Hey guys new to the Fourm looking to buy a hot tub, Dont want to spend more than $4500 2 OR 3 Person 220/v
any suggestions?
Thanks Rich
any suggestions?
Thanks Rich
New Hot tub
- Thread starter FFRICH
- Start date
Just got an 4 person Aquaterra on sale from Costco for 2K+ tax delivered (normaly 3K but goes on sale every 4 to 6 months from what I have seen). Used it for the first time this weekend we had 2 to 4 people in at various times. 3 is comfortable 4 is ok as long as 2 of them are married 
. Jets and bubbles seem fine thought I have nothing to compare it to and we bought it for the hot water not so much hydro therapy. It comes as a 15A 110V with 1000 watts heating but can be wired as 40A 220V 4000 watts heating which is what we did. 250 gallons took 4 hours to go from 79F to 104F. Now to wait for the power bill and see how many PV panels I will be adding :study:
. Jets and bubbles seem fine thought I have nothing to compare it to and we bought it for the hot water not so much hydro therapy. It comes as a 15A 110V with 1000 watts heating but can be wired as 40A 220V 4000 watts heating which is what we did. 250 gallons took 4 hours to go from 79F to 104F. Now to wait for the power bill and see how many PV panels I will be adding :study:
Oly
Gold Supporter
That's a great deal and the perfect size tub in my opinion. We only see an increase of around $20+ a month with ours and it's hot 24 x 7. Keeping the water balanced and clean requires a bit more diligence than a pool but during the winter months the spa is wonderful.
We bought a Freeflow spa 5 or 6 years ago and it's been great. It is the discount line of Watkins Mtg, maker of Hot Spring spas which is one of the better brands of spa available.
I believe I have the same spa as atttech-2(Aquaterra Adrianna). Just got it with the $1,000 off deal. It is perfect for us. Nice seating layout, seems well built. Just couldn't fork out $5,000+ for a more name brand spa. Any spa whether a $300 blow up or $12,000 top of the line spa heats the water to 104 degrees which is what we enjoy the most. Jets on this tub are fine for us but if you want or need really strong jets you would need to look elswhere.
I ordered an AquaRest Elite 500, 5 person hot tub, 120 V, 29 jets, with the upgrade of the ozone generator and capable of converting to 240V. It is a molded one-piece unit, had good reviews, and several online stores and Home Depot sell them. My question is, why do people convert from 120V to 240V? Does the 240V give you more jet power and does it make a difference in the smaller tubs like I ordered? I don't have it yet. It is due to ship next week.
My understanding is that 240V costs a little less to operate. Also on 120V the water heating element won't run while you are using the tub.
Heating power. On 120 volt the spa has a 1 kW heater. On 240 it's 4 kW. This means it'll heat 4 times as fast. I didn't check their math, but they say it'll take 20 hours to heat from 70 °F to ~100, so at 240 volts, it would take 5 hours for the same temp rise.
If you always leave it at the same temp, 240 will not be any cheaper to operate than 120. Lowering temp between uses is what will save money, but with the slow heating of 120 volts it's unlikely you'd do that. With 240 it may heat quick enough that'd you'd often turn the temp down between uses. But you have to turn the temp down between uses to get any money savings.
The other advantage is the extra heat will allow you to maintain temp when using the tub in colder weather.
If you always leave it at the same temp, 240 will not be any cheaper to operate than 120. Lowering temp between uses is what will save money, but with the slow heating of 120 volts it's unlikely you'd do that. With 240 it may heat quick enough that'd you'd often turn the temp down between uses. But you have to turn the temp down between uses to get any money savings.
The other advantage is the extra heat will allow you to maintain temp when using the tub in colder weather.
Thank you. That answered my question. FFRICH, this is good information for you while you are looking.