VORTEX Spas from Canada

[StuNew69]

I am looking to buy my first ever hot tub and am considering a 2012 SPECTRUM model by VORTEX SPAS out of Canada. I have been trying to search for reviews and information regarding the quality of these spas but can find nothing. Does anyone have or had one of these tub and can give me a review and information regarding the overall quality of these tubs

[Sam]

I've been doing this for a long time and have never heard of them.  I'm not saying that they aren't well made tubs, but they are certainly an off-brand.  This would raise a red flag with me, especially since you cannot find any information on the internet.  That being said, one of the brands that I sell is not well-known and we have excellent luck with them.  We have very few warranty issues.  I would ask the salesman to open up the equipment compartment so that you can see who manufactures the control box and pump(s).  If you do that and report back here, we can at least advise if the equipment manufacturers are reputable.  Balboa, Gecko, aqua-flo, waterways, etc.. are some of the reputable manufacturers out there.  Very few companies make their own equipment.

[StuNew69]

Thanks sam. It seems that they are big in NZ and Australia. Here is the link to their webpage. Could you take a look and let me have your thoughts please: http://www.vortexspas.ca/features/energyefficiency.aspx

I forgot to include that the tub in question had a small imperfection with the acrylic. As per the sales rep I have been corresponding too. he said: "we do have 2012 spectrum with minor imperfection in the acrylic.... I cant find any picture of the acrylic problem but the acrylic had an air bubble near the topside diverter, we removed the air bubble and fixed it"

The price is reasonable ($4,500) but I just want to be certain that the brand is good and that this imperfection will not create problems later down the line

[Ryan VSO]

(continued from previous post so read them in reverse probably)...

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS SPA.  Not kidding.  I'm not quite yet prepared to say don't even think twice because I've only just got it up and going and still need to see how it does in a MONTANA winter (cough cough Mr Minnesota) but it is, as far as design goes, the best tub I've ever seen.  I got the Nitro.  We only have a couple spa dealers here where I live and they sell Hotspring, Divine, Aquaterra etc.  We went in to look at the tubs and I can tell you they are NOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE.  Not by a long shot.  I hated every Hotspring spa I saw after this one.  Someone really thought out the shell design.  So far the operation has been very good and it's been hot as hell here.  I'm not overly impressed with the aquavibe system at this time but I have had little time to mess with it so will give a full review once I get comfortable with the operation etc.  I've been in twice a day everyday since I have gotten it up and going.  I'm in the middle of a major remodel and every seat in this thing is a different experience.  It really is pretty awesome.  Have a bar b q this weekend for a bunch of friends and I can't wait to show it off. 

Conclusion:  Remember this is just one person's experience and we all know you should never base your choice off of one review.  Unfortunately there aren't a whole lot of US reviews to compare to so if they can get their shipping up to snuff, which it sounds like they finally figured out how well America is doing in the work ethic department, the only thing I would suggest for them in the future is if you have a customer who is freaking out and needs you to call every day to give an update... for $7,000 I would expect you to call them everyday or at least up your staff numbers so when your 800 number is called they always get an agent.  There is nothing worse than silence.  When I was in hotel management I did much more for guest for the cost of $100 room.  Find a new shipping company.  One you can trust and one that will guarantee their work.  I like that you will now crate the spas.  Wise idea if you aren't going to ship on end on a trolly like the website shows.  After I got the spa up the responses about questions on spa operation were met with very quick response.  Just because the shipper is not you, you should treat those questions with the same quickness in reply especially when you can tell the customer is getting agitated.  I do think the agreement we worked out is very fair though and as long as everything goes through as said then I'd consider it a very long yellow brick road that ended at the Emerald City one way or another. 

I'm glad I waited, did not ditch the spa for a refund.  If I had to end up with one of those sad crappy hotspring spas I'd be pretty irritated right now.  So far, the tub design has saved the day (oh and the lighting rocks).

Thanks for listening in.

We do have alot of improvement to do with our shipping logistics and will work on that for sure . We do thanks this custumer for his patience and we are glad that he like his Nitro model from Vortex Spas .

[Tman122]

Nothing on their web site about what components they use or how their tubs are built other than shell info which is a standard shell design for the industry. They do have a bunch of insulation fluff and a whole lot of other fluff though. They get an A+ in web site fluff from me. Here's one example of fluff.

"The Vortex heater's element boss and Incoloy element are thickly coated with Teflon™. This resists corrosion damage by water and chemicals ensuring a dramatically longer service life. The element is housed in a marine grade, 316 stainless steel heater tube, eliminating element failures common with lower quality metal heater tubes. The result is a compact and robust long life heating unit."

Incoloy is what? A combination of Inconel and? Inconel and Teflon is old technology. Incoloy is likely a cheap version of Inconel. Marine grade stainless is standard across the industry and metal heater tubes are a thing of the past. They stopped doing that 15-20 years ago. Titanium is the top of the line.

[wmccall]

I deal with Inconel in my job (sp?)  So I found this:

Incoloy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Incoloy refers to a range of superalloys produced by the Special Metals Corporation group of companies. They are mostly nickel-based, and designed for excellent corrosion resistance as well as strength at high temperatures; there are specific alloys for resistance to particular chemical attacks (e.g. alloy 020 is designed to be resistant to sulphuric acid, DS to be used in heat-treating furnaces with reactive atmospheres and many heat cycles)
Incoloy MA956 is made by a mechanical alloying rather than a bulk-melting process; it was studied for space reactor components in the JIMO project. It is difficult to weld and needs to be heated to 200C for cold-forming processes.[1]

[Spoiledrotten]

Vortex Spa Canada,

Looks like you have all of the excuses you need to keep going. If that post is accurate about what happened, you are talking weeks, but the customer is talking about much longer periods of time. And I'm like he is as far as expecting someone to call when things aren't going as expected. That one story would be enough to keep me away. I'll also say that this experience is another good reason not to order something like this "online".
He did more than I would as far as fixing the damaged pieces. I'd have refused the shipment and gotten my money back or waited for the next shipment. I don't buy new stuff just to have something to work on/repair.

