My standalone spa is hot and ready within 1/2 a second of me deciding I want to get in it... Oh, wait.. I have to take the cover off, so add another 30 seconds. 
Jim R.
Jim R.
Pool Build - Hot Tub/Spa help - Separate vs. Integrated
- Thread starter luckyc1423
- Start date
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,657
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Is there something about PVC encased in concrete that would make the joints more reliable? That would be my concern about running the myriad of plumbing for an in-pool spa that was attempting to mimic the functions of a stand-alone...
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,353
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
If you examine the PVC in standalone spas you will see that it does not use Sched 40 PVC with large hubs. And you will not see any primer marks on the pipes. The gluing of the PVC is not to the standards used on our pools. The glue used on the PVC on my Sundance spa showed no signs of fusing the PVC together the way the glues we use do.
Pool PVC joints rarely leak if done properly with the proper primer, glue, and set time. We more often see underground PVC leaking due to cracks then due to bad glue joints. And underground PVC cracks due to ground settling and things moving around the rigid PVC. The pluming around an inground spa is encased in the gunite and protected from those shifts. If the plumbing is done properly around the spa it should be as strong as the pool structure.
Last edited:
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,657
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I think that plumbing failures in a standalone spa would be relatively rare. Like every thing else, one failure does not make a trend and I suspect that the quality of different spas can be very different..
My spa has what appears to me to be schedule 40 fittings and plenty of primer drippings.
I suspect that plumbing failures on a standalone spa are no more common than what occurs on a pool or integrated spa.
Either way, I would not let the fear of having a broken pipe stop me from buying the kind of spa I wanted, either standalone or integrated..
Thanks,
Jim R.
My spa has what appears to me to be schedule 40 fittings and plenty of primer drippings.
I suspect that plumbing failures on a standalone spa are no more common than what occurs on a pool or integrated spa.
Either way, I would not let the fear of having a broken pipe stop me from buying the kind of spa I wanted, either standalone or integrated..
Thanks,
Jim R.