Well, All....
We finally took the plunge and purchased a Hot Spring Vanguard. The dealer let us wet test several tubs as much as we wanted and was very patient with us as we kept calling with questions. Our decision came down equally between the quality of the dealer and the tub. We saw a lot of tubs that we liked and were disappointed that several dealers would not allow wet testing, either at all or only on one or two tubs. We found that the fewer tubs available for wet testing, the more the sales people were like used car sales people...irritating and pushy...and not knowledgeable about their product. I respect a person who says: "I can get that answer for you". I hate it when people blow answers out of their $#%% as, especially on a purchase of this magnitude, I take notes and research. When you find out they were dead wrong about something, you wonder about the integrity of the entire operation....what kind of BS will you hear if there is an issue after the sale? These dealers were rapidly scratched off our list, although I'm sure many of their products could have suited us well. The HS dealer just turned out to be the best for us in our area and in our situation...they truly 'earned' our business.
While lurking and participating on this forum, we have learned a lot about tubs and the issues/quirks surrounding them. My wife and I appreciate all of the good information available here and extend our
thank you to everyone for helping to guide us.
So, on to the tub...the dealer gave us a great price on a 'dry' floor model in pearl with a grey shell. They swapped out the filters with Tri-X and added a piston-assist cover lift, steps, start-up kit, and several other 'extras'. We have a grey Trex deck and a great corner to place it in with nice views of the forest and with great access from our master, kitchen, and guest bedroom via sliding glass doors. Delivery was to be in a week, so I figured plenty of time to get the electrical in and shore up the deck, if needed....then came the phone call: "We have a delivery cancellation, can we come up in two days?" Being so excited about the opportunity to 'soak', I said yes, without thinking too clearly.
Fortunately, the electrician had a delay on another job and agreed to show up on delivery day to wire and connect the 220 (He gets a lot of jobs from the HS dealer, so I'm sure that played into his fitting me in, too!). Next, I rushed my plans to the city building department where an engineer friend did load calcs on the deck. He decided it was marginal in the location where we wanted to put the spa, so it was off to Home Depot to buy the materials needed to shore things up. Stopping at my Elks Club, I corralled a friend and we proceeded to crawl under the deck (not recommended as we get older by the way...) and, 7 hours later, had a deck a Hummer could drive on (for the cost of $160 in materials, lunch, a few beers, and unlimited 'friend and spouse' soaks for life!).
Spa was delivered a day later, with the electrician finishing his lines just as the delivery truck showed up....everything worked perfectly. Spa on deck. Electrician hooked it up. Filled with water. Hit the switch and all was functioning. Balanced Chems. Hit 102 within 5 hours.....
AAAAAAAAAAAH. Needed that soak just for the pains inflicted by crawling under that deck!
And, for the icing on the cake, I went to my Doctor last week and told her I was looking at spas. She looked at my chart, intently, and said: " I should have prescribed you a spa for hydrotherapy a long time ago." and promptly wrote me a prescription for the spa!!!!!
I'll try to post pics as soon as I figure it out. Sorry for the long post; however, I'm jazzed with the new tub and quite thankful to all here!
The Doob
