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Spa
Pool Buyers Guide
Spas,
unlike many household appliances, have to endure the
rigors of heat, sun, rain, wind, chemicals, people,
and water. Many household appliance brands are now all
pretty much the same, apart from styling. This is not
so in the spa industry. Educating yourself on the materials,
components, warranty, and manufacturer will save thousands
of dollars and hassle in the long term.
Major improvements in shell construction, heaters, pumps,
water treatment, and energy efficiency have been made
by the established manufacturers over the last 20 years.
Many spa brands available today come from manufacturers
who do not (to keep the price low) or cannot (do not
have the manufacturing ability) to utilise these improvements,
and so are providing a far inferior product which to
the lay person may look like any other spa brand.
SOME
POINTS TO CONSIDER:
(1) Insulation
>>fact
sheet on insulation values of different spas here<<
HotSpring Spas use multiple layers of high density closed
cell polyurethane foam insulation filling
the entire spa cabinet, low horsepower pumps,
and small heaters, which quite simply means much lower
running costs. View running
costs here There is simply no spa on the
market that can compete.
We often get asked what happens if there is a plumbing
leak? A fair question. All HotSpring Spa plumbing is
flexible hose, not cheaper rigid pvc pipe.
Rigid PVC pipe is found in all the poor quality spas
(and all spas made in the early 80's). Ford Spa Pools
has repaired many old 80's 'in-ground' spa leaks and
quite a few present day 'portable' spas made by other
manufacturer's. All the professionally engineered spas
use flexible hose for this reason.
On
the very rare occasion when we do have a plumbing leak
it is always fixable, either by our two Factory
trained servicemen on-site, or at the HotSpring Factory.
All HotSpring spa warranties are parts and labour, including
delivery to the factory if needed (and seldom done).
The only reason some spa manufacturers do not
insulate the entire spa cabinet is to reduce manufacturing
costs as it is an expensive OSH compliant activity that
requires specialist breathing apparatus, solid cabinet
construction, and expert knowledge. It is messy and
difficult to get right. You will not get written running
costs from any of these manufacturer's; what does that
tell you? Perhaps the claims they make for $1 a day
are a liitle conservative...
(2) MANUFACTURER
NZ Manufacturing History? Imported? Is the electrical
equipment up to NZ electrical Standards? (Be very wary
of all chinese imports...many are unsafe).
HotSpring Spas have been manufactured in NZ to ISO9002
standards (and exported to 20 countries worldwide) since
1990. There are dealers with factory trained servicemen
NZ wide. Ford Spa Pools has three Qulaified Electrical
Workers to carry out all installations and service.
(3)HEATING
Heater element size. All but three HotSpring spas plug
into standard 10a plug sockets, every model uses a 1500w
heater element. Many other spa brands use 3000w,
4000w , or even 6000w. and are hard wired to 20a,30a
or even 40a power supply! Small heaters can be used
as the heat loss is minimal due to superb insulation.
HotSpring Spas do not need big heaters.
1000w equates to one unit of electricity or 23 cents
per hour.
Therefore a 6000w heater will use 6 x 23c per hour or
$1.38 per hour.
If the spa is poorly insulated then the heater is on
more frequently! You can do the math yourself here.
Most poorly insulated spas are very expensive to keep
hot all the time and are often on time clocks (like
spas were in the 80's) This means your spa has very
low filtering times and is only hot at certain times
of the day. Its far to expensive to keep a poorly insulated
spa hot 24hours a day.
All HotSpring Spas are fully insulated filter 24 hours
a day and stay at your desired temperature 24 hours
a day. Expect to pay $80 - $120 per month in winter
for a spa with a large heater and poor insulation. A
HotSpring spa on the other hand will cost only $30-$40
per month (independently documented and tested).
Heres
the maths
A poorly insulated and manufactured spa on a time clock
(only hot once or twice a day) will still need at least
4 hours filtering time for healthy water, usually done
with a 1.5hp - 2.5 hp electric motor. Unless this motor
has a dedicated low speed, the filtering time alone
will cost a minimum of 80c per day. calculated using
the following: 745w = 1HP so 1.5 HP = 1117 watts. Remeber
that 1000 watts uses about 20c per hour, so thats about
80c per day (just to filter) If you add the heater to
that equation, typically an element of at least
2000 watts is required for a small spa (up to 6000w
for a large spa) so heating the spa twice a day will
cost a minimum of 40c per hour and depending on how
much heat has been lost throught the spa cabinet due
to poor insulation the spa will need at least 1 hour
to reheat. Thats 2 hours (minimum) per day at 80c per
hour so $1.60 per day to heat your spa twice a day.
add that to your filter time of 4 hours (presuming you
use your filter time to heat the spa also) the total
is $80c + $1.60 = $2.40 per day (MINIMUM) thats $72
per month minimum. Be prepared to double that for large
spas or where the heater and pump size is larger...
