One month update on SD Optima

[tstiffler]

Well, we've had  our Optima for one month and we are very happy with our purchase.   Here's my review

Jets -  Very powerful.  Usually start my soak in one of the deeper seats to relax my neck and shoulders.  The neck jets really work out the kinks from siting at a desk and working with a computer all day.  I like the variety of jets and that the jets are adjustable.  

Seats - All comfortable and different.  Nice to have different configuration of jets at each seat.  Sometimes you just want a light massage and the Optima provides me with many options.  Love the cool down seats.  

Foot Dome - All spas should have this feature!! Wow.  This feature is what sold us on the Optima.  Husband is on his feet all day and really enjoys the massage.  Foot canon jet in center of foot dome is awesome.  Without this feature I would'nt be able to stay seated in the 2 most powerful seats.  I brace my feet against the dome and I'm able to stay seated.

Operation - Very easy to operate and understand.

Stereo -  Great reception on the radio and CD's sound great.  I originally was concerned about the quality and how long they might last, but happy we went with it.  Speakers have more power than we anticipated.    Absolutely no problems..  Looking forward to listening to the Kings when the NBA  season gets going again this fall.

Dealer - I may have mentioned this before, but this has been one of our easiest items to purchase.  We feel like we have become friends with our salesperson.  Very helpful and friendly.  Always available to answer our many questions.  

Chemicals - If there is one area we have problems with, this is it.  I think it's just a learning process of how to handle different problems as they come up.  We have taken our water to our dealer twice now, and they test it for free and let us know what to do.  I really appreciate this feature.  Right now our water is crystal clear but have a little foaming when air jets are on.  

Lights - Love the different colors as they rotate through the cycle.  We have the platinum color and they really show at night.

Scum line - Purchased a spa sponge with handle from dealer and whenever I see a line forming I'm right on it.  Seems to appear when we add water to cool the spa down.  We have real hard water here, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Cons - Very few...A couple of labels on the knobs are starting to come off, but I'm sure a little glue will take care of it.

Hard to keep the spa cool on hot summer California days. We just throw the hose in.

Sorry this is so long but wanted to let you all know how happy we are with our Sundance Optima!

Nothing better than soaking in the tub at night with the stereo on low, glass of wine and watching the pretty lights rotate.

Gotta go....Time for my evening soak!!

[SDguy]

  I'm glad to see that you guys really like your optima. Don't worry about the chemical maintenance, just like a pool, every spa has its own personality and you'll understand what I mean in the near future. It is a great spa, and you folks will get a lot of years of enjoyment out of your investment.  :DHappy tubbin'

[drewstar]

Nice to hear that you are satisfied with your purchase so far.

I agree with you on the foot dome. They are terrific.  This was a major selling feature for us with the Tiger River Caspain.  It helps us push back into the seats, and really gets the feet.


Floating your legs over the dome gets the back of the leg and clalves and ankles.

I'd recomend buyers to wet test at least one tub with a foot dome. You might just be surprised.  

[johnvb]

Well, we've had  our Optima for one month and we are very happy with our purchase.   Here's my review

Thanks for the update; we got our Optima going last Father's day, so here's what I can add:

I have found the 10 o'clock seat (the deepest) feels best to me with no air added. Without the air, the jets give a perfect pulsating feeling. Adding air makes the seat a blaster (sometimes that's OK too )

The 2 o'clock seat is great for neck massages, if you duck down low enough. But add too much air, and water streams over the sides.

I like the adjustment features of the other three jetted seats; one can control them from gentle to brutal!

Agree on the foot wells, center fountain and calf jets...that was one of our main buying points also. One thing that's great is if the two diverter valves are set mid way, there is plenty of pressure on ALL seats to be enjoyed, the only limiting factor is everyone will be playing "footsies".

I also start with the deepest seat and work my way up, that helps control the body temp. We are running the temp of the tub at 98 degrees now, but will go higher this fall/winter.

We have our spa indoors, and the lighting is great, we just use it and an up light under a palm tree to create great ambience. I had our dealer add two exterior skirt lights (got the idea from a Caldera we wet tested). They are mounted so that they light the outer edges of the steps. I highly recommend this option!

We have had no problems with the chemicals, other than some foaming. Try adding a natural enzyme weekly to your tub, it completely eliminated our ring and scum problem and the water even smells better.

