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  1. #176
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    Aug 2007
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    United States of Aburdistan
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    7,281
    Anyone own a small outdoor Japanese soaking tub?

  2. #177
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
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    1,064
    Quote Originally Posted by Name Redacted View Post
    Not to dissuade you, but at least for some brands, orders are like 8-12 months out right now. After talking to a few people in the business, you are basically ordering a hot tub for next winter at this point unless you can find a floor model, or cheapy from Costco or something. Or used but that always seems sketch.
    Yes, I'm aware of the lead time. The deck it will live on doesn't exist yet, and the house is halfway framed.

  3. #178
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    12,609
    Quote Originally Posted by cravenmorhead View Post
    Yes, I'm aware of the lead time. The deck it will live on doesn't exist yet, and the house is halfway framed.
    That was the next recommendation that I deleted because I know nothing about your situation. Buy the hot tub first, then develop the site accordingly. Your dealer can probably give you some pretty good advice on install.

    Other advice that I've gotten is to not put it on a deck if you can avoid it as the deck will wear out eventually from the moisture, weight, etc. But hey, over-engineer the fuck out of it and you'll probably be fine.

    And to answer your actual question:
    I've looked over that guy's site and it seems pretty decent, and unbiased. However, one thing about hot tubs is that they are somewhat regional, and you want to buy from a local dealer, who can service and maintain them and handle warranty work. Some of the hot tubs that he recommends might not have a dealer in your area. If there's not a dealer in your area, buying the best hot tub on the planet doesn't help you out that much.

    I think that you are in CO? I know guys who sell Bullfrog and say they are the best (that website says these suck), and I know guys who sell Clearwater and say they are the best. Both say that Arctic Spas suck, although they seem to be everywhere. This isn't just from the sales guys, but also from the maintenance guys.

    Hope this helps, we hope to order one soon too.

  4. #179
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Watching over the valley
    Posts
    4,996
    I have had two different hot tubs, at two different houses. My first one, was a monster headache, repair it, works for a monnth, then something else would go wrong repair it, until you finally throw it down the side of the mountain. And it would be my preference to have the current bullfrog one removed and hauled to the end of the earth and discarded into space forever.
    I like sitting in a hot tub, but I hate everything else about them.

    sent from Utah.
    sigless.

  5. #180
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    livin the dream
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    5,761
    I’m in the market too... just here to post that hot tub salesman are the worst. Easily worse than used car salesman.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Best Skier on the Mountain
    Self-Certified
    1992 - 2012
    Squaw Valley, USA

  6. #181
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    I-70 West
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    4,684
    Quote Originally Posted by basinbeater View Post
    And it would be my preference to have the current bullfrog one removed and hauled to the end of the earth and discarded into space forever.
    My dad took a chainsaw to his after ~10 years, stuffed the pieces into some junk cars, and crushed them into oblivion.

  7. #182
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
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    1,064
    Quote Originally Posted by Name Redacted View Post
    Other advice that I've gotten is to not put it on a deck if you can avoid it as the deck will wear out eventually from the moisture, weight, etc. But hey, over-engineer the fuck out of it and you'll probably be fine.

    And to answer your actual question:
    I've looked over that guy's site and it seems pretty decent, and unbiased. However, one thing about hot tubs is that they are somewhat regional, and you want to buy from a local dealer, who can service and maintain them and handle warranty work. Some of the hot tubs that he recommends might not have a dealer in your area. If there's not a dealer in your area, buying the best hot tub on the planet doesn't help you out that much.

    I think that you are in CO? I know guys who sell Bullfrog and say they are the best (that website says these suck), and I know guys who sell Clearwater and say they are the best. Both say that Arctic Spas suck, although they seem to be everywhere. This isn't just from the sales guys, but also from the maintenance guys.

    Hope this helps, we hope to order one soon too.
    Yeah, the deck has the views; will be engineered for the load.

    Having a local dealer makes some sense. But when it comes to sales etc., it seems like everyone who sells them thinks theirs are the best. And it's hard to find what amounts to a semi-unbiased review. Though maybe that shouldn't be so surprising -- a lot of skiers will own multiple pairs of skis, but not that many people will own a lot of hot tubs. Makes first-hand comparisons tougher.

