Hot Springs vs Arctic

[retiredmt]

Hi everyone, I just joined. AM big believer in these forums especially when moderated. I have a question, although I see there has been some discussion. I am building in the mountains in Montana (8500') and am looking at adding a hot tub (outdoors). Since there are two companies that sell near me, I want to stay with them. They are Hot Springs and Arctic. I've spent time at both places and am leaning towards the Arctic. But I am also looking for opinions from readers. Please let me know what you think, or what your experience has taught you.  Thanks

P.S. I am focusing on salt water

[Tman122]

Hi everyone, I just joined. AM big believer in these forums especially when moderated. I have a question, although I see there has been some discussion. I am building in the mountains in Montana (8500') and am looking at adding a hot tub (outdoors). Since there are two companies that sell near me, I want to stay with them. They are Hot Springs and Arctic. I've spent time at both places and am leaning towards the Arctic. But I am also looking for opinions from readers. Please let me know what you think, or what your experience has taught you.  Thanks

P.S. I am focusing on salt water

Both solid brands. If your focused to Arctic because it will be more efficient it won't be.

[retiredmt]

The reason I am focusing on Arctic is because of the supposed type of insulation and accessibility to all of the pumps. I heard that the Hot Springs is more prone to freezing.

[Spatech_tuo]

The reason I am focusing on Arctic is because of the supposed type of insulation and accessibility to all of the pumps. I heard that the Hot Springs is more prone to freezing.

Both are good options and the negativity is just salesmanship. You should base your choice on comfort with the dealer to follow through before & after the sale on their warranty/statements/promises (how long has each dealer been at that store and with that product?), results of dry & wet testing, which has the design setup/features you like best, what kind of deal you think you're getting...

[Tman122]

The reason I am focusing on Arctic is because of the supposed type of insulation and accessibility to all of the pumps. I heard that the Hot Springs is more prone to freezing.

Let me guess, the Arctic guy told you this?

Both brands insulate differently, neither better than the other. Access to equipment is the same on both. I would say the Arctic is more prone to leaking because of less plumbing support. Hot water will freeze at the same pace no matter what tub it sits in.

[retiredmt]

Tman122, you're right. This came from the salesman. My concern is that this tub will be sitting outside where the winter can get to -20 degrees and also a couple hundred inches of snow. That's why I was wondering if Arctic's insulation was actually any better than Hot Springs. Also that's why I'm reaching out to members here, BECAUSE of what the salesman stated. Appreciate the feedback. Thanks

[Spatech_tuo]

Tman122, you're right. This came from the salesman. My concern is that this tub will be sitting outside where the winter can get to -20 degrees and also a couple hundred inches of snow. That's why I was wondering if Arctic's insulation was actually any better than Hot Springs. Also that's why I'm reaching out to members here, BECAUSE of what the salesman stated. Appreciate the feedback. Thanks

I wonder which company has more spas sitting in -20º weather? Certainly both have a LOT so its not like one is built for Florida and you should move on to your next point of interest.

[kies1]

We have a hotsprings flash in Ontario Canada where this winter temperatures dropped to -30 with windchill. Being in the hot tub for 20 minutes temp dropped one degree. I have seen no negative impact on my hydro bill either. This tub is full foam with fibre core insulation so it has been fantastic so if your worried about the hot spring insulation I think your ok. We were also looking at arctic and was given the same sales pitch on their perimeter insulation. What sold us on the fibre core is it is still full foam but this stuff does not harden. You can remove it by hand if repairs are needed and reinstall on site. It has been truly very energy efficient

[Tman122]

The Arctic logic is that you can utilize the warmth generated fro the jet pumps to create R-Factor in the cabinet cavity. This is a solid statement. But what they don't tell you is that R-Factor is gone when the pumps aren't running. Most people need 4 hours of filtration per day (pumps running), that leaves 20 hours per day the pumps aren't running.

IF energy efficiency is a key reason for purchasing. The Hot Springs will be more efficient that the Arctic. It has more insulation, simple.

The statement that it is more prone to leak is ludicrous and sales speak.

The statement that it will be easier to get the the pumps is also false.

Both good brands, in my opinion neither has an advantage over the other.

Which one fits your butt and budget the best?