A while back I posted a Q about using ozone with an indoor spa, and caused quite the debate. In my case it has turned out to be a complete non-issue. We added a 260-cfm exhaust fan to the room, which changes the air 12 times per hour (recommended by Fantech, the fan's maker). The CD ozonator reduces the amount of bromine needed, which helps with any chemical smell.

Cons: Only a couple of things I can think of, I question the logic of the diverter/ air adjustments for the whirlpool and footwell jets, both diverters are at opposite sides to their corresponding air valves, that doesn't make sense.

Also Sundance's "summer logic mode" which turns off all circulation and ozonator if the water temp goes 2 degrees above the setting. Nowadays, a cheapo programmable thermostat one can buy at their local Home depot has more processing brains then this. Sundance needs to add an outdoor sensor compensates for this.

Right now we have the heater turned off (economy mode with no filtration/heater cycles, other than the 24 hr. setting) and just uncover it two hours before use, which drops the temp down to 96.

Most posters here have their tubs outdoors, but I have to say for us, building an indoor spa room was the best way to go. Here in SE Va., the summer is hot, muggy and buggy! No matter what it's like outside, every night we get a great soak before bedtime.

John

[SerjicalStrike]

"Also Sundance's "summer logic mode" which turns off all circulation and ozonator if the water temp goes 2 degrees above the setting. Nowadays, a cheapo programmable thermostat one can buy at their local Home depot has more processing brains then this. Sundance needs to add an outdoor sensor compensates for this."

I don't get what processing information you are looking for and what an outdoor sensor would do.  

It is a very easy concept.

Pump adds waste heat to water.  Water heats above desired temperature.  Pump shuts off.  

I am not trying to be condescending.  If you could elaborate on what you would like to see, that would be helpfull.  Thanks.

[J._McD]

A while back I posted a Q about using ozone with an indoor spa, and caused quite the debate. In my case it has turned out to be a complete non-issue.

I couldn't agree with you more.  Ozone will always stir the pot of controversy.  Having been in use for over a century now and most commonly used in water purification, it draws a lot of negative flak from those who do not use it or understand it's application in Hot Tubs.  They are gripped by the fear of ignorance.  Now, that is not a negative statement.  I am ignorant about a great many things that I don't talk about, like brain surgery, or engineering dynamics on many subjects on which I have no comment.

Ozone can be a very strong ally to the Hot Tub user and the reduction of chemical dependancy and consumption.  For those who use ozone on their Hot Tub, when it is not working you will know it within 24-48 hours.  I wonder why that is.

For anyone using BaquaSpa products, I would most definitly recommend disconnecting or disabling any ozonator on your tub.

[Brewman]

Glad  you like your spa, going into our 3rd year on our Optima, and are very satisfied.  
I wouldn't get too concerned about the stereo, ours is still going strong.  We had the brown scumline the first couple months, and it slowly went away until it disappeared.
Brewman

[leesweet]

Glad to hear all the good review points of the Optima, since many areas of it are identical to the Max I'm getting in a couple of months!  Sounds like I've got a great experience waiting!    Great writeup, BTW!

[johnvb]

"Also Sundance's "summer logic mode" which turns off all circulation and ozonator if the water temp goes 2 degrees above the setting. Nowadays, a cheapo programmable thermostat one can buy at their local Home depot has more processing brains then this. Sundance needs to add an outdoor sensor compensates for this."

I don't get what processing information you are looking for and what an outdoor sensor would do.  

It is a very easy concept.

Pump adds waste heat to water.  Water heats above desired temperature.  Pump shuts off.  

I am not trying to be condescending.  If you could elaborate on what you would like to see, that would be helpfull.  Thanks.

No offence taken I'm not a spa engineer, just a retired HVAC tech. But I can think of a couple of ways:

First when the ambient temp is over a certain set point, make the heater stat have a wider "deadband", meaning that the water temp has to go down a few lower degrees before the heat kicks back in.

Another thing could be lock out the jet pumps first, to give a clue the  temp is getting too high, then the circ pump could be locked out a couple of degrees higher.

Right now, the scenario is if the tub is used for multiple back to back sessions, overheats and is then closed up, (and left unused/covered) it could be DAYs before it cools down enough to turn the pump/ozonator back on! This on top of the fact that all those people left their funk in the tub to begin with.  

But what do I know, anyway it will be a non-issue as soon as the weather breaks.