As he stated and with many products bought online, you pay for it and then you're stuck with it. Just my opinion and like that guy posted about his experience, word of mouth is important when you are selling to the public. I hope this works out for that customer. Sorry, but little sympathy to the "dealer" on this one. BTW, you are responsible for the delivery of the item unless you have the customer sign something stating the opposite. The vendor selects the carrier and pays negotiated fees to carry for you. You have to take responsibility!

This all might sound a little harsh, but you are the one that started with the poor excuses and pointing fingers at someone else for the product you represent.

[Sam]

This thread speaks volumes of this company and should be a warning to any consumer looking to order online. 

[Ryan VSO]

We are using Gecko in.xe & in.xm spa controller wich are made in Canada , you probably went on our Australian website. We have over 200 positive review about our product and 1 negative , even local dealers doesnt have that ratio so im fine with that . Like I said in my previous post it is our first year deliverying spas in the USa and our fifth year in Canada , we realize that U.S shipping company doesnt take care of our product the way Canadian company do this is why we are crating all our hot tubs going in the USA. This custumer just started his unit , he has been credited for the trouble he had. This is a 10,000 $ spa sold for 6,500 $ , he saved the commision going to the local dealer and im sure he will post his global experience after his first soak.
Vortex Spas is not only a online company , we actually have more than 120 dealers worldwide .

[Ryan VSO]

This thread speaks volumes of this company and should be a warning to any consumer looking to order online.

We totally understand your frustration , wich brands are you selling in your store ?

[Tman122]

We do Iconel overlays on boiler tubes. It comes in a weld rod form. Great hardness and wear property's. Not sure about Incoloy.

[Hottubguy]

He didn't get a 10000 dollar spa for 6500.  He got a tub you sell online for 6795. So he paid full price

http://vortexspasonline.ca/index.php/spas-swims-spas/nitro-spa


quote author=Vortex Spas Canada link=topic=16661.msg176998#msg176998 date=1376670504]
We are using Gecko in.xe & in.xm spa controller wich are made in Canada , you probably went on our Australian website. We have over 200 positive review about our product and 1 negative , even local dealers doesnt have that ratio so im fine with that . Like I said in my previous post it is our first year deliverying spas in the USa and our fifth year in Canada , we realize that U.S shipping company doesnt take care of our product the way Canadian company do this is why we are crating all our hot tubs going in the USA. This custumer just started his unit , he has been credited for the trouble he had. This is a 10,000 $ spa sold for 6,500 $ , he saved the commision going to the local dealer and im sure he will post his global experience after his first soak.
Vortex Spas is not only a online company , we actually have more than 120 dealers worldwide .
[/quote]

[Tman122]

We are using Gecko in.xe & in.xm spa controller wich are made in Canada , you probably went on our Australian website. We have over 200 positive review about our product and 1 negative , even local dealers doesnt have that ratio so im fine with that . Like I said in my previous post it is our first year deliverying spas in the USa and our fifth year in Canada , we realize that U.S shipping company doesnt take care of our product the way Canadian company do this is why we are crating all our hot tubs going in the USA. This custumer just started his unit , he has been credited for the trouble he had. This is a 10,000 $ spa sold for 6,500 $ , he saved the commision going to the local dealer and im sure he will post his global experience after his first soak.
Vortex Spas is not only a online company , we actually have more than 120 dealers worldwide .

Is your cabinet air space sealed up tight? And if so how do you cool the electronics when it's not winter? Do you use a 24 hour circulation pump to create r-value in the air space?

[Ryan VSO]

We are using Gecko in.xe & in.xm spa controller wich are made in Canada , you probably went on our Australian website. We have over 200 positive review about our product and 1 negative , even local dealers doesnt have that ratio so im fine with that . Like I said in my previous post it is our first year deliverying spas in the USa and our fifth year in Canada , we realize that U.S shipping company doesnt take care of our product the way Canadian company do this is why we are crating all our hot tubs going in the USA. This custumer just started his unit , he has been credited for the trouble he had. This is a 10,000 $ spa sold for 6,500 $ , he saved the commision going to the local dealer and im sure he will post his global experience after his first soak.
Vortex Spas is not only a online company , we actually have more than 120 dealers worldwide .

Is your cabinet air space sealed up tight? And if so how do you cool the electronics when it's not winter? Do you use a 24 hour circulation pump to create r-value in the air space?

Hi tman , we use the in.stream from gecko along with a passive subwoofer and 3 transducer speaker , those can work at a temperature as high as 140 F , we air trap with a cabinet insulation and does have a circ pump on every vortex spas.

[Tman122]

Hi tman , we use the in.stream from gecko along with a passive subwoofer and 3 transducer speaker , those can work at a temperature as high as 140 F , we air trap with a cabinet insulation and does have a circ pump on every vortex spas.

I didn't see anything on your web site regarding 24/7 filtration? Do you use a jet pump to do it or a small efficient circulation pump?