Tiger River Siberian Model L advice

[rhoon84]

been looking at getting an outside tub,  had a small indoor one back in college but i have a couple of questions.

i currently have well water, what is the best option?  i understand chems will help some things but what about iron or other metals in the water.  The water isn't bad but it's not city water.

Outdoor heating -  My old tub was indoor and i had it on a switch timer to turn on an hour before i got home,  what should i be weary about having an outdoor tub in freezing temperature (other than the heater breaking)

and most important  here is the description of the tub (craigslist) I found it hard to find any reviews on the internet for this specific model but i figured the pros here might be able to give me a good opinion,  didn't say what year it was i'm assuming around 2003.(for whatever thats worth)  its up and running , hot, and looks very well kept ,  has a very nice cover with a lift on the side.  Guy is asking $3475 for it.  Never Bought a tub before but i imagine you can usually work on the price.    any information i can get will be appreciated.  thanks.


IT'S HOT TUB WEATHER!
VERY NICE TIGER RIVER SPA HOT TUB ~ WELL MAINTAINED AND RUNS BEAUTIFULLY
SIBERIAN - MODEL L

FEATURES SMARTJET SYSTEM & COMFORT CONTROL SYSTEM
WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO CONTROL THE INTENSITY OF THE JETS AND
THE MASSAGING ACTION OF THE JETS (This is a great feature)
Lots of other features too numerous to note in this ad.

8 PERSONS MAXIMUM
MEASURES 7' 6" X 7' 6"

NEW PREMIUM INSULATED COVER PURCHASED ONE YEAR AGO
HAS HEAVY DUTY COVER LIFT FOR EASY OPENING & CLOSING

WATER TEMPERATURE REMAINS CONSTANT - NO WAITING FOR WARM WATER!
DOUBLE WATER FILTERS
UNDERWATER ADJUSTABLE LIGHT

Features:
A. Hydromassage jet with
Directional Nozzle
B. Hydromassage jet with Dual
Port Rotary Nozzle
C. JetStream® jet
D. Precision® jets
E. Comfort Control® lever for
Precision® jets
F. Heater return and spa drain
G. Secondary suction
H. Light lens
I. Spa pillow
J. Filter compartment
K. SmartJet® system selector
L. Control panel

Siberian® Model L
EQUIPMENT COMPARTMENT
1. Silent Flo 5000® circulation pump
2. Wavemaster™ jet pump
3. No-Fault® 6000 heater
4. IQ 2020™ spa control box
5. Light fixture
6. Heater thermal cut-off
7. Main drain valve
8. Secondary drain
9. Bonding Terminal

 

[Alan]

Welcome to the forum.  I remember when the Tiger River line came out. They are made by a good company, but I've never looked at one in person.  If the cover is good, keeping it warm outside is no problem.  If you can see the tub running and hot, this could be a good deal.  Make sure the cover doesn't weigh 50 pounds and is heavy to use (waterlogged). If it is, make them drop the price a few hundred as you won't want to use it in cold weather if the cover is too heavy.

 

[rhoon84]

thanks for the advice, its a fairly havy duty cover but is has somekind of spring assist system on the side of it to make easy to open and close i'm gonna go take a look tomorrow.

thanks again

 

[Chas]

That is one negative about cover lifting mechanisms: you don't really notice if the cover begins to get heavy. I would just plan on replacing the cover.

8)

 

[Jeffspa]

I've owned a Tiger River Spa for many years--and it has been a maintenance nightmare from day one:  local "repair" people are poorly trained, and are unable to diagnose simple problems--they usually wind up simply replacing expensive (and proprietary)  parts instead of cleaning a terminal, say, or checking connections.  The spa is poorly designed.  When the control board ($300.) went bad on my spa after only two seasons I'd already learned not to trust the dealer repair guy (above).  I pulled apart the board and found that the trouble was with corroded relay terminals....so rather that replace the whole board, I just ordered the same relay from an electric supplier and soldered it back on the board........BUT the instructions that came with THE EXACT SAME RELAY BY THE EXACT SAME MANUFACTURER said that the component was not designed for outdoor or wet areas!  So OF COURSE it failed.  Apparently, Tiger River engineers are not capable of incorporating some awfully freshman detail into their designs.......and you can bet that level of expertise is carried-out in the whole tub/line. (it is, that's just one of my Tiger River stories).

2.  Hot tubs do not resell well-----you should seriously be able to bargain down any used tub far below this quote.  There's just not that strong a market for a used tub.

 

[Chas]

Your Tiger River came with a five-year warranty on components. I'm curious why you didn't have the factory take care of any issues you had?

8)

 

[lets]

I'm curious if he ever actually owned a Tiger River......or perhaps sells something else?

 

[rhoon84]

well he created an account just to respond to my question.  How nice.  You anyone else have anything to say about the tiger river line?

 

[lets]

Can you get the serial number? With it we can look up the year it was made...as well as the original price ($3500 is rather high for a 10 year old spa).

 

[Hot Spring Ace]

Its been a few years since we made it so the 2003 guess may be close but post the serial number and I'll be able to tell you exactly when it was made down to the day, but I'll assume the year is enough info. TRs were a very well made tub and they tend to last a long time despite that gloom and doom post that seemed odd. It wouldn't surprise me if its running great still but that price does seem high though on older tubs the age is actually secondary to the working condition of the tub.