Spa rust, leak, etc.--repair vs. replace

[Vesuvius]

I have an Aspen Spas spa that is 9 years old, tightly encased in a 3 sided stone surround pit. I'm having multiple issues:

1) Leaks. I've had multiple leaks over the life of the spa and have been nursing a very slow one for 2.5 yrs, as pulling the spa out of its stone pit is a major, expensive undertaking (there is a fence a few feet behind the open back end, on a sloping hill; the spa manufacturer's service arm estimated roughly $1k to pull it out, identify and fix the leak). This leak has recently greatly increased--lost ~ 3" in the last week).

2) Rust. In May, I started noticing what I'm assuming is rust accumulation on several of the nozzles (see photo for example). I did convert the tub to salt water with a Saltron Mini in Feb '23. I understand from reading other threads here that this may be heater corrosion-related but not sure.

3) LED lights. The lights are wonky, as they sometimes begin strobing through different colors randomly for no apparent reason. We had them replaced in Mar '21, as critters had chewed through the wiring in the closed-off front of the spa ($900 to pull spa out, replace the lights, repair a leak, etc.). Not a big deal at all, just another thing not working properly.

4) GFCI trip. The GFCI tripped 2 weeks ago for the 1st time since we bought the spa. It has not re-tripped since then.

We've not had to replace the pumps or heater. Water chemistry has been carefully maintained since I began using TFP protocols in Jan '23 but it was spotty at best before then (strips-based chems testing). Don't know how much damage was done prior to switching to TFP.

So, I'm wondering if I might be better off just replacing the whole spa and starting fresh with proper maintenance from the get-go rather than dumping a bunch more money into fixing current and future issues on a spa of this age. Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Vesuvius]

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks

 

[stens]

The answer here is, as you obviously know, very individual. I’ll give my opinion, based on my circumstances…do with it what you wish.

I had a 10 year old hot tub (“had”…foreshadowing). Used it every day, amazing for my back and restless legs. I was fighting some leaks last year (light leaked…fixed) and through the winter (small leak, worse when jets ran). Did try some simple things, but don’t have time with life going on around me for extensive DIY. Was going to need major diagnosis/repair with side(s) off, foam dug out, etc. that would be cheaper than a new hot tub…but expensive and would it get fixed? This is without an expensive removal, mine’s pretty simple location.

My solution was the new hot tub sitting 4’ away from me, delivered yesterday, water at temperature, calcium levels falling (Vanishing Act XL). I’ll be in it tonight, and the patio is…DRY! Factors were:

1. Expensive either way, but age of old hot tub made me not want to put significant money into it.
2. I just want to enjoy the hot tub, not spend all my time on it, time I don’t have.
3. The leak is, from my point of view, most definitively “fixed”, with minimal downtime.

Everyone would approach this differently. Some would go with a DIY fix, both for reward of accomplishment and money savings. Difficult in your case since the hot tub has to be moved to work on it. Some would opt for repair if the estimate was less than the cost of new. I understand that. Hot tub prices are up like everything else; man, do I know that now. I just didn’t trust the old thing, didn’t want to go without an hot tub for any extended period, and felt it was worth the money for something I use every day, year round.

If I was in your situation, if they’re bring equipment to get the old tub out, I’d have them use it to get a new one in.

As an aside, the day I ordered the new hot tub, the old one apparently felt rejected and, in a fit of pique, started leaking like a sieve…all from the back area, front compartment dry as a bone. Confirmed my decision, in my mind, at least.

 

[Vesuvius]

The answer here is, as you obviously know, very individual. I’ll give my opinion, based on my circumstances…do with it what you wish.

Thanks--this is helpful. Sadly, I have virtually no DIY skills, so repairing the issues myself is not a viable alternative. So, it's really a service provider repair vs. replace decision, but I'm struggling with lack of info on the required steps & cost to fully repair all issues and the lifespan of the repaired unit. I guess I was hoping an expert here would say something like "you should replace all the consumable seals/gaskets to fix your leak and you should replace your heater to fix your rust issue, and you'll be good to go for another 5+ years." Because of my access problem, the service folks would charge a tremendous amount just to figure out what's needed, so I was hoping for some guidance from afar on what might be going on and whether those sort of things are reasonably simple (you should repair) or not (you should replace).