Downside to Large First Spa?

[DubV]

Hi All,

Great forum and lots of useful information!

I have been reading as much as I could, while I walk thru the process of owning my first spa, and as a noob I have a few questions concerning the larger spas.

My wife and I are both 6'3', and due to her recent back/spinal issues we are looking into spas for therapy as much as relaxation.  With that said, we have wet tested several of the larger size tubs ( Epic, A8, Cameo, Optima, J375, Etc... ) and unfortunately most of them did not fit, or felt crowded when just she and I were in them.

So now we are looking at the Sundance Aspen/Maxxus...  We had hoped to to stay in the midrange models but after the wet testing, we both felt we needed to look at the larger models.  We are now considering the Aspen and we have a dealer that will fill the floor model he has for us to test...  However, I wanted to take a step back and see if there were any hidden issues with owning a larger spa as a first time owner?  Obviously the cost to operate, heat and fill the spa will be more annually, but are there downsides to going that big as a first timer?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated... Thanks in advance!

Also, I am in Northern VA, and we are being quoted $13800 plus tax for an Aspen with a small 3x3 blemish in the footwell, unit is coming from the factory, so sight unseen... Is this a decent price?


     

[wmccall]

Welcome to the forum!

Our first spa was a 92x92" 6 person spa.  We found we didn't entertain in it as much as we thought we might, and went smaller the next time and about the same time we became empty nesters.   By downsizing we went to what is referred to as a 5 person tub, a Sundance Majesta.   We use our tub around 300 nights a year and I would definitely feel too confined in a 2 or 3 person spa.  I'm about your size, my wife is 5'5".   Its nice to have room to move around in, but I wouldn't buy an HS Grandee or other large spa just for us two.

[DubV]

Thanks wmccall...

We do have 2 small girls (8 and 5) and live on a street with 12 kids roughly their age, and tend to do the most entertaining on the block... Also, most of our family members are roughly the same size and live within 45 min, so I do see 4-6 people in the tub "sometimes"...  However, I do know that 90% of the time it will either be 2-4 of us...  My logic was that if I was already pot committed at 11-12K for a Cameo, whats another 1-2 for the Aspen... The depth was also something I really liked about sitting in the Aspen dry...

With larger tubs, is the water chemistry easier or harder to maintain?
Does having 3 pumps vs 2, cause more or less wear and tear on each?
Does a circ pump turning over more water cause additional wear and tear? ( I would think not as GPM is GPM right? )

Do larger tub covers wear out faster due to the additional size/weight of the covers? Do they leak heat more or less than smaller tubs?

Sorry for all he first timer questions...but I just want to make sure I am looking at the total cost of ownership and get this right...

[Spatech_tuo]

The only real downside to getting a larger tub IMO is the extra up front cost (and to a small degree the extra cost to heat it) and the extra space it takes up. If those aren't a concern then don't worry and enjoy the obvious benefits of the larger spa which is the extra space inside the tub in the X, Y and Z directions that allow you to stretch out and relax without playing unwanted footsie or rubbing elbows with the person next to you.

[Tman122]

The only real downside to getting a larger tub IMO is the extra up front cost (and to a small degree the extra cost to heat it) and the extra space it takes up. If those aren't a concern then don't worry and enjoy the obvious benefits of the larger spa which is the extra space inside the tub in the X, Y and Z directions that allow you to stretch out and relax without playing unwanted footsie or rubbing elbows with the person next to you.

Absolutely. Slightly more to operate and maintain over the life of the tub. Bit more up front. But no doubt the more room and seating options the better. Better for exercise and hydrotherapy. Get a 24hr circ pump. Kids.

[Gibson00]

We bought our Arctic Summit about 4 months ago, which is close in size to the one you are looking at (about 500 gallons).  We looked at slightly smaller models, that would have been about 10% less cost, but the dealer gave us some advice which I'm glad we took - that was, that because we had young kids, we should get the bigger tub.  He made a good point saying that young kids aren't going to sit still and relax, they are going to use it like a pool, jumping around, etc.  Thus, the more space the better.  And he was right!