Hey everyone. We are going to wet test a bullfrog A8L on tuesday. It has no salt in the tub. We are also going to go back to the Arctic dealer later on to test another tundra with no salt water, just straight up chlorine.
We were at the arctic dealer in the Summit XL that they transferred bromine-salt water from a swim spa. Completely different experience. I barely floated and my wife didn't float much at all. The summit unfortunately wasn't for us as the wife just couldn't get comfortable in the summit in any chair. I on the other hand, was very comfy :) We were amazed at the difference right away when we sat in the chairs. We could actually sit in the seats and evaluate the tub!
We were then able to jump into an Arctic swim spa with a salt system in it and there I floated, just like I did before in the other tundra that we tested. Not as bad as the grandee.. something is wrong with that water for sure.
So something is definitely up for us with any added salt. We are going to confirm our results on Tuesday with a no salt water tub in the bullfrog. Stay tuned..
Salt is not going to be the problem!
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Test a Vanguard if possible (very similar layout as Grandee, just slightly smaller).....as weird as it sounds because there isn't a ton of volume difference but I float all over the place in a Grandee but sit like a rock in the Vanguard
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Wow, sounds like this is going to be hard for you. Just keep testing them to find one that'll work good for you.
www.scuba.com has weight belts or amazon...Maybe try testing Sundance or Marquis...
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I agree with TwinCities ...I feel very light and tend to float around in my Grandee model with or without the ACE salt system...The salt made no difference that was noticeable to me. The Grandee is just a very big tub with massive seats that give you lots of room...so without having a foot planted against something you get that floating sensation...The Vanguard allows you to rest your feet against the opposite side and keep yourself in position better...Every tub will feel different...I wouldn't bank on the tub feeling any different with or without a salt system. The PPM of salt used is very small.
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Alright jokes aside,..is this floating matter for real? Those who have wives that are on the slim side say under 130 lbs,..is floating in the lounger is a by gone conclusion with every lounger seat? or does it varies and occur on certain models? :o
Floating is a real thing but its an individual thing, certainly some float more than others but you never know until you try it out. There also is no such thing as a spa that eliminates the concern. At times I've seen people say that a certain spa is designed so the lounge doesn't flat... and certainly designers do their best to design them to be as functional for all as possible but no two people are alike. In the end its another good reason to wet test and see for yourself which spa fits you best.
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Thanks everyone. I agree salt shouldn't make a difference, but something is certainly going on between a salt system and non. Just for fun I went to the public pool and sat in the hot tub. Sank like a stone. I am not out to make one vendor look better than another, that is for sure. I just wish I could evaluate the tubs for the tubs, without being shot out of the spa because I float so much :)
Unfortunately for my local HS dealer, they won't fill any other tub than the grandee on the floor. "Not enough electrical, I don't have water in it, etc" are the excuses that we have received when we inquired about wet testing other tubs.
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I would try out the Marquis Epic. Very hard to float in that spa, and it's a really nice tub.
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I'm surprised that Hot Springs wouldn't fill a tub for you to try it, wow...maybe Try looking at a Sundance dealer. Of all the dealers so far Sundance has been the best one working with me, I really like the Capri......Maybe Try Marquis...
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Unfortunately we don't have a Marquis or Sundance dealer. We were also surprised that our HS dealer would not fill another tub. We have made no bones about it, that we have cash on hand and are ready to buy a tub that fits. They are the biggest dealer where we live so they must just not need to do other tub demo's. Not sure how you buy a tub without wet testing, but I guess lots of people do it!