(4)
FILTERING
Filter Pump size. Most HotSpring spas have a 39w (0.897cents
per hour) dedicated filtration pump (this is super economical
and efficient and silent).
Most other spas use a 1.5hp or larger pump. 1HP = 746W
so a 1.5HP electric motor = 1119w which is 26c per hour.
Is the filter bypassed when you are in the spa using
the jets (commonly done to get greater jet pressure
on spas with low HP pumps, or inefficient plumbing design).
You want the filter to be on when you're in the
spa so that bacteria and contaminants are not swirling
around in the bathing area.
(5)
SHELL CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS
Almost all spas are made from an acrylic sheet vacuum
formed into a mold. Most spa manufacturers use cheaper
cast acrylic sheets which are porous due to the casting
process. This means that they absorb dirt, bacteria,
and micro-organisms. This type of acrylic should be
cleaned and waxed thoroughly when the spa is emptied
(frequently) to maintain a healthy spa environment.
These manufacturers usually reinforce the thin areas
of the molded shell (the bottom areas) with hand laid
fiberglass cloth and resin to give the acrylic sheet
enough strength. This makes the spa very heavy and can
result in delamination between the acrylic and fibreglass,
and wrinkling. Spas were made in this way in the 80's...
The more modern and much more expensive manufacturing
method is to co-extrude (squeeze out) almost liquid
acrylic and a super strong thermoplastic into one solid
sheet (acrylic for the appearance on top and the plastic
underneath for strength). This method eliminates the
need for waxing as the resultant co-extruded acrylic/thermoplastic
sheet is non porous, substantially stronger and lighter.
This is why all HotSpring Spa shells are made in this
way. It is a more difficult and expensive process but
results in much greater durability, less weight, a healthier
spa wnvironment and much less work for the customer.
(6) SERVICE AND SPARE PARTS
What if the importer or manufacturer disappears or changes
ownership?. Will you be able to get filters, spare parts
etc? This has already happened to a couple of large
NZ manufacturer's and importers in the last 12 months.
Where will this leave you? (Though Ford Spa Pools service
other spa brands, this can sometimes involve large costs
to get parts, hassle, and significant down time for
repairs, if possible).
(7)
WARRANTY
Parts and Labour? or just parts? NZ Factory warranty?
Importers warranty? Is the warranty subject to water
chemistry? (heaters especially) How long has the company
been in business? Do they have qualified electrical
workers to carry out maintenance and service? A 20 year
warranty is worthless if there is no company to stand
behind it in the future.
(7)
OZONE
Ozone - please see
this article for more detail is great at oxidising
bacteria (which is what chlorine does). It is totally
safe in every way. It does not replace chemicals. UV
systems are just old ozone systems. The big difference
is that UV bulbs need replacing every 2-3 years ($300
cost plus labour on average) and the output diminishes
each year (like all gas bulbs, e.g.. fluorescent etc.).
Hot Spring CD Ozone systems do not have a lamp, and
have no replacement parts, the ozone gas output is constant.
It is the undisputed best system in the industry, standard
on all but three HotSpring models becuase it works so
well and minimises the need for chemicals.
Ozone systems only work well if the spa has been designed
for it and has 10ft of contact chamber for the gas to
mix with the spa water before it reaches the water surface.
UV systems are often sold as an add-on in the showroom
but provide little real benefit as they often inject
ozone straight into the bathing area where the ozone
gas reaches the water surface rapidly, which then oxidises
the cover and headrests instead of the water. Passing
water past a UV lamp is practically useless in a hot
water environment.
(8) CABINET CONSTRUCTION.
Cedar looks great when maintained and when new, and
this is the problem. Most cedar cabinets use tongue
and groove boards which warp and twist over time especially
when in the sun and not maintained. Will you maintain
a cedar cabinet on a spa? Perhaps you might, but wouldn't
it be better if you didn't have to?
HotSpring spas used to have redwood cabinets (a great
durable outdoors wood) but like most of the professionally
engineered spas now, come with cabinets made from UV
stable rigid polymer plastics, that look much like wood,
but require no maintenance and often come in segments.
This eliminates the tongue and groove or shiplap construction
method. The bottom line is far increased durability,
totally maintenance free!
(9)
PRICE
You get what you pay for, and in the spa industry 'buyer
beware' is of the utmost importance, more so than for
any other household appliance you will purchase. If
you have to shop on price alone, be sure to add something
to the price for service, extra power costs, extra chemical
costs, maintenance, durability, and reduced lifespan
of the product.
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