wrote in message
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On May 4, 4:26 pm, "olddog" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Hi,
I live in the north east and I am going to install a hot tub in my
backyard.
Please recommend a 3-4 person hot tub.

My primary concerns a
Durabaility: Alot of things can go wrong with a hot tub, I'd like to
buy one that runs reliably with the least maintenance.
Good insualtion: to keep monthly electrisity costs low.

Thanks!

Little story:

"2nd happiest day of my life was the day I bought my boat. The happiest
day
of my life was the day I sold my boat."

"Boat" can be replaced with "Hot Tub" or "Pool Table".

I would buy an indoor Jacuzzi Bath Tub.

Hot tubs are a hassle to keep the water clean and balanced. Heating the
water is another story.

My experience has been exactly the opposite. I've had a hot tub/spa
for 20+ years now and the experience has been excellent. The first 10
years, I had it inside. For the last 13, it's been located outside.
In both cases, I found it very easy to maintain. I change the water
about every 2-3 months. After the initial fill, I just keep the
dissolving tabs in a floating dispenser and the water pretty much
stays in the correct range.

I also have a jacuzzi tub in the house, which I never use. If I had
a choice, I'd definitely go with the hot tub, as I think it's far more
functional and you can share it.





I had a hot tub and sold it after 1 year. It had several problems but I
learned that I don't want a stand alone hot tub. My "new" house (been here
6
years now) has a pool with a hot tub attached to the pool, and water
maintenance is a breeze. It has to do with the volume of water. For some
reason large volumes of water are much easier to keep clean and balanced.
When the tub gets "dirty", for lack of a better word, I can dump the water
into the pool and start fresh.

If you do get an electric HT make sure it's a 220 volt. A 110 volt will
kill
you with electric bills.

While most spas are 240V and there are big advantages for going that
way, saving on electric usage is not one of them. You are paying for
power, and except for some tiny losses in the wiring delivering the
power, the amount of power to run and heat the spa is going to be the
same with either 240V or 120V. The biggest disadvantages to 120V is
that they are built to use a 20 amp outlet, so:

1 - the heater cannot be on at the same time the pump is on high,
meaning to use the jets, the spa won't be heating anymore while you're
using it

2 - the heating capacity is 1/4 what it is at 240V, so it takes 4X as
long to heat it up. That can be a major factor if you have it outside
all year and want to keep the temp down, then cycle it up before using
it.



If there is anyway you can get natural gas that is
the way to go.

I've yet to see a 3-4 person, small home hot tub/spa that uses natural
gas.

+++++++++++++++++

Really....hummmm

look up YMMV

but thanks

od