Hot tub or spa, what do you have and do you like it?

[Beeman]

I'm looking at buying a hot tub or spa to replace the old worn out one we have. I was wondering what anyone else has and how they like it. I really miss ours since it quit.

[suitcase_sally]

Somehow, sitting in a vat of chemicals has never appealed to me....

[BobK]

I bet you wash with a stream of chemicals each day....

I built a 7 ft. redwood hot tub years ago out of a old wine vat....we heat with a snorkle stove and solar....last year we put a liner in the tub with some jets and we love it.....don't use the jets often but the liner with a 1/4 inch foam liner underneath is heaven.....othing like a soak to relax.....and they are addiciting!

[PinkBat]

Originally Posted by suitcase_sally

Somehow, sitting in a vat of chemicals has never appealed to me....

Yes, what you said.......and also...why a bunch of people want to sit around in the same few gallons of water has always been a question in my mind.

[GrannyG]

I bought a beautiful hot tub and used it about 6 months. The chemicals became too much to handle, so then I would just drain it and refill it about once a week, but then the water bill became too much, then the heating element went out, another $600, and finally I decided I just didn't need it at all. It sits unused on the back porch, an investment of over $3500 which I stupidly wasted because I believed all the hype on it helping my arthritis. Just buy a whirlpool bathtub, you will not need the chemicals and will have clean water each time you use it.

[suitcase_sally]

Originally Posted by PinkBat

Yes, what you said.......and also...why a bunch of people want to sit around in the same few gallons of water has always been a question in my mind.

ROTFLMAO!
That was my thinking exactly, I was just afraid to say it. "A bunch of people sitting in a vat of chemicals, steam cleaning their butts!"

[BobK]

Originally Posted by PinkBat

Yes, what you said.......and also...why a bunch of people want to sit around in the same few gallons of water has always been a question in my mind.

yah kinda a like a swimming pool...what's with that?

[nduetime]

We have had a hot tub for a number of years. I have had a badly fractured clavicle that took surgery after two years to repair and last time I went to the poditrist he counted 15 fractures of various ages from 25 years ago to last year. These are just the ones he could see right off. All the fractures are my fault through various activities from studying and teaching Tae Kwon Do to horsebacking riding and training.Stuff happens. Anyway, We love the hot tub, we have an ionizer cleaner that cleans the tub flow continuously and use a minimum of chemicals. In the winter there are times I would just not be able to sleep at night without soaking first. Great for sore muscles or just time spent together relaxing. No one could ever talk me out of it, it is our one big luxury that is almost a necessity.

[boxwoods]

I like mine, but do not buy a Gulf Coast Spa! They are junk for the money IMO

cover gurananteed for 5 years, fell apart in one but you pay the shipping to and from Ca.
Jets blow out of the socket they are meant to be in. Just poor design!
If you put it outside like mine, the electric bill to keep water 102 will cost you at least $100 a month extra. etc

[moonwolf]

I'm thinking of converting the area in the basement where the concrete cistern was into a spa area. Not sure yet whether to knock a walkway in the wall or whether to use the water holding 'cistern' with a stair entrance up to, and into it. That would involove some retrofit of pumps and jets, but probaly less expensive than buying a spa. The drain at the bottom is convenient for cleaning or emptying, and I could rig it to collect rainwater for really nice soft natural water. Probably still use recommended chemicals, or empty it and refill. The options are there. If emptying it without using chlorine, that water could be fed to water the garden as well.

[chicken]

Our hot tub is just a stock tank, with a stock tank heater in it. The heater is electric. We use it only in the summer as it is outdoors on a platform in our pasture. We like it and it was cheap. We use the chlorine tablets too, in a little floater thing, and it keeps it pretty clean. DH also rigged up a motor and filter so it is pretty decent for staying clean.

[boxwoods]

Years ago, I made one out of a rubbermaid 300 gallon stock tank. Used that 6" black plastic yard border to raise the height. bought the jets and tubing. Bought an old hot tub that had a leak in it and removed the pump, heater, blower assembly. It worked for a couple years without any problems.

[Yldrosie]

We were given a Voyager, portable spa last year. It can be broken down and moved in nothing flat. We keep it outside, but put some foam insulation under it, and the power bills aren't nearly as bad. I love it. It is on a deck under some trees and at night, it is wonderful. Quiet, and dark, and millions of stars. Best present I ever got.

[perennial]

Hubby built a jacuzzi brand hot tub into deck when he was building it in our hold house in New England (have since moved). It was flush and deck was made of trex - we loved it.

We started out with the chlorine chemical products and switched after a short time over to the bromine stuff and we really loved that stuff - it didn't dry our skin out.

We used ours alot - mostly in the winter because the mosquitos would just about eat your head off in the other seasons - my favorite time to soak was when it was about 18 degrees.

We looked at many brands with more jets and went with a quality tub rather than a cheaper one with more jets. Ours was a 4 person one -

Hot tubs are work - like a pool - more so if you have other people in it alot which we didn't. Occasionally we would have a couple close to us over and we would soak and drink frozen margaritas.

Everyone i know who has put in a jetted tub or a hot tub inside wished it was out.

Someday maybe we'll have one again after building the house there's no money left.

I can still remember we would shovel a path to our hottub all winter and even when there was 3 feet of snow, we would sit out there and soak and look at the stars and the snow drifts - ahhhhhhh.

Also, this was a biggy - even if i only got four hours of sleep if i had a nice relaxing soak before - i would wake up feeling fully rested.

I would suggest buying one for outside and a good blender for frozen margaritas to go with it! - I'' even share our secret recipe

[JoshuaP]

I like the Chofu. Wood Fired wate heater plumbed into a 150 gallon stock tank. We use it every night, and use high strength hydrogen peroxide to keep the water clean. We change the water about once a week (and irrigate the garden with it). Saw it in MEN, and have had it for about a month. No Jets, but that's not nec. IMHO.

www.islandhottub.com

Joshua

[LisaInN.Idaho]

We have a wood heated SnorkleTub. It does take more forethought to use but there is just something about sitting in it in a clearing in the woods, listening to the fire crackle and the river sounds with candles flickering from their holders in the trees. (Sigh).
Unfortunately we haven't had time to open it at all this summer.

[SteveD(TX)]

We have a spa next to our pool; we use it almost exclusively in the winter, when we aren't using the pool. Something about a cool winter night (we don't tend to use it in below freezing temps); with the steam rising and the jets easing your back pains. I could sit there for hours but we usually limit it to an hour. My wife and I spent a ton of our time, while dating, in this spa; it brings back great memories for us.

[Old John]

Well, the place we bought has a Spa Room, on the back of the house.
We like a Good Soak, on occasaion in the Winter. It makes the old
Arthritis feel better.

DSW uses it much more than I do, more Arthritis.
I only used it a couple times last Winter.
We don't use a lot of Chemcals. It's just the two of us.

It is pretty cool to sit/lay there soaking, looking out across
at the full moon on the snow covered hills, with the candle glow,
around us. Pretty romantic, occasionally.

This summer DSW has her easels set up out there, doing some
paintings, for the local gallery.
Life is good.

[blufford]

I wonder if you kicked up the water with a boat motor if you could do a weeks washing in one?

[BobK]

probably but the prop might be a bit hard on the clothes....and don't try using a two stroke for obvious reasons......