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I will say for those that are shopping for a hot tub and are researching a new tub to go as far as join this forum are really the only individuals that will wet test.. (For the most part any ways) For those that want to know what exactly is the best tub to fit their needs and family size like those of you that are on this forum are doing it the right and best way.. But I gotta say that only 3-5% of our customers actually wet test. So to say that A particular dealer with a particular brand that wont fill a showroom tub for a simple wet test like they don't need the business is most likely not the case...It takes a pretty big effort on the dealers part to supply the power, hook it up, fill, heat the day before, Treat with chemicals, drain and clean, replace the filters with new ($$ an expense to the dealer) and unhook power supply etc... This without any commitment to the purchase is tough for any dealer to supply...We have 5 tubs ready for wet test in all three retail store that we have and they very rarely get used for wet tests. If you have narrowed it down to a tub that you want and they don't have one filled I would recommend that you put a deposit down contingent on the wet test of that model and see how they respond...Every dealer is independent and cannot reflect on other dealers of the same product or even other brands. I sell tubs every day and very few ask for a wet test. We spend a lot of money to keep 15 tubs wet test ready and honestly...I wont fill another floor model for a non committed wet test without a deposit.
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I agree with you Dunecritter, and totally understand the deposit. So far only Sundance has been wanting to work with me, I had the same problems sksmoker has had with hot springs, in that they didn't even bother to ask if we'd put down a deposit and neither did Bullfrog, so I totally understand his frustrations. So in the end Sundance will be getting my purchase.
For me this is just to big a purchase, to not wet tests...
sksmoker might be worth a trip out of your area to find another dealer if your able to do so.
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Very good info Dune. I completely understand and would be willing to put a deposit down in a heartbeat if it was an option with the one dealer. One dealer pumped the water out of one tub to another one for us. We didn't ask, but they offered.. I would love to be able to go somewhere else, but we live in a bit of a smaller city, and another city is a few hundred miles away of any significance..
A bit off topic, but I am curious to how people buy tubs? Do they come in and look at the colors and pull out a check? Do they usually sit in them at least?
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sksmoker...Most people come in shopping three things mostly: 1)Price 2)size/seating arrangement. 3)Quality.... Once they have found a tub that they visually like and the seating matches the requirements...maybe 40% will hop in dry and sit in it but mostly they purchase from out side the tub without ever even hopping in...I invite them in and a lot of times they might feel "silly" or "Awkward" but usually pass on even sitting in them dry. Funny thing...I've never had anyone come back in and say that tub feels awkward or I don't like it?? But if they are never getting in my tubs...they most likely are not getting in any other tubs to compare either.
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Very interesting insight dunecritter.
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I float at times. It could be the suit at times. Some of the suits I wear fill with air and push me out a bit easier from the seat. Having the foot dome helps keep me in place too. Also, I don't float really at all when there is no suit in the way. Sorta tough to test that way at the showroom! My wife has no problem, but I seem to not stay back at times. Who knows why, but if not for the foot dome, we'd not have a tub. Sorta compromise for the wife. At least I'm not fighting all the time to stay in the seat.
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Hey everyone. We are going to wet test a bullfrog A8L on tuesday. It has no salt in the tub. We are also going to go back to the Arctic dealer later on to test another tundra with no salt water, just straight up chlorine.
We were at the arctic dealer in the Summit XL that they transferred bromine-salt water from a swim spa. Completely different experience. I barely floated and my wife didn't float much at all. The summit unfortunately wasn't for us as the wife just couldn't get comfortable in the summit in any chair. I on the other hand, was very comfy :) We were amazed at the difference right away when we sat in the chairs. We could actually sit in the seats and evaluate the tub!
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We were then able to jump into an Arctic swim spa with a salt system in it and there I floated, just like I did before in the other tundra that we tested. Not as bad as the grandee.. something is wrong with that water for sure.
So something is definitely up for us with any added salt. We are going to confirm our results on Tuesday with a no salt water tub in the bullfrog. Stay tuned..
Sksmoker,
When I first started researching tubs, I recall a number of posts relating to lounge seats and floating. I was looking for a spa that had both loungers and standard seating. I figured, since my wife and I would be the main users, that I could just switch to a regular seat if I had problems. Low and behold, I decided on a spa with two loungers. A shorter one for my wife, and a longer one for me. I couldn't be happier. My spa has an ozone generator and I am using bromine as a sanitizer. We decided against Artic's salt water system for a number of reasons. I've had no issues with floating, even in the loungers. I suggest that you keep on looking. You will find a hot tub that meets your needs.