There are lots of different things to think about when choosing the right hot tub for your family. At the end of the day your hot tub should last in excess of 10 years, so choosing the right one to suit all of your requirements is very important.
I would thoroughly recommend purchasing through a company that has a trading history and at least one showroom where you can view the hot tub models for yourself. A specialist retailer will have in-depth knowledge of all the models and brands that they sell and will manage a servicable area so that they can quickly respond to any queries or service calls. You will also be able to sit in the hot tub models that they have on display and see for yourself the quality of the products that you are actually purchasing. Most showrooms will have at least one demonstration hot tub available for you to either get in and try or be shown the features and controls. On-line suppliers can come and go easily and typically offer parts only warranties. This can leave you high and dry if something goes wrong, leaving you with a very large an expensive garden ornament.
It is worth having these few details to hand when you visit the hot tub retailers:
Access to your property – The width and height of the gang way to your back garden and also whether a truck can easily stop outside of your property to off load. If you think you will need a crane to position the hot tub in place, it is worth making note of bin days and times in which your road is busy. Most retailers have preferential rates with crane companies.
Size of area available – Hot tubs come in many different shapes and sizes, so having the dimensions of the area in which you would like your hot tub to be placed will be a big deciding factor.
Number of people – Likewise, hot tubs come with many different numbers of seats and configurations from 3 seats to 8+ seats. It does not always follow that a smaller hot tub is less money than a larger hot tub.
Budget – There are so many hot tubs to choose from, knowing what your budget is and telling the retailer will help to focus your search on the hot tubs that will not only fit your requirements, but budget as well.
Now for a quick guide to hot tub construction.
Hot Tub Shell
The shell is the coloured visable moulded interior that houses the seating, jets, lights and headrests. The shell is normally vacuum-formed from a sheet of acrylic. There are only a few acrylic manufacturers in the world, the two most reputable ones are Aristech and Lucite with most hot tub shells around the world are made from. It is recommended that you check the manufacturer of the acrylic and the warranty period available. This should be about 3 years long and cover blistering and manufacturer defects. The acrylic comes in a variety of colours and finishes and is given it’s strength and durability from invisable layers of fiberglass. The seats should be well designed and provide a variety of different heights of seats to enable the occupant to cool down if needed.
Hot Tub Cabinet and Frame
The inner frame of the spa supports the shell. It is typically either fabricated from treated timer, metal or synthetic struts. Some of the cheaper imported hot tubs have untreated timber frames, that are likely to rot within the first few years. Most reputable hot tubs will hold a lenghty structure warranty of around 10 years, but should stay in tacts for many more years than this. Some retailers offer lifetime guarantees on the shell structure, I would read the small print. The floor of the hot tub should have some kind of waterproof membrane that will stop dampness from permeating up inside the cabinet. The cabinet itself is normally clad in either realwood, such as teak or cedar, alternatively synthetic materials which replicate the look of wood. Avoid cheap imports that use softwood cabinets as these will rot quickly.
Insulation
Most spas have some form of insulation inside the cabinet to retain the water temperature and reduce the amount of time the heater is needed to keep the water at its optimum temperature. Many hot tubs have insulation that is not dissimilar to the insultaion around a hot water tank. This insulation is very effective and leaves all of the parts of the hot tub accessible if there are any problems in the future. Other manufacturers choose to foam fill their hot tubs. There is no doubt that the more insulation that you have, the less heat the spa will loose; however there are a few points to consider. If there is a problem with the plumbing of the spa, it is much harder to locate and access to repair. There is also the likelyhood that overtime the insulation itself will become waterfilled and loose it’s efficency, making the hot tub very heavy to relocate and more expensive to run than when new. At the end of the day, you will lose the most heat from the hot tub out of the water surface when you are inside your hot tub. As long as your hot tub has a decent amount of quality insulation, you are unlikely to notice much difference.
Hot tub cover
Each hot tub should be supplied with a custom made thermally insulated hard cover, that fits your hot tub perfectly. This is one of the most important insulating items as an ill-fitting cover will allow heat to escape costing you extra money in heating the water. The insides of the covers are normally high density foam or polystyrene and covered in marine grade vinyl to protect it from the elements. The cover should have lockable clips to prevent the cover being blown off in high winds and to stop a child being able to enter the spa without an adults supervision. It is recommended to invest in a cover lifter to aid removal and also to prolong the life of the cover.
Ozonator
An ozonator produces ozone artifically that kills bacteria and breaks down other biological waste in the water. An ozonator will improve the water quality and cleanliness with less intervention and chemical treatment. You can also use water treatments that have smaller amounts of chlorine or bromine in if your hot tub has an ozonator fitted, such as Aquafinesse.
Pumps and Plumbing
The pump specification and horse power does not dictate the hydrotherapy value of a hot tub. It is determined by the relationship between pumps, efficent plumbling, and the jets types, number, adjustability and positioning. It is important to have a fully adjustable hot tub that has the right number of jets placed in the right places, with air controls to vary the amount of water and air ratio and therefore the intensity of the hydrotherapy massage. The plumbing should be neatly installed inside the hot tub cabinet, using the least amount of pipe as possible. Some hot tubs have 24 hour circulation pumps that constantly push water through the filters. They have their plus points and their minus points, but be aware that all hot tubs should perform at least 1 purge cycles each day to pump all the water around the hot tub and therefore provide deep filteration.
These are the main points to consider when buying a hot tub. Most of the other gadgets such as lighting, entertainment systems and waterfalls are personal preference and have little bearing on the main functionality of the hot tub.
Most reputable hot tub retailers will be able to answer any questions that you have regarding their brands of hot tub.
I hope that this guide has been helpful in your hot tub search and wish you fun in finding your ideal hot tub.