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Hot tub anyone?

My cousin has a hot tub. A year and a half ago it was getting late in the season so maintenance was let go but then a nice day came along so she went in for a dip and ended up with legionaries disease. She just about died, was in hospital for months, had to learn to walk again etc.

Too much maintenance for me and I get into enough hot water without one. BTW how many people do you want to take a bath with?
 
@oioioi you're right. Has to be done properly. Break it up as if the water has nowhere to go it’ll be a swamp after a wet week. But doable solo....big jack hammer and a lot of wheel barrels of fill.

@jc100 which poor car choices? I’m also doing this.
As for the diy tub....I’ve seen some plans. Bored at work so may do some investigating. 3k models out in Owen Sound.


@nobbie48 just me and the wife. Sorry to hear about your cousin that’s horrible.
 
mimico_polak said:
But doable solo....big jack hammer and a lot of wheel barrels of fill.
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I think the proper way is the concrete needs to be broken up and removed before filling in the big hole.

Also, I think city/town permits are involved. :mad:
 
I would recommend Arctic Spa tubs. What sold me was they insulate the enclosure not the bottom of the tub so if there was ever a leak all the hoses are exposed and the heat from the pump running goes back to the water. Also get a salt water system for the tub so you don't have to fool around with chemicals. I've had mine for longer than 10 years and had very little problems with it.
 
Use my tub every day .I have a Beachcomber tub . I feel their warranty is great for the first 5 years . Getting used to adding chemicals takes a few months . Write down strip readings and what you put in the tub. Takes a few months to figure out what to add and when . After a bit it becomes easy . I use the tun place above Queensway on Kipling for my chemicals . The name just escapes me at this time .
 
I've had mine 6 yrs. California Cooperage. Used at least 6 times a week. It blew up just after new yrs. I miss it and will get it repaired soon.
Woj....if you buy one.....get one with as many jets as they can stuff in one.....like horsepower......you can never have too many / much.
 
I have a bullfrog that came with the house. I would never pay the crazy prices they want for new tubs. Sometimes it gets used a lot, sometimes a little (especially in the summer). It mostly depends on how beat up I am feeling. It does take aches and pains away. Much of the attraction is sitting outside in the snow and watching trees sway. If the tub was in a gazebo or had 10 houses staring into it, it would get used much much less.

When the bullfrog dies I will probably get another tub, just a lot smaller. The current tub seats seven comfortably and normally has one or two in it. A three or four person tub would fit our needs better. If you close some of the jets on the current tub, you can pop a 50A breaker. With all the jets open, it doesnt blow. Obviously at full blast it is using damn close to 12,000 watts.

Probably dont buy a tub with a lounge seat. Many first time tub buyers go for them, few second time buyers do.
 
jc100 said:
A while ago I saw plans for a wood fired hot tub. That actually appealed to me. Probably not exactly a “spur of the moment dip” type thing but maybe a bit more atmospheric perhaps? I might even look into it a bit further since I currently seem to be also looking at poor used car choices.
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Don't do it. It will never get used. Also, when you aren't firing it, what do you do to keep it from freezing? Drain and purge? That's a lot of money in water. Have a backup electric heater? Why bother with the wood? Put a firepit in sight of the tub if you want fire.
 
Food for thought.


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mimico_polak said:
So as always, I love the replies I get here and have taken many of them to fruition...and as I'm super bored at work today, wife and I got to chatting about plans for the backyard.
We have the normal wants...gazebo (diy or pre-built), deck (diy or contractor), and the discussion of hot tubs came up. I'm on board for it, and my wife is actually moving forward also, but I have no clue about these things...and not even sure about where to start.
Anyone have one? Can point me to some resources to do more research? Recommended types/makes/installers? My dad and I are fairly handy, and this will be done AFTER the deck is built (planning for spring 2020) but is something that's definitely in the near future (hopefully by Winter 2020).
Thanks!
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Just in case you are thinking about putting the hot tub on the deck. I wouldn't. They are heavy when full. You will need a ton more footings and framing in that area. I would put the tub on the ground (consult tub manufacturer to see if slab is required or if compacted gravel will suffice).
 
GreyGhost said:
Just in case you are thinking about putting the hot tub on the deck. I wouldn't. They are heavy when full. You will need a ton more footings and framing in that area. I would put the tub on the ground (consult tub manufacturer to see if slab is required or if compacted gravel will suffice).
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I friend of mine put his standard size tub on some interlocking close to the house.
He has had to redo the interlocking in that area 2 times within 4-5 years of installing the tub.

