We are going to get a hot tub. Last few vacations at places with hot tubs confirms the pleasure but more importantly at this age the theraputic effect. Aches and pains abound. It will be outdoors but operating all winter? Any advice?

I seem to recall Quirt getting one in his former digs, but think his post had to do with indoor issues.

Any advice would be appreciated.

jf

Someone turned mine completely off and the pump froze.

There is probably a heater coil or something to avoid that.

I had little interest in mine and had it hauled away.

We loved our hot tub. They don't last long if they are exposed to the elements. We had ours inside a patio for the first two years then moved it outside (yes operational all winter long). It lasted another 5 years or so and we went through two replacement covers. The pump died and we had it replaced for $1,000. It lasted one year after which time it sprung a leak. I recovered the pump and we took a reciprocating saw to it, and had the pieces hauled away. The covers are $400+ and last two to three years.

We bought one in 2013 or 2014. It lives outside our Colorado home. Cover has been replaced once, just this past month. It's been used by tenants for the past 3 years or so.

When we lived there I used the tub 4 to 7 times a week, year round. I don't know how often the tenants have used it.

FYI, we got one of the tubs that does not need constant presence of chemicals to keep the water clean. Instead there is an ozonator as part of the water filter process.

Tub continues to hold up great. No complaints. Highly recommended.

I have a really hot shower. Much less maintenance, similar therapeutic, if not recreational, value.

They are a pain in the ass. Seriously. Getting the chemicals right, and dealing with the maintenance. But you already have a pool, so maybe you’ll be ok. I wouldn't do one again.

I'm with Jodi. The previous owners had one outside at our new house. We made sure they hauled it away before the pre-closing walk-through.

I've had two.

One was built-in as part of the pool, so the same pump and chemicals took care of both. My ex took care of those things, so I can't really complain that the whole set-up occasionally turned green except it was a Florida home and thus it was constructed so that the pool was visible through huge glass doors from most of the house so you couldn't escape it. Usually, it was a joy. Just turn the heat on a little while before you want to use it and you're good to go. It was also fun when the kids were little, as they could stand up on the ledges that passed for seats. The older two learned to swim by launching themselves across it from parent to parent.

Our other hot tub was separate from the pool and it came with the house. It was manufactured as a standalone unit, then made permanent by tiling around it, so it would have been a pain to get rid of. It had been sorely neglected and thus had horrible brown staining that I worked myself to death to clean. It mostly came off, but keeping the chemicals right was an ongoing struggle. We didn't use it much.

I guess the only takeaway I've got for you is Do not ever let the chemicals get screwed up. It's very hard to recover from that.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
They are a pain in the ass. Seriously. Getting the chemicals right, and dealing with the maintenance.

* * * *

I wouldn't do one again.

That was my experience. Outdoors, they are a small money pit. The cover deteriorates. The parts deteriorate. You have to make sure you have a place for them where steam and water won't decay anything. You have to dig a path in the snow to do the chemicals every week in the winter.

Which is why I wanted it indoors, but I was dissuaded by my contractor, who assured me that, unless you built a full room like a steam shower, everything would decay in there, too. (And steam showers require different construction than regular showers, because ... steam.)

Eventually, I gave up on the thing. It was nice to have, but more effort and money than it was worth.

Maybe, if I had enough money to make someone else responsible for all the maintenance, and to pay for the constant repairs. But only then.

We had one for years when the kids lived here. They got a lot of use out of it but after they moved out I got rid of it because it never got used.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
They are a pain in the ass. Seriously. Getting the chemicals right, and dealing with the maintenance. But you already have a pool, so maybe you’ll be ok. I wouldn't do one again.

Would not have done the pool myself, but it has been nice this last week for quick cooling dips. The hot tip is as much to soothe aches and pains as for recreation.

Jf

I feel your pains.

Add me to the "I'm with jodi" camp.

And I had a hot tub in Southern California..It was great for about 2 months..but then...

Like a pool, it needs chemicals etc..but being much smaller, it needs attention much more frequently..and the construction is not like a pool, so degrades pretty quickly.

Add to that the New England (in your case Northern) climate and you have a ball and chain.

Join a health club and use theirs.

That’s the thing, a pool is a much bigger volume, so there is more leeway with getting the chemistry right.

My health club has a hot tub. The tub's water jets are powerful and soothing after a work out. I would not want to own a hot tub.

WATCH OUT FOR CHLORINE! The same chemical that's used to keep a pool’s water nice and clear is also used in laundry bleach. And it’s a known skin irritant. A solid chlorine tablet is placed in the water pump’s housing. As water circulates through the pump, the chlorine tablet dissolves chlorine into the water. The tablet will eventually wear away and have to be replaced.

Shower after being in the hot tub to get the chlorine off your skin. If you don’t, itchy red skin rashes can occur. It happened to me.

I think hot tubs require 220 Volt electrical service. That means bigger electrical bills.