If the cost of the electrical is a concern and it’s a long run between the panel and tub, you may want to consider using aluminum conductors. Aluminum Teck cable is half the price of copper, you can direct bury it and is a huge savings when used for long runs, especially when you you have to start increasing the size to take voltage drop into account.I recently used Aluminum Teck cable to feed a 100 amp panel in a barn that was almost 300‘ away from the main house and saved the guy a few thousand dollars.
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Hot tub anyone?
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
I kinda thought aluminum for residential wasn't a thing anymore after the 70's and 80's. Just did some reading. Interesting. Will keep it in mind for future needs.
My only thought is that once those stones get covered by a dusting of snow....finding them with bare feet could be an ouchy process - if that's the goal is to use them as a walkway while getting in and out of the tub, or taking the lid on and off, etc?
That's one of the worst parts about hot tubbing in the winter...is getting out when it's frigid and then standing there fighting with the lid.
That's one of the worst parts about hot tubbing in the winter...is getting out when it's frigid and then standing there fighting with the lid.
Totally different. The poor method of terminating an aluminum conductor on cheap receptacles or switches was the problem. If properly terminated, there is nothing wrong with aluminum conductors. I can almost guarantee that the wires coming in from the street, feeding power to your house are aluminum.
Indeed, I know it's still in widespread use in the greater distribution network, but I thought it was a thing of the past within residential construction specifically. Like I said, I did some Googling and found out otherwise, although it still sounds like it needs special attention.
The $500 is sold already 
I didnt open my panel to check, but for the hot tub they ran 4/3 teck with a 50A breaker so I suspect that will be aluminum. If copper, I would expect a bigger breaker.
Should be right on the cable. Our house the cables say copper. Old house everything was aluminum.
It's cold outside and I can only see 12" at the panel so I didn't see a whole label.
I go in from the deck and onto the outdoor floor to get in. The flat stones work for me to walk on but another stone or two would likely work better. I tend to be drawn to "odd" numbered arrangements so I would probably prefer 3 or 5 and 5 may be too many for that space.
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Oh man I'm sorry.The $500 is sold already
Perhaps put a WTB ad on kijjiji?
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What a wonderful birthday weekend with my wife. We thought of dining out but that was a bridge too far for us. We never even tried a patio this summer so going from not even doing a patio to dining in a dining room was just not in the cards. However, we did do takeout from Turtle Jack's on Saturday night and then I went to the awesome middle eastern place across the road. If anyone ever finds themselves around Waterdown I cannot recommend NaRa enough. I find myself bringing in that stuff probably at least twice a month. The Falafels are amazing. Fresh made Hummus and Babaganoush etc. Chicken Swarma is some of the best I have ever had. Mother and Daughter are always there working away.
At any rate my wife wanted to try something warm in the tub so we experimented with Gin. Apple Cider and simple syrup on Saturday night. Also used cinnamon sticks.
We found it a bit on the sweeter side so when we made them again today late in the afternoon we did not use simple syrup and we tried to use Gins which had more spice/earthy elements to complement the drink. Unfortunately I do not have any Martin Miller or Gin Mare in the house but we tried Plymouth in one and Bombay Sapphire East in the other.
Looks like the thermostat in the hot tub is pretty accurate.
I need to post on the spirits thread. My wife got me the Drumshambo. I got nice LCBO gift cards and we picked my wife up a desk and chair from kijjiji which led me to another LCBO which led to more gins... Wowsa! Dillon's 22 Unfiltered and some other gems...
At any rate my wife wanted to try something warm in the tub so we experimented with Gin. Apple Cider and simple syrup on Saturday night. Also used cinnamon sticks.
We found it a bit on the sweeter side so when we made them again today late in the afternoon we did not use simple syrup and we tried to use Gins which had more spice/earthy elements to complement the drink. Unfortunately I do not have any Martin Miller or Gin Mare in the house but we tried Plymouth in one and Bombay Sapphire East in the other.
Looks like the thermostat in the hot tub is pretty accurate.
I need to post on the spirits thread. My wife got me the Drumshambo. I got nice LCBO gift cards and we picked my wife up a desk and chair from kijjiji which led me to another LCBO which led to more gins... Wowsa! Dillon's 22 Unfiltered and some other gems...
Breaker size is by the load and not the cable material.
Aluminum cable (wire) will need to a larger gauge than copper for the same load as aluminum is not as conductive (higher resistance). The larger gauge wire offsets that. Aluminum is not too common for anything new these days with the exception of a service or maybe your application (higher current). Due to the cost of copper. But here again, if you use aluminum it needs to be a larger conductor (not different breaker size).
Depending on temperature ratings.... and in some cases distance... (it is not cut and dry).
#4 copper is good for roughly 70 amps, #4 aluminum is 55 amps. If your cable was copper at 50 amps I would expect #6 unless they were concerned about distance or some other factor that de-rated the cable.
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For older homes with NMSC (some say Romex) aluminum was used for a period for everything, again the gauge should be larger application to application. The safety issues come from someone mixing aluminum and copper together (dissimilar metals) without the proper sealed connectors, this caused corrosion and high resistance at the connection over time, bad mojo afterwards. Same goes for someone swapping a copper only receptacle with aluminum wire. Home insurance companies freak out....almost as bad as K&T. There is also deeper thoughts on material properties like work hardening and the possibility of loosening connections but I digress.
