Hot tub forum???

[Styx555]

Anyone know of a similar forum group related to hot tubs?

[waterbear]

I know of one forum that is mostly hot tubs but I an reluctant to recommend it since most of the advice on it is not good! There are a lot of newbies and some dealers who give very bad advice! One example is from a moderator/spa dealer who, in different posts told people to use phenol blue for testing pH (there is no such thing and he argue with me about it....turned out he was talking about a copper test for an ionizer system!) and told someone not to mix muratic acid and hydrochloric acid because it will form mustard gas (totally bogus...muriatic acid is the commen name for hydrochloric acid and mustard gas is a sulfer chemical that is not related to it!). There are some members here who have some knowledge of spas (I am one of them) so if you need chemical help I would try here first!

[Styx555]

Right now I'm looking for more general advice for first time buying? For example, what are brand names I should consider/avoid? Does ozone work or will I still need chemicals? Anything else to consider for buying a new spa?

thanks

[waterbear]

Right now I'm looking for more general advice for first time buying? For example, what are brand names I should consider/avoid? Does ozone work or will I still need chemicals? Anything else to consider for buying a new spa?

thanks

Ozone works better with bromine than chlorine but you still need to use a residual sanitizer in the water (bromine or chlorine). Don't waste your money on ionizer units or Nature2 or SpaFrog! Also don't get sucking into using biguanide (baquaspa, revacil, softswim, etc.). unless you don't mind draining your bank account along with your spa! I am still reluctant to recommend this spa oriented forum because much of the advice comes from dealers pushing the brands they sell and I just don't think it is very objective. I would suggest seaching the net for info on the spas you are considereng and try to find a reputable dealer.

[Styx555]

I am currently looking at a Caldera C-Series. I have found more info and a good dealer. Any ideas about this manufacturer and the model?

[RavenNS]

I would LOVE to see a Hot Tub section !

I have two hot tubs: an old Lifestyles model that I think sucks because it is not energy efficient & doesn't have many jets. & a Beachcomber (model#578) which I love . I would recommend that you check out some opinion forums... I personally thought that epinons.com was a great place to read up on Hot Tubs. ( it helped me pick the brand, anyway)

feel free to message me if you want more info on either tub that I own

[mohawk]

poolandspa.com gave me alot of help on their forum site when we started up our spa 3 yrs ago. I use chlorine to sanitize and I don't waste my money on any copper type of boosters. Hope this helps- They also have a pool forum, but I wouldn't waste my time with that either. Denise

[Styx555]

I'm located in Ontario, Canada and am looking at getting my first spa. Keep in mind it gets extremely cold here in the winter. I have researched the available brand names and would like input on which brands to consider and which to stay away from. Ideally I am looking to narrowing me list down and then begin visiting the various stores to consider models.

Catalina Spas
Dimension One Spas
Aber Hottubs
Hotspring
Caldera
Sundance Spas
Freeflow Spas
Arctic Spas
Hydropool Spas
Serenity Spas

[waterbear]

one of the most important things in buying a portable spa is wet testing. Make sure that the recliners and benches fit your body and are comfortable and that the jets are located properly. If a dealer won't let you wet test then I would look for another dealer.

[matt4x4]

I've looked at both Catalina and Hydropool (isn't serenty the same company?), they're quite nice, I liked the Hydro's self cleaning feature....other manufacturers have since adopted that feature too.
Whereabouts in Ontario???