Need advice on a Spa purchase

gudnoyez

https://www.hotspring.com/shop-hot-tub-models/hot-spot/stride
https://calspas.com/product.php?id=931

Looking at either one of these, never owning one before, just wondering how these things handle winters where it gets - 25 below, the salesman said no problem you leave them on all winter they wont freeze up. I'm assuming since they sell them in the cold a.. midwest he must be right.

I'm just wondering these run off a hard wired 50 amp circuit how much will the electricity bill go up keeping these running all the time? Is this purchase something we will love at first and lose intrest in eventually? I also wonder if the upkeep is a hassle.

Well anyways the wife wants one and I'm guessing sticking with the 2 brands I have a choice of is probably, the best bet as we would have dealer support choosing those brands. I could see it now relaxing with the missus drink in hand tunes playing hours of relaxation. I was wondering who has had good and bad experiences with ownership of one of these here contraptions, and can give out some helpful advise.

gudnoyez

That's weird there are two of me logged on at the same time is this another new Vanilla quirk or am I seeing double?

BlueFox

gudnoyez wrote: »

That's weird there are two of me logged on at the same time is this another new Vanilla quirk or am I seeing double?

Happens also to me.

I have a Coleman spa I bought in 94 or 95, and I use it all the time. It is more enjoyable in the winter, and okay in the summer. I live in CA so the coldest it gets is maybe into the 20s at night, but that is more the exception in the winter. I have had a couple minor issues, such as pump motor or heater breaks, over the years, but overall it has held up well. I don't run the heater all the time, just during the cleaning cycle. It has two mandatory cleaning cycles each day that run for two hours each time, so I set one cycle from 7:30 to 9:30 at night, and I use the spa at 9:30 when it is nice a warm, 104 degrees. 104 is the hottest it can be set.

audioluvr

My Sister has a Hotspring spa in Iowa. They are very nice. I think she says her electric cost averages between $30-40/mo. more.
Here's one we were looking at because we live in the mountains:
https://www.arcticspas.com/en/

invalid

Your electric bill shouldn't go up that bad with a smaller sizes spa. I have a 6 person spa, and my electric bill is about $35 a month more in Michigan. It is of course more in the winter, but averages out to about $35 per month. You definitely want a hard wired 240 volt spa, not one that runs off 120 volts.

Milito

I had a Hotspring Grandee from 1997 till 2016 and liked it as it was very relaxing to sit in. It was wired 220 and installed in my deck. If didn't affect my electric bill that much as they are well insulated. Now I live in the DFW area so the temps never got as low as you are talking about so I can't comment on how well it would do. I would call the manufacturer and discuss with them your concerns.

The reason I got rid of mine was because the pump started leaking and I didn't want to spend the money to fix it on a 20 year old spa. Also the jets made my wife's skin inch so she didn't like sitting in it that much and I really didn't like sitting in it alone now at my age in case I had a health issue while sitting in it. If the spa hadn't been as old as it was I would have fixed it.

Hotspring was known for making some of the best spas, at least when I bought mine. I haven't kept up with them currently so I don't know if that is still true.

When it gets older if you buy one, you will spend money on it just like anything else you buy. I didn't think it was that bad considering how long we had ours.

At our previous house.

invalid

If I was going to buy a spa again, I would buy one with air jets to compliment the water jets.

Milito

Our in ground spa at the house before the one above had air jets which I liked because if you got too hot in the spa you could turn them on and it would cool you off some.

gudnoyez

Got to go with an above ground one the area it will be put in is 8x8 on the back side of the house blocked from nasty windchills. I was watching videos of both models and maintenance looks pretty easy. It sounds like all of you that chimed in didn't hate having one so that's a plus.

My only worries is dropping a bunch of funds towards it and losing intrest in it a year or 2 later. We plan on selling the house in a few years and leaving the chilly midwest, so if we get a few years of enjoyment out of it all will be good.