  8. #183
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    truckee
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    23,111
    We got 27 years out of a Cal Spa. Replaced it 3 years ago on general principle--it still worked. Which means that 30 years ago Cal Spas made good spas. Who knows if they still do. We bought a Hot Spot. (Cheaper version of Hot Springs.)

  9. #184
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    1,026
    Quote Originally Posted by nickwm21 View Post
    I’m in the market too... just here to post that hot tub salesman are the worst. Easily worse than used car salesman.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Our experience was completely opposite. He was attentive and answered our questions but gave no sales pitch at all. We asked him about that later and he said something along the lines of “these things sell themselves and if you’ve come in the door you probably want one.” We’ve had great after-sale support, too.

  10. #185
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    2,274
    Quote Originally Posted by evasive_MT View Post
    Our experience was completely opposite. He was attentive and answered our questions but gave no sales pitch at all. We asked him about that later and he said something along the lines of “these things sell themselves and if you’ve come in the door you probably want one.” We’ve had great after-sale support, too.
    Mind me asking where? Looking at getting one soon and so far butte and Missoula are where I'll prob end up but Helena is almost same distance as well.

  11. #186
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    3,230
    Quote Originally Posted by Name Redacted View Post
    Not to dissuade you, but at least for some brands, orders are like 8-12 months out right now. After talking to a few people in the business, you are basically ordering a hot tub for next winter at this point unless you can find a floor model, or cheapy from Costco or something. Or used but that always seems sketch.
    My wife and I got a hot tub about a year ago a few months before all this went down. We bought a new house and had the back done with pavers and a hot tub with some thing we had discussed for years. Dumb luck but now we’re living the lockdown dream back there.

    The place we bought the hot tub from had the most ridiculous salesman. There is no way to describe this guy that does him e justice. But when I spoke to him recently he told me he couldn’t find a hot tub to sell to people. No joke.

    Jacuzzi FWIW. Nothing too crazy. $13k or so straight up cash in hand. We really dig it and use it almost every other night when it’s not too hot.
    Jacuzzi has a clear ray cleaning device. It seems to work well. Easy to maintain and put in chemicals if levels are off.


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  12. #187
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    1,026
    Quote Originally Posted by lifelinksplit View Post
    Mind me asking where? Looking at getting one soon and so far butte and Missoula are where I'll prob end up but Helena is almost same distance as well.
    Helena. Mountain Hot Tubs is a Hot Springs dealer. They have a Bozeman store too, but I don’t know the people there.

  13. #188
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Dystopia
    Posts
    21,052
    My only regret is not having wifi control.

    It would be nice to turn up the temp and know when it’s ready without trudging outside.

    If you’re in every day/night, they say just leave it hot. But ours has become one or two days a week.

    Ymmv
    . . .

  14. #189
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,064
    One more data point: I started emailing companies in our state that handle hot tub maintenance and repairs but do NOT sell hot tubs to see what they recommend. Seems like as good of a source of information as anywhere. Only got one response so far, but I'll post up a compilation once I give it a little time.

  15. #190
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,064
    Here's what I've gotten back from some of the servicing companies:

    #1: The hot tub brands you don't want are any Canadian Watkins Products (
    Hot Springs, Tiger River, Caldera or Aqua-Terra ), Jacuzzi ( having
    quality problems last two years ), Tuff or Strong hot tubs with Balboa
    Mini-Spa Pack only, ones with full size Balboa Spa Packs are good.

    Better American brands are; Master Spas, Wind River Spas, Marque Spas,
    Garden Spas, Sundance Spas and Cal Spas. Better Canadian Brand; Arctic
    Spas.

    But basically you want a hot tub that has a Balboa Control system-best
    on market, Stay away from Gecko, Watkins IQ2000 and IQ2020 Spa packs (
    lots of problems with these systems.

    #2:
    Hot spring, sundance, marquis are the best

    #3: Viking spas are good, Wind River Spas are good and made in Colorado. Dynasty spas are good as well as Jacuzzi. Sundance spas are good and they are joined to Jacuzzi. I recommend any spa that the equipment has easy access and commonly available parts. Artesian spas are good and I believe they stand by their products.

    Obviously they're not in 100% agreement.

  16. #191
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    12,609
    Nice, good research anyway. Of course nothing ever lines up. Sounds like Wind River spas are good though. Made in CO, named after a range that I've always wanted to go climbing in, and that's about all I need to hear.

