Any hot tub guru's out there?

[customizedcreationz]

Time for a new hot tub. I ve fixed this one for the last time!

Looking at

http://www.spadepot.com/shop/Belize-e750L-Lounger-Spa-P9749C843.aspx

http://www.hottubsandportablespas.com/shop-by/carmella-49-jet-large-and-deep-hot-tub

Both come out to be around $6000 when we add the little things like covers, lifts, circulation pumps etc.

Free shipping.

Locally there is a store that has one for $6150 otd.

http://www.hotspring.com/shop-hot-tub-models/hotspot/relay#third

But its only 35 jets and 1.5 hp motors ( 2 ).

The Belize has 1 4hp motor and 1 6 hp motor. The Carmella has 2 5 hp motors.

The Relay has 4000 w heater, same as the Belize, the Carmella has 5500 w heater.

So my few questions....


1 Circ pump, seems like a no brainer there. Not running the big motors to circulate the water when not in use only makes sense.

2 More jets. Hell if your not sitting in front of them, why does it matter? I don't entertain people, its just my wife and I. But it is nice to sit down and have 25 jets blasting away at you. Winner there is the Belize with 93 nozzles, the Carmella has 49 and the Relay has 35. Any input, I am not sure but guessing 30-40 jets in my current tub. Which is good enough, but heck if I am buying another I should get more right?

3 Pump hp size..... 1.5 hp for Relay, 5 hp for Carmella, 4 and 6 hp for the Belize. Obiviously the bigger the motor, the more power draw, but more pressure to push through all those jets ( more jets = more power needed ). But for the Relay at 1.5 hp and the Carmella at 5 hp ( x 2 for both ), thats a huge difference in power between the two. Now go to 4 and 6 hp for the Belize. Which is about the same as the Carmella over all ( 10 hp combined vs 3 hp for the Relay ). Input on that? Motor goes bad 5 years from now , I know the bigger motors will cost more money. I replaced one motor already at $250 in my current tub and it was 2 hp.

4 Spray foam and insulation panels, seems like a no brainer there. But how effective is the spray foam ?

5 Anyone running saltwater?

Any more ideas?

Thanks
Todd

 

[customizedcreationz]

Ok learned really quick Belize has 51 jets and they say 93 nozzles, so obviously they have two or three nozzles per jet....

So they are all roughly the same jet amount give or take a few.


Todd

 

[Fire-medic]

Years-ago, I built and installed hot tubs and spas for a co owned by a Miami Dolphins All-Pro. He sourced good quality products for the spas, started out w/Fiberglas/gel coat & then acrylic when that became avail. The hot tubs were manufactured in Hollywood FL using round-milled all-heart redwood. I used Hayward and Stay-Flo pumps, filters, and first-quality PVC fittings. Most of my installs were in Coconut Grove, part of Miami FL on Biscayne Bay, where David Crosby kept his yacht which was the inspiration for his song, "Wooden Ships," and where he spent time w/Judy Collins. ("Suite:Judy Blue Eyes" is a story of their break-up) John Sebastian was also playing in Coconut Grove then. Coconut Grove attracted many counterculture people, rock performers, and young people and artists.

In 1968 a promoter staged the "Miami Pop Festival" http://www.oldrockphoto.com/miamipop.html
in Hallandale FL at a thoroughbred horseracing track, Gulfstream Park, which isn't even the same county as Miami, but Miami had more name recognition. It was a great success and drew some of the best rock performers, ever. It was such a success, the promoter decided to stage another the following year, in NY, north of NYC. You may have heard of it... (none of the above has anything to do w/your spa choices, but I just write like this)

A low-draw pump for filtering is going to save $ on operations, a high-draw pump is used for a relatively short period of time during your therapeutic use. Number of jets is subjective, if you like more action, get the larger #. The power of the jets' H2O delivery could even be too-much if you have a too-big pump. A variable-speed pump may allow you some variety in comfort, and minimize cost of operation. More jets means more friction loss, so a bigger pump is required to overcome that.

Spray foam is the best method for insulating the tub and it gives some support too, making it more rigid.

The higher-output heater is probably going to be a better choice, but if the water is moving too-fast, it won't heat as-effectively. You use a slower speed to circulate/heat/filter and a higher speed for therapy. I just put a 4-speed programmable Hayward pool pump in, much-more expensive than a standard single-speed, but I can run it on a lower current draw for filtering and my electric bills dropped significantly. Your spa operational costs you can figure-out from your local utility kw/hour rate, and your time of operation.


Can you try either first? That may mean more to you than all the rhetoric.

 

[customizedcreationz]

We have been looking all over and when I figure it out I ll post up. But there is so much out there for sale in all different shapes and forms..... headache... I might just fix ours again......

Todd