DaveHo

Not a hot tub fan, so buying a house with one would be a negative for us. Just keep that in mind when you go to sell the house.

jeremymarcinko

I have many neighbors and family members with them. They use them a lot at first then they only use them sometimes. It is a nice way to enjoy the outdoors in colder weather. Personally I wouldn’t use it much in summer.

scubalab

This is tough to answer... We live in Pennsylvania. I love a pool and to swim, but when we bought our house 21 years ago, we couldn't justify the expense of something we'd be lucky to get 3-4 months of use each year. So, we considered a hot tub instead. We eventually gave in and bought a Hot Springs Grandee in 2002. I will admit, the initial 'novelty' was longer lasting (several years) than I expected, but never fully wore off. I will say that there were years that we didn't use it much at all and questioned getting rid of it.

In the past 3-4 years, the novelty has returned and we've been using it much more regularly. In fact, my daughters were in it last night to unwind and relax after a hectic weekend. (Ignore the unsightly canopy and netting - it was a crude attempt to deter our honey bees that have focused on the hot tub as their water source!)



Now, cost of ownership is subjective. When we bought it, we were told to expect our electric to go up around $10-$15 a month. I never actually calculated how much it increases our bill, but I suspect it's closer to $50-$60 a month. Initial cost was expensive (IIRC, around $8-10k), but it's 19 years old and going strong! Only maintenance costs (other than chemicals) have been a new cover about 7-8 years ago (we're due for another), a new ozone generator (around $200) 8-9 years ago, and a new heater (around $300) about 10-12 years ago. Also, filter cartridges can be costly, but we clean ours regularly and get 3-4 years out of them. There are five cartridges and are about $25-$30 each.

As for use? That one's easy. We use it ALL the time. We've used it in sub-zero PA winters (that's the best) when your hair is actually frozen. We've used it in spring and fall. And, we cool it down and use it in the summer too! You really can't go wrong. We keep it around 99-102 most of the year and cool it down to the high 80s or low 90s in the summer.

I'd still prefer a pool (if we lived where we could get more use out of it), but for climates with true seasons, I personally think a hot tub is the way to go. Hot tubs in PA are enjoyed 12/12 months a year. Outdoor pools in PA are used at best, 4/12 months a year.

I say GO for it!

scubalab

DaveHo wrote: »

Not a hot tub fan, so buying a house with one would be a negative for us. Just keep that in mind when you go to sell the house.

I'll suggest that a hot tub is a HECK of a lot easier to remove than a pool if it impacts reselling in a negative way. In all reality, it's just a matter of draining it and selling it or hauling it away if the buyer doesn't want it. Can't get rid of a pool quite as easily, and I've heard they definitely can impact (both negatively and positively) the sale price. Just remove the spa and the negative impact is gone, but if your buyer is a fan of hot tubs, it might actually have a positive impact.

Malbec

Had a ThermoSpa 5-6 person for about 15 years and gave it away with the intent of buying a new spa.
Where I live in central Pennsylvania, the water is very hard which can prematurely wear out components (two pumps).
So water quality/chemistry is very important. It added maybe $25+ to the monthly bill. Less than my son's seven effing aquariums. There's also a therapeutic benefit too. Those water jets work wonders on sore and knotted muscles. The dead of winter is when I used mine the most. Especially when it was snowing. Should you decide to pull the trigger, I highly doubt you'll regret your purchase.

tonyb

gudnoyez wrote: »

Got to go with an above ground one the area it will be put in is 8x8 on the back side of the house blocked from nasty windchills. I was watching videos of both models and maintenance looks pretty easy. It sounds like all of you that chimed in didn't hate having one so that's a plus.

My only worries is dropping a bunch of funds towards it and losing intrest in it a year or 2 later. We plan on selling the house in a few years and leaving the chilly midwest, so if we get a few years of enjoyment out of it all will be good.

I would say don't buy one then if your plans are to move soon. Really not a selling point anymore. Since our climates are similar, our electricity costs may not be. My neighbor keeps his running all winter, says about 80 bucks a month to run it. Granted, it's about an 10 year old tub so maybe you might get a bit more efficiency these days.

invalid

My neighbor keeps his running all winter, says about 80 bucks a month to run it. Granted, it's about an 10 year old tub so maybe you might get a bit more efficiency these days.


That's about right for a monthly electric cost in the coldest months, mine works out to about $35 a month and I run it year round.