Mind you, the area was excavated to allow for the small addition.

Using a well established or untouched ground would be much better.
 
@GreyGhost Good tip. We weren't sure whether it would make sense to put it on the deck, or just build the deck with a hot tub in mid, and then slot it in. Deck will be low to the ground, so the tub would be on the ground, and surrounded by it.
 
We had one for years, just moved away and left it at last house. I'd suggest DO NOT buy a used hot tub, they dont really like moving once put in place. I bought a hydrospa, made in Mississauga because they have parts available and have been around for a while. I wouldn't buy one with a stereo and all the crap, just a basic tub with decent power.
If your going to wire it, (I did mine, its not rocket surgery) do not buy the spa pack GFI from the tub store or Home Depot, go to an electrical supplier. Mine was $118 at wholesaler , $249 at the spa store.
You can strip out sod , level an area of compacted limestone screenings and use 24x24 patio stones. Mine never moved in a decade, Do not place it on a deck unless you want a lot of money spent in reinforcing .
Think about placement, is in out of the wind, can the nieghbors watch your wife, where does the sun hit morning/aft. Clear view of the sky at night is nice.
I miss mine (been two weeks) and it will be replaced here, but now a crane is involved.....
 
Thanks everyone for your responses. Definitely gave some good points that I personally have not thought of. Really appreciate it.

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions, and will ask more when the time is right! Cheers!
 
If you have small kids, you need to make sure there is a lid on the hot tub and it is ALWAYS locked when not in use. Can’t have the kids playing in the backyard and then one climbs in the hot tub under the cover while you go inside. That would be devastating .


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Out of curiosity, are there differences in outdoor vs indoor?

My friend from high school years ago, had hot tub and sauna in his basement that his dad always seemed to be using. Since then, I always kind of associated hottubs being an indoor thing, but I guess not.
 
moarmoto said:
Out of curiosity, are there differences in outdoor vs indoor?

My friend from high school years ago, had hot tub and sauna in his basement that his dad always seemed to be using. Since then, I always kind of associated hottubs being an indoor thing, but I guess not.
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Afaik, same tubs. Personally, I wouldnt want one indoors unless i had it in a fully isolated space. They give off quite a bit of moisture and there is always the potential for leaks.

In my case, a light cracked resulting in a slow leak but to replace it, you temporarily had a ~3" hole. A friend's wife turned off too many jets and the piping popped off to relieve the pressure resulting in ~600 gpm dumping under the tub. Either of those situations with a normal floor drain will be a disaster.

I would want the tub in a separate room with a secondary containment that could hold the entire tub capacity ( probably something like an 8" depressed floor would work) and separate hvac from the main house (probably a mini split). After all that, I still wouldnt really enjoy it, I find the fresh air nice and to run the tub hot enough to maximize therapeutic benefit, I need the air to be as cool as possible.
 
I see. Good to know, if I ever want a hot tub.

If my memory serves right, this kid's dad had it pretty well set up. The basement (or I should call lower floor) had a large opening to the backyard and the tub was close to outdoor. it was easy to make that area into partial patio-like environment. You could even configure that area to be completely separated from rest of the floor.

Thinking back, they were pretty loaded. It was something like what you could compare to one of those showcase homes, but with dates decor I guess.
 
moarmoto said:
Out of curiosity, are there differences in outdoor vs indoor?

My friend from high school years ago, had hot tub and sauna in his basement that his dad always seemed to be using. Since then, I always kind of associated hottubs being an indoor thing, but I guess not.
Click to expand...

Think mold and mildew, not unlike an indoor pool. I saw a garage converted into a spa/ hot tub but there was lots of air exchange etc.
 
Watching through Chris Wheatley videos now. Some good stuff there but something came up that I always wonder about. People were extolling the virtues of their swim spa with the husband swimming in it four times a week and using it as a spa a few times a week. How the hell do you do that in the same water? The temperature needs to swing by at least 20 degrees F (and quite likely 30+ degrees F). That doesn't seem feasible to me.

If someone wants an endless pool and a hot tub, I think they need two bodies of water. The combo unit just seems dumb in practice. You are either going to leave it hot and have a super oversized hottub with ~4 times the operating cost of a standard tub or you are going to keep it as a swim spa and it is entirely useless as a hot tub. I guess you could hook it up to a huge pool heater. With 400K BTU, you could go from swim temp to spa temp in 1.5 hours or so. You couldn't swim again for days though unless you leave the top open to dump heat (and in the process lose a lot of water).
 
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