  17. #192
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Basalt
    Posts
    4,944
    We bought ours last October. As everyone else is saying...pretty much everyone has a year long wait list now.

    We started by looking at Caldera (lower range of Hot Springs) and then compared them to Hot Springs at the dealers sister store. The price difference between the two wasn’t enough for us to not jump up to the Hot Springs and we have been very happy so far.

    We also looked at Jacuzzi and American Whirlpool. They were all nice and seemed well built, but I thought the controls, hardware, and design of the Hot Springs was the best.

    In the end, it seemed to mostly come down to the dealer we were most comfortable with that we thought would provide the best service if something went wrong.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    "We had nice 3 days in your autonomous mountain realm last weekend." - Tom from Austria (the Rax ski guy)

  18. #193
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    livin the dream
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    5,761
    This market has a huge opportunity for a direct-to-consumer option...


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    Best Skier on the Mountain
    Self-Certified
    1992 - 2012
    Squaw Valley, USA

  19. #194
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Mostly the Elks, mostly.
    Posts
    1,279
    Quote Originally Posted by gretch6364 View Post
    We started by looking at Caldera (lower range of Hot Springs) and then compared them to Hot Springs at the dealers sister store. The price difference between the two wasn’t enough for us to not jump up to the Hot Springs and we have been very happy so far.

    We also looked at Jacuzzi and American Whirlpool. They were all nice and seemed well built, but I thought the controls, hardware, and design of the Hot Springs was the best.

    In the end, it seemed to mostly come down to the dealer we were most comfortable with that we thought would provide the best service if something went wrong.
    +1 exact same story with us. We got a 'end of year' discount when the new models were coming in. Got a good deal.

    A good dealer is key - some parts will need replaced. A few parts on ours have blown (warranty) and they are always same day/next day service. Jake and his service team are great.
    north bound horse.

  20. #195
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    you see a tie dye disc in there?
    Posts
    4,651
    Im on heater #2, pump #3, double digit jet replacements, and just ordered the 3rd new cover. Refuse to pay anyone a "service fee" to come out and tell me its broke.

    A hot tub is just another boat that does not move from the dock. Complete waste of money.

    I love mine

  21. #196
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    3,230
    Fuck. What brand? Model?


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  22. #197
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    2 hours from anything
    Posts
    10,732
    Our refurbished hot springs vanguard has been breakdown free for a year now. We really like it. I highly recommend the refurbished route if you have a company in the area. The guy we bought it from finds high quality non-working hot tubs that are free or dirt cheap. Replaces the motherboard, maybe the pump and heater, headrests, etc. I think we paid $3750.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

  23. #198
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    none
    Posts
    8,334
    If you go the used route or you ever let your tub turn green, this stuff will clean all the biofilm out of your pipes.

    https://ahhsome.com

  24. #199
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    A LSD Steakhouse somewhere in the Wasatch
    Posts
    13,234
    Quote Originally Posted by BobMc View Post
    In my blue collar world I picked up one of these a few months ago, it was only $300 at the time.

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-S...&wl13=&veh=sem

    Best $300 I ever spent. Next long holiday camping trip with full hook ups I'm bringing it along. It's really only big enough for two people, but it works well for that.
    how long did it last?
    a price per day breakdown?
    the best 3 bills i spent went into that hog island boat
    i bets i could fill it and turn it into a hot tub
    and i takes it on every camping trip
    "When the child was a child it waited patiently for the first snow and it still does"- Van "The Man" Morrison
    "I find I have already had my reward, in the doing of the thing" - Buzz Holmstrom
    "THIS IS WHAT WE DO"-AML -ski on in eternal peace
    "I have posted in here but haven't read it carefully with my trusty PoliAsshat antenna on."-DipshitDanno

  25. #200
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Dystopia
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    21,052
    Quote Originally Posted by hawkgt View Post
    Im on heater #2, pump #3, double digit jet replacements, and just ordered the 3rd new cover. Refuse to pay anyone a "service fee" to come out and tell me its broke.

    A hot tub is just another boat that does not move from the dock. Complete waste of money.

    I love mine
    Hah
    Love the boat analogy.

    But hot tub plumbing is easy.
    A new spa pack. Eg heater and brain, is five bills.

    Used is better. Just like cars.

    Ymmv
    . . .

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