Do you own a back yard hot tub?

[slobake]

Moved into a house with a hot tub in the back yard. The existing tub leaks and it is over 16-years-old. Not willing to invest money into that.
Been shopping for a new one. Was ready to pull the trigger on one made by a local company until I checked them out with the BBB. YIKES! Won't be doing business with them.
Been to three hot retailers and have been doing my homework. So far, it looks like the best bang for my buck is Sundance Spas. Checked out them and the retailer out on line and there is no evidence that they are sleazy businesses. The tubs are pricey and we will negotiate our best deal if we decide to get one.
Is it worth it? Getting older and it would be nice to soak my aching body in a hot tub.
Does anyone here own a hot tub? Do you use it? Is it worth it? If so, what kind of spa do you have and what do you like about it.
We are looking at tubs that seat 4-6 people.
What say you Talkbass?

 

[MJ5150]

I used to work on hot tubs and swim spas back in the late 80's.
Why don't you want to fix the leak in the current one? Leaks in the plumbing aren't difficult to repair. If the actual shell is leaking then yeah you'll want to move on to another one.
We do not own a hot tub, but we joined a local gym so I could use the pool and hot tub. I like soaking in the hot tub after working out, but only for 15-20 minutes. That's all your body can handle at a time with those temps.
Another option is a sauna.

-Mike

 

[slobake]

I used to work on hot tubs and swim spas back in the late 80's.
Why don't you want to fix the leak in the current one? Leaks in the plumbing aren't difficult to repair. If the actual shell is leaking then yeah you'll want to move on to another one.
We do not own a hot tub, but we joined a local gym so I could use the pool and hot tub. I like soaking in the hot tub after working out, but only for 15-20 minutes. That's all your body can handle at a time with those temps.
Another option is a sauna.

-Mike

Don't know where the leak is coming from. I have tried to find it but been unsuccessful. Called a repair guy and it could cost me several hundred to find the leak. After that , he said it could be upwards of 6 grand to fix it. The tub is old , worn out and has and older style filter that uses a lot more chemicals than the current filters. I know the new tubs are more power efficient but I don't know how much. Never been in the old one. Don't like the looks of it.

 

[Stewie26]

t? Getting older and it would be nice to soak my aching body in a hot tub.
Does anyone here own a hot tub? Do you use it? Is it worth it? If so, what kind of spa do you have and what do you like about it.
We are looking at tubs that seat 4-6 people.
What say you Talkbass?

Is it worth it? Nothing better than getting in and and perhaps sipping some wine after a hard day so yes its worth it. In our old house we had an above ground acrylic spa. The problem was it used an electric heater to get up to temperature which took hours and added a lot to the electric bill. When we bought the new house we are in now, the builder but in a below ground spa with gas heater so it warms up quickly and is more cost effective. So make sure you can heat via natural gas.

 

[MJ5150]

Hmm, by the sounds of that, he doesn't want to do the work but if you're willing to pay that kind of money, he will.
I have no idea what you have now, but if you can, pull off the skirt, fill it with water, and use a flashlight to find the leak.
If it's coming from the plumbing, it won't take long to find. Remember that water takes the path of least resistance, so just follow a wet spot and it will lead you to the leak.
When I was in this industry, we sold Jacuzzi branded hot tubs. They were the nest available at the time for how they were made, the components they used, and the quality of the materials.
Buying a hot tub is one of these deals that if you cut corners now, you'll have to pay for it later.

-Mike

 

[Volker Kirstein]

Is it worth it? Nothing better than getting in and and perhaps sipping some wine after a hard day so yes its worth it. ...

No! Alcohol and hot tubs do not mix well! Hot tub heat and alcohol both expand your blood vessels and increases your body temperature. This can cause heat exhaustion, which can trigger unconsciousness, or even a stroke or heart attack.

 

[Alkali Ike]

If money isn’t an issue, get a new one installed and hire someone to maintain it for you. Hot tubs require constant maintenance just like swimming pools.

 

[Gaolee]

About 30 years ago, our neighbors put in a hot tub. I don't know if they ever used it. They moved out only a few years after installing it, and it has been a neighborhood problem ever since. They are a lot of work, and unless you intend to use it a lot, they aren't worth it. Just my opinion. I don't live in California where pools and hot tubs are far more common. So there's that.

 

[Stewie26]

No! Alcohol and hot tubs do not mix well! Hot tub heat and alcohol both expand your blood vessels and increases your body temperature. This can cause heat exhaustion, which can trigger unconsciousness, or even a stroke or heart attack.

We heat ours to no hotter than 100F, 37.75C, which is like a very comfortable bathtub temperature. Also, no more than a single wineglass in one sitting. Been doing this for decades with no issues. Many years ago, when I lived in a large apartment complex that had a spa, they found a naked dead women in the spa in the morning. Autopsy report turned out to say she was faced drunk and passed out in spa and drowned. That said we are careful.

