Which would you buy?

[superbike7]

  Hello everyone this is my first post and I would appreciate any advice you could give me. I am looking at getting our first spa and I have narrowed it down to 2 used ones in my area. One is a Vita Le Cirque almost 5 years old, but it has been kept indoors and is almost in new condition. The other is a DreamMaker Eclipse in excellent condition. They are both about the same price, include covers but I will have to pay($400) to have the Vita moved and I will have to hire an electrician ($300) to hook up the 220 box.Is it worth it to pay the extra for the Vita or should I save the money on the DreamMaker. Also how much can I see my power bill rise with the 220 hookup. Thanks for your help.

 

[Alan]

Welcome to the forum!  For what its worth, I've never heard of the dreamaker.  How heavy are the covers? They should be easy to lift.

 

[superbike7]

The DreamMaker is a rotomolded one piece spa that is just plug and play. Here is a link:

http://www.aah-spas.com/dream-maker-eclipse-x-sp-deluxe-round-style-portable-hot-tub-spa.html

The Vita is a more traditional acrylic tub:


http://www.zonvita.com/Hot_tubs/cirque.htm

 

[JohnnyK45]

Looking at these two, I'd lean towards the Vita.  I think the greater depth (38" vs 29") and seating style of the Vita will give you more room and flexibility.

Perhaps contact a spa repair place in your area and ask if they service both makes and if so, would they lean towards one or the other (is one harder to work on than the other?) and does one have repair parts that are harder to find and/or cost a lot more to replace than the other?  Some spa repair places will also go with you to inspect and look over a used hot tub for $100 or so, giving you their honest opinion after they thoroughly review things.  I would of course, never buy a used tub that I couldn't see up and running to make sure it works properly and doesn't leak. 

I was also looking at the Dream Maker a little bit ago, the same model, but instead went with a Viking 2, which cost about $300 more, but beat the Eclipse on every level.

In terms of electric costs of 220; in the long run, 220 should be a tad cheaper actually, but not by a huge amount.  If I'm wrong on that, I'm sure someone will correct me.  ;D  The key benefits of 220 are the ability to heat faster and run the jets on high while heating at the same time; on 110, heating is 2-3 degrees per hour and with jets on high, it won't heat.

Finally, if you need a cover holder, I would recommend the Cover Caddy by Cover Valet; great for round spas.

J

 

[superbike7]

Those are great points. Both are up and running and seem to be working fine. The Vita comes with a cover lift so I  probably wouldn't need a Caddy for it. Here is a link for it:

http://greenville.craigslist.org/for/3221965993.html
 
I am starting to think it might be worth the extra $700.

 

[Alan]

Those are great points. Both are up and running and seem to be working fine. The Vita comes with a cover lift so I  probably wouldn't need a Caddy for it. Here is a link for it:

http://greenville.craigslist.org/for/3221965993.html
 
I am starting to think it might be worth the extra $700.

It certainly looks well cared for.

 

[vangoghsear]

I like the looks of the Vita.  My hot tub, a Bullfrog 151R is similar in design, round similar gallons, similar insulation, has convertible electrical system, 15amp at 120 with a plug, 30 or 50 amp 230 hard wired.  I went with the 50 amp hard wired.  Haven't regretted it for a second.  Oh, and that is a great price to run the 230v circuit, mine cost $1200, but it was 80' from my house.

Even if you go with the plug and play, it should be a dedicated 15 amp circuit:  nothing else on it. 

 

[JohnnyK45]

Looks really nice, I'd for sure go with this over the Dream Maker; unless some spa repair place told me they've seen lots of issues with these units.  Nice shape, nice redwood color, cover looks great - really nice from the photos.  That cover lift alone is likely around $150-$200 and he has the "old folks" senior railing to assist you in getting in  - so no need worry about slipping and breaking a hip while getting in...  ;D
J

 

