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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.

Joining in late, but....

I bought a standalone 6-bod hot tub about five years ago, a Marquis brand
floor model (no affiliation). I've been pretty happy with it.

It's an all-electric 240V 50A unit. The tub is installed outdoors here in
northern Utah. Winter temps average 25-30 degrees, while we keep the tub
at
102. Based on my excessively anal recordkeeping, my my average monthly
electric bill has increased by $1.57 since we installed the tub -- but
who's
to say if that's all in the tub or something else in the house? It sure
isn't enough to worry about.


Well...if you really believe you can run a ht daily at 102 on $1.57/mth I've
got a bridge to sell you. :-) Do you have solar panels or a wind turbine?

One of my tub's two pump motors failed just before the 3yr warranty
expired.
I have been waiting for the other one to pop, but so far so good. AIUI,
these pump motors are industry standard units, can generally be rebuilt
and/or traded as a core, and anyone who's handy with a wrench should be
able
to replace one (including moving the pump unit itself to the new motor)
without too much trouble.

A few months ago the tub developed a rather spectacular leak where the
plumbing attaches to the heater tube. The seals are a sort of soft
rubbery
plastic, and had deteriorated to something that resembled plumber's putty.
They were only a couple bucks each and not hard to install, but I wonder
what caused them to rot like that.


Could it be the chlorine?

Other than that, routine maintenance items, about $20 a month for
chemicals,
filters, and mineral cartridges. I hit it with a little chlorine every
time
we use it, shock it once a week or so, and change the water every three
months. That's about as easy as it gets, but well worth the investment
IMO.



If I remember correctly we had to use bromine because of the liner. We were
assured that bromine was better too. Like I said, I may have gotten bad
advice because now that I'm using chlorine I agree; it doesn't get much
easier.

I'm sure there are lots of "success stories" with these new ht that are
available. All I know is the experience I had with a stand alone elec ht
turned into a nightmare. No doubt because it was a 120 volt and the
chemicals I was using. Which was the gist of my OP

Don't get me wrong, I love my "gas" ht. I can run it nightly and my gas bill
is always reasonable. Usually never over $30/mth. Sometimes as low as $12.
Now heating the pool is a different story.

I think if you do an internet search on gas vs elec ht's the data will back
me up.

od