spa/hot tub ???

We are looking into buying our first spa
we need a 6 person size
any one have a recommendation on brands/dealers they like
we are near Mankato but are willing to travel for good deal/service
Thanks

if you are disposing of a old one best advice i can give is have the place you buy it from haul out the old one. they might even give you a deal possibly if yours is working or needs some fixing. but i would have whoever you buy it from deliver and install that way done right the first time. can not believe i just said htat

I’ve got one on the porch I’d sell cheap, worst investment I
ever made.

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I’ve got one on the porch I’d sell cheap, worst investment I
ever made.

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Hot tub made for two of the happiest days of my life

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I’ve got one on the porch I’d sell cheap, worst investment I
ever made.

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I have a two word tip for you….

Bullhead Tank!

Hot tubs are great. I’ve owned a tub for many years. I do have to admit tho, over the long haul, they are a PITA.
IMO don’t shut it down in the winter. If I decided to shut it down for the winter, wasn’t gona use it, whatever, seems if I had problems,it was at spring start up… flow switches, temp sensors, etc..

Nothing better than relaxing in 103 degree water,when it’s below zero outside. (we love our cal spa.)

Frank,
the State Fair IS in a few weeks, there are LOTS of hot tubs there on display and every company has Fair prices.
Good luck,
hope is well,
Jack

A subject dear you my heart. We had a Cal Spa, 6 person for ten years. The first thing you have to be aware of is that investment wise you are throwing your money literally down the drain. The day you fill it up and start the motors it’s lost half it’s value ( I am exaggerating, but very little)

Cal Spa claims it only takes a few minutes a week to maintain. We spent a good couple of hours a week keeping levels right and scrubbing the scum line. The chemicals are expensive and following their guide lines of changing the water out 2-3 times a year adds up in both cost and time.

Their guarantee is basically worthless. We had several issues along the way and in each case there was always a loop hole that disqualified us. One of our first experiences with that was when one of the motors went out the first year. We had to have their service guy come out to take the old one out and replace with a new one. We were told that we had to pay $500 + up front and he would send the motor back to the factory so it could be inspected and if found faulty we would be reimbursed. Needless to say that never happened. Their claim was that they were not sure but possibly our chemical levels were off and may have been the cause. My wife cried her eyes out over that one being she took extreme measures to follow everything to the letter following Cal Spas recommendations.

We had a few problems that were always met with deaf ears. Here is the last.

After running it year around for five years we decided that due to a few late season trips we would drain it for the winter and save a bunch of money by not heating it all season. I read all the Cal Spa recommendations and also called one of the stores to collect any advice offered. I was told no problem just follow their instructions and make sure to fill the motors and what not with RV antifreeze. Everything was done exact.

We decided that due to all our new found free time and money saved we would skip using it for two years. Again checking with Cal Spa we were told no problem. Anyway the following season we decided to again try and get some use out of it being the value was by now nothing. Upon filling it we noticed the shell was cracked in about 8 places. We are talking cracks up to 20” long. The shell had like a 25 year lifetime guarantee against cracking or full replacement. So once again Cal Spa came to look. Yep, they had never seen anything like it. Also they had never heard of anyone in our climate draining a hot tub.
A long story short. We should be covered but that would be up to the factory. What we needed to do was hire a truck and send the entire hot tub to California so their people could inspect it. If they decided that the cracks were due to shell failure we would get a new one. However even better was that being it was so old the shell was no longer made. Something about the shell needing to be specially made drilled and re plumbed it would be cheaper for them to just give us a whole new tub with all new components. Also we would have to pay for shipping from California back to Minnesota. But it would be up to their discretion if we would get anything.

Enough was enough. There is more to the story but it’s time for work. Needless to say we often think about other things we could have spent the $7000 on. I will say this. Been there, Done that, Never again!

Good Luck!

WS