# Hot Tub for deck



## bigpoppa (Sep 17, 2005)

Before I go to the hot tub store and get bombarded with those salesmen who will tell you anything to sell you the most expensive stuff I was just wondering....Do they make hot tubs that you can simply have delivered and placed on your deck without any type of installation into like your plumbing and stuff or is it much deeper than that?  Just wondering.  Thanks


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## bondo (Sep 19, 2005)

They even make ones that are transportable.  Look around. Most are self enclosed but require wiring for 240 Volts.  You can get the ones that run on 110 volts but be prepared for a wopper of a utility bill.  It is cheaper to keep the spa hot all the time than to let it get cold and try and heat it up from scratch each time you want to use it.  It can also take many hours to get hot for a large spa.  Remember that the spa can weigh a lot when full of water.  Can you deck handle the extra weight?  If you did not spec out the deck for the spa when it was built? You really don't want to have a spa full of people crashing through your deck.  My spa weighs 1200 lbs empty.  With 350+ gallons of water it probably weighs in at over 2 tons.  If you can park you car on your deck then you might be OK.  You can get small portable 2 person spas that would be fine they only hold about 75-100 gallons.  I've seen them in stores but have no experience with them.


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## James Arjuna (Jan 2, 2008)

There are plenty of mediocre hot tubs out now, with the economy being so poor for hot tub sales.  Typically, when the economy is down, many companies start selling lower quality (cost less to build) and raise the prices and raise the sales hype and pressure.

The only way to buy any high ticket item is to start understanding about hot tubs and spas. Do, research, otherwise you may be taken advantage of because of your lack of awareness of the spa industry and their shenanigans.


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## inspectorD (Jan 3, 2008)

Good advice...know what you are buying ...always. 
What are some good brands and who do you stay clear of? Not that I'm in the market but for others to start researching now that the cold weather is here.


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## James Arjuna (Jan 25, 2008)

I recieved a question about plumbing and electrical on spas.

Most of the time all you need is a solid platform that can hold the weight of the spa with occupants, a hose, and a dedicated 120V connection to enjoy a hot tub.  Granted these are very nice tubs, but if you want powerful therapy then you need to buy a spa with 5 HP pumps that require 240V to run.

My wife and I moved into our new place and we did not have the 240 V hook up for one of our high horsepower models, so we placed a 120V spa on the back patio and plugged it into the outdoor receptacle, filled it with a hose.

We use Eco One with a 24 hour ozone generator and had nice water with no harsh chemicals, like bromine or chlorine.  It stayed clear on Eco One and ozone for 18 months then we drained it. 

The only disavantage to 120V is the heater is only 1500 watts and when the spa jets are turned on the heater goes off for that time.  With a DAIT spa you do not have to worry about heat loss out of the cabinet, but from the open top, so we used a floating thermal blanket on top of the water and folded it back so the area where we were sitting was open, but the rest of the top of the spa water was covered.  That increased the soak time in Colorado winter to 45 minutes before the water cooled down. 

Since I own a hot tub company, eventually we put one of our super powerful therapy machines, a Haven Spas Moonbay with stereo lighting and extreme jets.  For that I wired in the 60 amp 240 V GFCI.  It is still filled with a garen hose and drained with a garden hose, no plumbing is required for "portable spas".


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## James Arjuna (Jan 25, 2008)

inspectorD said:


> Good advice...know what you are buying ...always.
> What are some good brands and who do you stay clear of? Not that I'm in the market but for others to start researching now that the cold weather is here.



read http://www.spaspecialist.com/StartHereForSpas.html


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## James Arjuna (Apr 27, 2008)

The first thing to avoid is full foam spas.  When the cabinet is filled with foam it is very expensive to repair.  The foam is used to hold up cheap shells and no other reason.  The thermally closed design is far superior to full foam and has been proven in all independent side by side testing.

Avoid diverter valves that destroy the pump's efficiency.  That pump can move water a lot better without dividing up the spa.  Who really wants to wait for jets while you are in the tub with other people?  If you can't run all the jets at full pressure, then what did you really buy?  Is it 1/2 of a spa or 1/3?

Avoid plastic control boxes, because they are a proven fire hazard. As the spa control ages, it can start having electrical arcs.  In plastic, it will escape the box and can burn your home down.  Metal boxes ground out the arc and stop it from escaping.

Avoid small pumps at high prices.  So, many of the "so called, high end" spas are really mediocre and the equipment and shell composites show the truth.

The only shell composit that is proven to last is acrylic, vinyl ester bonding, with hand rolled fiberglass.  Even the Chinese know that!


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