From: libes@cme.nist.gov (Don Libes)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Advice sought on Spa/Hot Tub Purchase
Date: 29 Jul 92 06:11:41 GMT
Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology

In article <HOGAN.92Jul20172627@cujo.csl.sri.com> hogan@csl.sri.com (Emmett Hogan) writes:
>But no matter where I go look, I still seem to run into the slimey
>"used-car salesman" type who spends more time putting down his
>competition than he does talking about his own spas.

My experience as well (MD-DC-VA area).  Best way to protect yourself
is to learn and ask questions (like you are doing).  Be prepared to
walk out on various salespeople.  Ask for recommendations from your
friends and local contractors who have bought/installed spas.

>	- How large a spa ?
>	  I have been told that alot of people end up being sorry they
> 	  bought a large (6-8 person) spa, because only 1 or 2 people
>	  use it at a time.

We bought a 6 person and are very happy, even though we've never had
more than 4 in it.  Frankly, it's very nice to have a lot of room even
with two people.  (The footwell gets cramped quickly.)  In our spa,
each seat is different and some days we move around every couple of
minutes.  It's nice to have the variation.  If you have the $$ and
space, go for it.

Really, a 1 or 2 person spa is an entirely different beast which has
it's advantages, too.  But I wouldn't bother with a 3 or 4 person spa.

>	- What brand (why did you choose that brand)?

PSI.  Nice layout, roomy, lots'a jets.  I looked at a lot of spas with
similar outer dimensions and many had defects such as cut-off toes on
the lounger or headrests that ended up behind your neck.  I agree with
the suggestion of the person who said to try it with water before
buying.

The model we bought (Anton Fina) has 4 neck jets on one seat.  They
sit well above the water line and actually shoot on your neck or down
on to your shoulders.  REAL NICE.  It was hard to look at other spas
after this.

In article <13183@pogo.wv.tek.com> denised@pogo.wv.tek.com (Denise DiGiovanni) writes:
>I had an Oregon Hot Springs spa at my last house, and I bought a Jacuzzi...

I never got to try a Jacuzzi.  The only Jacuzzi retailer here went
bankrupt last year.  This is probably a reflection of the sliminess of
the retailer rather than the manufacturer.  The dealers have
tremendous markups on these things because they know they are luxury
items, they know that anyone buying them can easily afford it, and
it's hard to shop around.  No matter what price you get offered,
bargain anyway.  It should be no problem to knock off $500 or so.

The guy I bought mine from said he's felt no impact from the recession.

>We bought the Tirage model
>of Jacuzzi, which is their top of the line, and it's plenty big (but not
>too big) for us both to be very comfortable. It has two recliner seats

To each his own.  I looked at a couple spas with two recliners, but
two recliners wasted a lot of space in the layout.  Really, we find
that the recliner is not always the preferred seat, so this is not a
problem.

>We use bromine now. I like it better than chlorine, ....
>... I have noticed, however, that my black bathing suit is now
>brown. Not sure it that's a function of the bromine or cheap material :-)

We don't have that problem.  (Of course, that's because we don't
bother with bathing suits.)

In article <15840183@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> dougl@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Doug Leno) writes:
>I've seriously considered ozone because of its potential for a reduction in Cl
>usage.  However, ozone is so strong that (in a freinds spa) the shell has a
>big metal stain at the ozone discharge port.  He probably wasn't using 
>enough stain inhibitor (he had no metal stains when using Bromine).

I know very little about these things, but we have an ozonator and
there is no staining.  We don't add any stain inhibitor either, so
perhaps our water just doesn't have a high mineral content.

So far, we're very happy with the ozonator.  (We've had our spa one
year.)  We keep the bromine level down very low and have had no
problem with the water.

I must note that on the down-side, several things were broken (or broken
soon after delivery).  The GFI circuit failed, the thermostat failed,
and the repair guys replaced the top cover and front panel (I didn't
even know anything was wrong with it, but they insisted on replacing
it).  I feel fortunate that the retailer has made good on his word,
and covered each of these problems at no charge.

After the initial problems, it now runs nicely, and we've very happy
we bought it and would buy it again.

Hopefully our experiences will be of some help in selecting a spa.

Don Libes          libes@cme.nist.gov      ...!uunet!cme-durer!libes