It is made by Hawkeye and I pass the plant on the way to work. We bought the spa at a fall parking lot sale. They had some scratch and dent specials and I bought one of them but decided to get the next larger size and it was not a scratch and dent job. I asked them to wrap it up and hold it for several months as we were starting a remodeling job. So it was built and purchased in 2004 but warranty started on delivery Feb 3, 2005. You get shorter warranty from factory but price is lower. Delivery is separate, no startup. We cranked it up Feb 5, 2005.
It is 93 x 93 inches and seats 7 by my count, mfg says 8. It has 3 pumps and circulating pump and 52 body jets. It has volcano that is really powerful, two diverters that work smoothly and quietly. We got an LED light and steps with the purchase but factory doesn't offer as many negoitables like buying from dealer. Thought I had a cover lifter but it was not on the purchase documents.
It holds 550 gallons, weighs 900 pounds, and I helped get it on the porch! It is quite large and heavy. It has four pillows, two are on corners with neck jets. It has a waterfall. Why? I don't know what they do. Also, two filters for 100 sq ft and about 5 return suction ports and ozone. It has a recliner type lounge, not the flat type. The recliner has two jets at back of thighs and two jets at calfs. Nice seat. Only when the volcano is on, and all pumps running do we have to use the foot rest to stay in position.
The programmer is back lit well enough to see in night and day. It has one remote button for one pump. We like the therapy, temperature holds steady, LED, various jets and seat/depth choices. We selected the pearl as it works great with the LED. Two of the jets are hard to adjust with the ring as they are hard to get a hold of on both sides. I wish the volcano could be adjusted down in strength. It appears to only twist out instead of off.
We had some really annoying problems on startup that come with buying direct. Next time I would require that they fill it and demonstrate it time because there were several problems. First, the main pump started leaking during initial water fill with level only at bottom of seats. Not much pressure and it started flooding the new Florida room. I valved it off and tried to tighten the union coupling nut but the alignment between piping and discharge port was off too much and could not be pulled together with the nut. I also saw no signal of any heat coming on when I finally got it full. I have worked in electrical service for over 35 years installing and starting up new equipment so I felt this would be annoying but interesting. Found the sensor wiring plug jammed into board with one pin bent out and not in plug. Holding my breath I bent it back and all was well. Heat started up and it took about 10-12 hours to get to 97 and I jumped in. I also had one pillow that would not snap in on one of the buttons. I stopped by plant Friday and picked up one and some spare filters. New pillow popped in like it should have!
Factory tech guy came and he knew his stuff and had good customer skills. He fixed the alignment leak issue and when he checked the controls he verified the setup on the program was correct and found the third pump not enabled. This setup should have been done at the factory. They should have water tested it although you can always say it did't leak at the factory. Well the alignment was still poor and the nut had teeth marks on it when I opened the panel first time.
I wish it had all worked first time as I have poor patience waiting for service but they came and fixed it within two of my call and I could still use it with one pump. Now that all is working, we love it! The service is good and now the longer term testing begins. We like it. Now that initial issues are resolved this may be an excellent tub in the long run. We shall see.
Date Purchased: Oct 2004
Price Paid: $6700
Recommend: Yes |
Pros:
Good therapy with 52 jets, 3 pumps, 1 circulating pump. Two neck therapy seats. One recliner not flat lounge. Awesome volcano jet. LED with Pearl finish is cool. Factory is within 2 miles of my house.
Cons:
Several issues should have been caught at factory, one pump leaked with 12 inches of water in tub! Heater sensor plug/pin mesed up so no heat on initial fill. Third pump not programmed in board setup and this is not available to user. One pillow button would not pop in and stay. All items now corrected. |