[Hottubguy]

Which Hot Spring model are you considering?  They use a different insulation on the Highlife versus limelight or Hot Spot.  The insulation on a Highlife series is a very dense foam that is tough to work through if you had a jet leak or something like that.  The Limelight/Hot Spots use what's called fibre Core insulation.  It's a wool like material that makes fixing leaks quite easy.  Its easy to pull  out and replace

[kies1]

Which Hot Spring model are you considering?  They use a different insulation on the Highlife versus limelight or Hot Spot.  The insulation on a Highlife series is a very dense foam that is tough to work through if you had a jet leak or something like that.  The Limelight/Hot Spots use what's called fibre Core insulation.  It's a wool like material that makes fixing leaks quite easy.  Its easy to pull  out and replace

One of the reasons I went with the hotsprings flash

[retiredmt]

Which Hot Spring model are you considering?  They use a different insulation on the Highlife versus limelight or Hot Spot.  The insulation on a Highlife series is a very dense foam that is tough to work through if you had a jet leak or something like that.  The Limelight/Hot Spots use what's called fibre Core insulation.  It's a wool like material that makes fixing leaks quite easy.  Its easy to pull  out and replace

We are looking at the Arctic Fox or the Jetsetter LX. Both using salt water.

[Sam]

The whole insulation pitch for Arctic is b.s. in my opinion.  As tman stated, full foam insulation supports the plumbing and glue joints and reduces the likleihood of leaks.  We keep a 3 foot section of plumbing filled with water and capped off to hand to people so they can feel how heavy it is.  Then imagine it vibrating all day from the pumps.  The foam cradles the plumbing and dampens vibration. 

Additionally, in that type of insulation system the pumps and circuit board are now operating in this enclosed space that gets hot.  There is no fan or ventilation (that I am aware of), which means the life expectancy of the electronics should be decreased in theory.  Would you buy a computer with no ventilation fan?  This is just my theory and I have no data to back it up, but it seems pretty logical to me.

I just can't figure out how they convince people that less insulation is somehow better than more insulation.  It's kinda silly to me.  That, and the whole access for repairs thing.  I'm not going to put insulation in my walls because there is plumbing in there and I don't want to bury it... Sounds stupid if you ask me.  Maybe that's not a valid comparison but I tend to think the whole perimeter insulation pitch is nonsense.  Years ago I thought it made sense but I've evolved on the subject.

I'm also not really a fan of salt systems but I won't try to talk you out of it.  I've seen a lot of heaters all rusted out on spas with salt systems.  I know the guys that sell them will say otherwise but knowing that salt is simply a chlorine or bromine generator and the fact that there are plenty of other systems that make it so you don't smell or feel chemicals, I personally don't like them.

[Water Boy]

Which Hot Spring model are you considering?  They use a different insulation on the Highlife versus limelight or Hot Spot.  The insulation on a Highlife series is a very dense foam that is tough to work through if you had a jet leak or something like that.  The Limelight/Hot Spots use what's called fibre Core insulation.  It's a wool like material that makes fixing leaks quite easy.  Its easy to pull  out and replace

We are looking at the Arctic Fox or the Jetsetter LX. Both using salt water.

Both good options to look at. The Arctic Fox is our top seller in our store. One nice thing with the Fox is that you have two different pump and jetting packages that you can choose from. You can choose between one or two pumps. The Jetsetter just comes with one pump and one circ pump. The Fox is quite a bit taller than the Jetsetter at 39" tall. Being in Montana, I could see that as a benefit as you can get down further into the tub when it is cold outside. All of the jets on the Arctic Spa are the spinning- rotating massaging jets. They don't use any of the directional jets. I love the feel of the rotating jets in my spa. The Arctic does have the thicker cover at 5". Arctic also comes with adjustable head pillows, and the Forever floor base to seal it underneath. Does HS spas have any kind of floors these days? I think some of the NT ones do, but not certain. Both are great spas. Like someone mentioned, do your research on the dealers, and maybe at least sit in both dry, and try to wet test if you can. I can personally tell you that the Arctic Spa dealer in Montana is a long time Arctic Dealer, and is a stand up guy and company.

Someone asked about a fan or exhaust.. They do have a built in exhaust fan in the cabinet. If the spa gets over three degrees of the set temperature, there is a fan that will kick on to vent the heat out. Once the spa cools, the fan will shut off automatically. Also, there are summer door options that you can get in place of a insulated door. Don't really need that with the exhaust fan tho.

[retiredmt]

Water Boy, thanks for the comments. Just to let you know, both of the top models in the line we are looking at have 2 pumps (I thought). Look at the specs for the Jetsetter LX. It also has the back massage, but I don't know how reliable that is. The Arctic appears to be more automatic, where manual testing every week is not critical. I also like your comment about the height. Although height is not critical for us. It appears that the two things that will help us decide is how comfortable we are sitting in them and cost. At this time the Fox is about $2500 cheaper. But we're not ready to buy just yet.