My commentary, I would never put any new aluminum wire in my home even though the application may be entirely safe. Insurance companies do not understand code or logic they only understand words.
When we told our insurance company that we have aluminum wiring in our townhouse, they added a 30% surcharge until it's removed. Then I told them it's a condo so technically not responsible for the structure....they removed the 30%.
My cousin's insurance company didn't care whether it's aluminum or copper in their freehold...each insurance is different in how they view the risk and aluminum. They only cared that their panel was updated to breakers from fuses.
Mine still insures K&T, and at no "extra" cost. Extra cost as in it is no cheaper (their rates) if it is 100% modern copper, not that it is low cost insurance. But if you want to be able to select any insurance company at any time you need to keep all the problem boxes unchecked. Many have a "box" that says "any aluminum yes/no" and they are not up on code, just words.
BTW, I would think that internal wiring from the panel to your outlets is your wiring and not a common element in a condo. Similar to the plumbing, etc. The feed to the in unit panel is a common element. The condo will just want permits pulled and licensed contractors on your dime... but it may not be the same for each development.
GateKeeper
Well-known member
I believe anything behind the wall is the Condos responsibility, what you see is yours what you don’t is theirs, at least it was like that in the Condo I used to live in.
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I might have mentioned this before but, when looking at hot tubs, my wife asked me, have we ever sat it one and been disappointed? The answer really was no.
We always seem to enjoy what ever tub we found ourselves in.
Now I know sitting in one and owning one are two different things.
For us, I wanted a 220 v. That us. Nothing against plug and play but, I wanted to have heat and jets going and even though the climate in the Niagara Region is relatively mild, I wanted to make sure the tub would maintain its heat under cold weather.
We’ve enjoyed hot tubs in the winters of Quebec and Ottawa Valley so, it’s nice to have a glass of wine and soak and often sit beyond what ever reasonable and recommended time.
I did go over board with wiring and did 6 gauge copper from panel to tub. Just in case we “upgrade” down the road for a tub that requires more load. For now, our used tub is rated at 40A and it keeps the water temp right where we like it and it’s been great after a cool hike.
We have teenagers that shower and stay up late so, it’s hard to determine the additional electricity costs thus far.
All I will say is, we love ours. It’s on the dated side. It doesn’t have audio or water falls or fancy lights. But it’s got a lot of different seating areas that is nice to change once in a while.
Get the one that you can afford and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It’s worth it. And we only had ours for 3 months.
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We always seem to enjoy what ever tub we found ourselves in.
Now I know sitting in one and owning one are two different things.
For us, I wanted a 220 v. That us. Nothing against plug and play but, I wanted to have heat and jets going and even though the climate in the Niagara Region is relatively mild, I wanted to make sure the tub would maintain its heat under cold weather.
We’ve enjoyed hot tubs in the winters of Quebec and Ottawa Valley so, it’s nice to have a glass of wine and soak and often sit beyond what ever reasonable and recommended time.
I did go over board with wiring and did 6 gauge copper from panel to tub. Just in case we “upgrade” down the road for a tub that requires more load. For now, our used tub is rated at 40A and it keeps the water temp right where we like it and it’s been great after a cool hike.
We have teenagers that shower and stay up late so, it’s hard to determine the additional electricity costs thus far.
All I will say is, we love ours. It’s on the dated side. It doesn’t have audio or water falls or fancy lights. But it’s got a lot of different seating areas that is nice to change once in a while.
Get the one that you can afford and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It’s worth it. And we only had ours for 3 months.
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Here is another Mimico.
You could see if Alistair would take in a lining swap and what it would cost.
Please view this ad:
Soft tub hot tub ,
www.kijiji.ca
Price: $ 750
Download the application from the Google Play Store.
tinyurl.com
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You could see if Alistair would take in a lining swap and what it would cost.
Please view this ad:
Soft tub hot tub ,
Kijiji - Buy, Sell & Save with Canada's #1 Local Classifieds
Visit Kijiji Classifieds to buy, sell, or trade almost anything! New and used items, cars, real estate, jobs, services, vacation rentals and more virtually anywhere.
www.kijiji.ca
Price: $ 750
Download the application from the Google Play Store.
Kijiji: Buy and sell local - Apps on Google Play
The all new Kijiji app is here! Faster sales & easier finds.
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Ummm. It looks like he is selling the tub and hydromate separately. Is that typical? He wants $500 for a hydromate. Does a new softub for $4500 include a hydromate?Here is another Mimico.
You could see if Alistair would take in a lining swap and what it would cost.
Please view this ad:
Soft tub hot tub ,
Kijiji - Buy, Sell & Save with Canada's #1 Local Classifieds
Visit Kijiji Classifieds to buy, sell, or trade almost anything! New and used items, cars, real estate, jobs, services, vacation rentals and more virtually anywhere.
Price: $ 750
Download the application from the Google Play Store.
Kijiji: Buy and sell local - Apps on Google Play
The all new Kijiji app is here! Faster sales & easier finds.
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Weird. His ad for the tub says everything works properly. It would have to have a Hydromate to work properly.
$750 for a leaky tub with no Hydromate? No thanks! I paid $1200 for a non leaky tub with a Hydromate that had issues.
Hmmm.
Yes, a new Softub comes complete. Tub, Hydromate, Folding cover etc.
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