Optima wet test

[drprwnap]

I went to the Sundance dealer on Friday and wet tested an '05 Optima.  First off, this is a very nice tub. I really enjoyed the massage from the center foot/calf jets.  All the seats were comfortable with different therapy in each.  The tub was reading 101 but the water didn't feel that hot.  The salesman was very good, knew the tub and all the controls. He asked me what other brands I had looked at and pointed out the differences.  He didn't bash or bad mouth any othe tub (which was a BIG plus for me).  When I metioned to him about the temp. of the tub, he said it could be the air that is injected into the water.   Do any other Optima owners experience this?  It makes me think that if it cools down the water in a showroom in the middle of summer, what about ouside in the middle of winter?
Other than that, I really liked the tub.  He gave me a price of $9999 (eastern OH). That included cover, lifter, ozone, steps, delivery and start up chemicals.
No stereo, which I really don't want anyway.

drprwnap  

[ebirrane]

The air blower will inject colder air into the tub and there isn't much to do about that. It can be a nice-to-have in the summer, and something you would probably not use in the winter.

If the optima is wired at 60amps service it can run the pumps and heater at the same time.  The heater shouldn't have too much trouble keeping up with temp loss from injected air (I'm guessing here).

Some installs are at 50amps, which won't allow the pumps AND heaters to run at the same time.  At least, that was the case with a friend's cameo that he bought a few years ago.

Perhaps the dealer, to save money, had the tub running at 50amps and couldn't run the heater and pumps all at once.

-Ed

[Brewman]

I have an Optima, not a 2005, but a 2003, so we are similar but not identical.  

Our's holds it's temperature fine in sub zero Minnesota winters.  When we turn on the air valves to the jets, it doesn't seem to lower the water temperature, as the pumps are running, and probably cancel out any cooler air.

If we turn on the blower without either pump running, then the water will cool down by a degree or two, more so in the winter, but the heater kicks in and limits the drop.  In the winter you can actually feel the coldness in the water from that blower air, but it's only for a moment or two.  

In summer temperatures, it isn't anywhere near as noticible.

Brewman


PS- Good point Ed, looks like we posted at the same time.  Our spa is set for 60 amps.  I bet you're correct in that the dealers have them running on 50.

[bulmer4nc]

We have a 2004 Optima and we don't use the blower as much in the summer as in winter. (except when the kids are in as they love it)

Personally, I really like the sensation of having COLD air injected into HOT water.  We find it to be very relaxing in the winter.  In the summer, the air is not very cold and you don't get the same feeling.

In the winter though when we do use the blower, the temp will do down a lot fastser.  It'll drop 2 degrees in 20 minutes or so.  

I actually wish it would cool the tub in the summer as we have a hard time keeping our temp down.  We have a problem where it's so hot outside that even the heat generated by the circ pump will raise the temp of the water.  In the Optima the circ pump will cut off when the water is 2 degrees higher than the set temp.  So if we have it set at 99 it only takes about 12 hours for the temp to get to 101 just from the circ pump.  Once the circ pump is off, you lose the constant filtration and you also don't have the ozone.  So we end up leaving the lid off for extended periods of time in the summer to get the temp back down so the circ pump will run.