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

Looks really nice, I'd for sure go with this over the Dream Maker; unless some spa repair place told me they've seen lots of issues with these units.  Nice shape, nice redwood color, cover looks great - really nice from the photos.  That cover lift alone is likely around $150-$200 and he has the "old folks" senior railing to assist you in getting in  - so no need worry about slipping and breaking a hip while getting in...  ;D
J

or even if your young and had 1 to many cocktails in the tub the handrail is nice  8)  btw I agree that spa looks well cared for...also I would recommend 220v, cleaner and more efficient power and you can run both jets and heater at the same time, which depending on your location could be a "must have"

 

[JohnnyK45]

or even if your young and had 1 to many cocktails in the tub the handrail is nice   

Agh...excellent point!  8)

 

[superbike7]

Well I went for the Vita. It was owned by an elderly lady and she kept it in her sunroom. She had all the records for it and the only thing that had to be fixed in nearly five years was the control unit. It is a nicer spa than the Dream Maker and with all the extras it was worth the extra money.  I talked to my local spa place and he said Vita is a well made spa and he wasn't aware of any problems with them.

My mover should get it to my house on Tuesday. I hope the electrician can wire it a few days later. I live in the Southeast so I could go 110, but it sounds like 220 would be the better way to go. Thanks for all your input!

 

[Alan]

Congrats, I hope it works well for you.

 

[Chas]

Have your tradesmen come through for you yet? Are you in "Spatopia?"

If so - may you soak long and prosper.

I also would have recommended 220 - did you do so?

8)

 

[superbike7]

Okay so I had it delivered last Tuesday and so far I am not in Spatopia. I am not sure if i should start another thread but here goes. The electrician came on Saturday and put up the box and did all the wiring for the 220 line. He came with a good recomendation and I watched him thoroughly do the job. When he was done I filled up the tub and went to turn it on. The GFCI on the outside box, and inside the panel in the house kept tripping each other. He disconnected it from the spa and no more tripping. He said that means there is a problem with the spa. He checked all the fuses but couldn't find the problem. He said he did what he was hired to do but he would help me find out what the problem could be. I am still waiting to hear from him. Everything worked great just a couple of days before I had it picked up and delivered. I had a professional mover with a special trailer do the job. Could something have been damaged on delivery? What could it be? The controls and board were just replaced in 2010. I am very frustrated.

 

[lets]

This is very common with used spas. Things going through their normal process of wear, then all the jarring and bouncing of moving them causes something to prematurely break. It could be all the moving and tipping and bouncing and such caused residual water in the spa to go some place it shouldn't, but I'd highly suspect a bad heating element.

 

[JohnnyK45]

I wouldn't get too worried, you have a very nice spa that was well taken care of.  Is there a spa service place in your area you could contact?  By me, they tend to charge about $95 per visit per hour or so.  Perhaps call such a place and have them take a look at things.

J

 

[Chas]

If you can - unplug the blower and ozone from the control box. Try the breakers. If it works, you just have water in one or both. That can trip the breakers. Not uncommon when a used spa gets moved.

Another thought: I have had countless electricians wire spas incorrectly on one particular point. You may be able to simply call your guy and ask him this - The Neutral wire which goes to the spa: where exactly did he land it in the sub-panel? With GFI breakers, you do NOT land this Neutral wire on the Neutral buss, like he would do on any other job. That white wire must go directly to the GFI breaker, not the Neutral bus bar. And - if he did miss this, it would NOT trip if he pulls all four wires at the spa.

Give that a try...

HTH

8)

 

[superbike7]

Once again thanks for your responses, this is a great forum. Well the electrician came by tonight. I mentioned about the neutral ground and he said he has wired lots of tubs and did it the way you described. Then we tested the Ohms for the element and they were within spec. Next he disconnected the power from the tub and tested the GFCI. Well it didn't trip. He thinks it could be bad. He is going to test it tomorrow and let me know. Hopefully that will be the problem.

 

[oldpile]

sounds like the heater,disconnect the heater leads of the element and turn on if it runs you need a new element

 

[superbike7]

Well just a quick update. It was the GFCI. He had to order the part and then we had three straight days of heavy rain so he wasn't able to put it on until tonight. After he installed the new one it turned right on. I can't wait to use it for the first time tomorrow night!