 

[Pilgrim]

I'm 71 and the increasing aches and pops incline me to agree that a hot tub sounds very attractive. However, my mom had one for a few years and the maintenance was much more than she had the inclination or interest in managing. As an observer (although distant) I watched and it disinclined me from getting one.

I'd love to have one, but I'm not willing to keep it up, manage it and keep it clean. Others disagree.

 

[woodyng2]

Had one in our previous house for 6 years, loved it and miss it very much since moving into a condo.
It really is an asset in the NW Pacifac Coast area where evenings are cool year round. i strongly recommend getting a tub that uses sodium bromide, basically a saltwater tub. I don’t rcall the make of the tub, probably best to just research current models performance and reliability.

 

[kesslari]

We use ours every night before bed. It's a wonderful relaxing ritual and gives us some nice connection time together. On rainy nights the sound of the rain is magical (the tub has a roof over it).
Strongly recommend getting and enjoying one.
Also strongly recommend getting comfortable testing your water and doing it regularly (and keeping it within the right ranges). Bromine for health levels. pH for lifetime of heater/pump (high or low pH will eat that gear right up - don't ask how I know).

We went with an old style "barrel" tub - cedar, not redwood, with a very insulative and leak-free liner. It's not as apparently sexy as the loungechair things but it's great. Plus ours is deep enough (5 feet) for the wife to do aqua-exercises.
There are a few companies that do them - we went with Great Northern. I have mixed reviews about their customer service but the quality of the tub was and is really first rate. 12 years now and still going strong. We're on our third heater and second pump (first heater died after a year - that's the pH lesson). The other nice thing about them is that it's easy to replace components like the heater or pump because you're not locked into a particular brand or model that "fits" in the right space.

Oh, and in last year's CZU fire a smart good samaritan noticed the 1000 gallon tub and used it to save our neighbor's house that was encroached by flame. We were stoked.

 

[slapshot]

We have a Master Spa tub, and use it pretty much every night. We test the water with test strip every day, and add a SMALL amount of stabilizer or chlorine as needed. Take a water sample in to the store once a month for free analysis. Had it for a year, and it's great. Seats 5 and outside footprint is 8x8, iirc.

If you go electric for the heater, go with 220v. 110 causes the breaker to pop if the heater comes on while the pump is running. Much more cost effective as well.

 

[pie_man_25]

No! Alcohol and hot tubs do not mix well! Hot tub heat and alcohol both expand your blood vessels and increases your body temperature. This can cause heat exhaustion, which can trigger unconsciousness, or even a stroke or heart attack.

I didn't know that. I think the only time I was in a hot tub was at my girlfriend's parents' place in Valentine's Day weekend. They went to Mexico, she had the spare key. We most certainly had alcohol. It was weird sitting in a hot tub feeling ice grow on my beard.

I'll have to not do that in future.

 

[StereoPlayer]

I want one but I’m afraid the novelty will wear off and it wouldn’t be used very much.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I don't even own a back yard!!!

 

[Ostie]

I had one for many years. It was a novelty at first and the family used it, but eventually I was the only one who used it and I was the one doing the maintenance. Constant monitoring of the water, and if you have well water it may take a few days to get it stabilized after you fill it. I had plenty of issues with it, pump went out, leaks, the impeller broke. One winter the power went out and it froze up and broke the pipes. I wouldn’t have another one, but if you do get one, get a sodium system.

 

[WillyW]

Had one used it seldom, glad I don't have one now.

If I bought a house with an older one I would probably insist it was removed prior to purchase due to the expense of removing it later.

 

[kesslari]

I want one but I’m afraid the novelty will wear off and it wouldn’t be used very much.

The novelty wearing off depends IMO on a couple of things, primarily "how much you enjoy the soak". It has, as I said, become a wonderful part of ending the day with my beautiful wife. We only miss it if one of us is sick, profoundly exhausted (falling asleep), or if it needs a repair, which we get done as quickly as possible.

The other is location. Our first tub (which we bought used, great deal, etc) we put in the "logical and easy to install" place. Which was not convenient to use - required going down a flight of stairs outside. It was easy to say "too much effort, I'll skip it". And we didn't use it. The current one is just outside our bedroom. It's kind of just as easy to use it as not to. That made a huge differences.

 

[turf3]

I had one for about 5 years and was very happy with it; used it constantly for stress reduction and muscle aches. Unfortunately my wife stopped using it as the bromine was too harsh on her dry sensitive skin. I expect there are improvements in sanitizing these days; that was roughly 2001-2006. I didn't find the maintenance overly onerous, but I'm used to performing precision measurements and adjusting systems accordingly. We never had any kind of mechanical failure, but that's a sample size of one.

I miss the hot tub now; just another thing I had to give up from being a corporate gypsy.