Products from major North American, European and British Australasia such as New Zealand would fit that category.
We come across Hot Tubs that people change after say 5/10 years and the better made models stand out head and shoulders above the others. The cheaper ones made by lesser known brands and perhaps by large conglomerates who have lost the passion (if they ever had it ) for the product show serious signs of wear and tear where as the better brands often have many years life left in them and can be refurbished and resold.
Also a spa should have sound structural insulation and be designed so that the natural rising heat is automatically retained so that most of the heat generated from the pump(s) during routine filtration and that which is used to power the jets is captured in the spa cabinet so that it may passively heat the water and the air which is introduced in to the Spa either via air or water Jets. What a clever use of a limited resource.
Some systems can be up to 60% more efficient than Hot Tubs that are made using the full foam system. More often than not a full foam spa takes in cold air from outside of the spa through the heat vent and introduces it into the water thereby reducing your water temperature and creating discomfort. The heat generated by the pump is vented to the outside and lost. Avoid full foam spas as they may cost more to operate and repair. It is very difficult to find a leak beneath layers and layers of foam.
Make sure that the Hot Tub you consider uses quality computer controllers with custom built in electronics and automatic built in safety features and economy modes of operation when and if required. It is very useful to be able to have a sleep and economy mode as well as a standard mode. I would take it for granted that any spa has freeze protection built in to the controller so that the heater would spring into action with in a certain temperature range of say 4 degrees c so as to ensure that no damage happens to the SPA.
Balboa a Californian based company is one that makes very good state of the art controls and their service and back up is second to none. Replying to emails in a few minutes and accessible on the telephone how many international service companies can fulfill that criteria. The ones that I know I can count on the fingers of my left hand.
The top manufacturers utilize the best controller manufacturers in the world to create custom spa packs and topside controls to complement their spa models. These have built in features that make it so much easier dealing with a spa
These user-friendly intuitive controls take the guesswork out of spa ownership and are designed for a lifetime of use in harsh climates.
Avoid spas with air controls or spas that do not display the hot tub temperature as a digital read out.
Many spas are produced cheaply by using an inferior quality spa electronic pack.
Unknown brand names or bulk imported packs may not stand the test of time and may be very hard to replace if they break down.
The best advice is to buy a proven product from a reputable manufacturer and not a cheap import that way you have proven expertise tested over many years combined with the back up of a Major Western Corporation.
The phone rings in our Estepona Showroom one Saturday morning in our Estepona Showroom "can you look at my Hot Tub Jacuzzi Style Spa please it doesn't seem to work".
We go through the usual pleasantries - how long as he had the Spa – about two years - what make is it - does it have good controls that I recognize like for example Balboa and then the potential client tells me that he wasn't very happy with the original sale in the first place. On no account will he go back to the original supplier if he could find him which he cannot. It's a Spa from a Major American maker a bit dated in my view from the design point of view but a perfectly good product never the less and more than adequate for the its intended purpose.
On the telephone we can get a good idea of what might be the problem and it would appear that at this stage the Spa has no power and my sense is that it is possibly a mains electrical fault of some kind. The Juice is not getting through for what ever reason
So with my pal Ulf (a Swede) we go for a drive in to the country to see the Hot Tub.
When we get there the first thing I notice is that against the maker's instruction and best practice there is no breaker switch accessible to turn off the electricity.
There is a breaker but it has been fitted INSIDE the spa and is then behind a locked door requiring a key. So if there was a requirement to switch off the spa in a hurry or for what ever reason the breaker just not where it should be.
We move on some simple checks and surprise the spa is not earthed? The house does not seem to be earthed!!! Well this is Spain. But this House has been rewired on the last two / three years BUT NO EARTH!!!
We turn every thing off and open the breaker. The blue wires are the wrong size to carry the load they are to small and the colour has changed from blue to black as they were getting close to ignition. The ceramic part of the broker has started to go brown as it was close to ignition. It smelt like an incendiary device it had clearly been getting very hot and close to ignition. The Breaker that had been supplied was of the wrong size as was the cables.
The spa company had just dropped off the spa and said here is your spa and we have a local electrician coming tomorrow to wire it up. He probably did a good job but was not briefed or trained on the project. A bit like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand does.
We got an independent electrician in to Earth the Spa and rewired the Spa as required with proper sized cables.
The Moral of the Story when it comes to Hot Tubs deal with the professionals
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John E Lewis has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health, Shopping and Home Security. The Author Jacuzzi John supplies luxury Hot Tubs in Spain his web site is at . John E Lewis's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.