The Number Of Jets in a Hot Tub

So you are considering the purchase of a hot tub for your home and you have decided to visit a spa retailer. You walk up to a hot tub and either notice that it has a lot of jets or not very many at all. But what is the truth about jets in a hot tub? The more the merrier? Quality not quantity? This post will explain the Happy Hot Tubs view and our reasoning behind this. 

Jets Galore

It is very easy to assume that a load of jets means a great hot tubbing experience but this must be one the most common myths in the hot tub world. Why do you want a hot tub? Massage is probably one of the most common reasons but do you want to be blasted with 30 of the same jet? It is very easy and inexpensive for a manufacturer to add simple jets to a hot tub, they simply drill a few more holes and add some jet bodies. But adding jets to add to the specification of a hot tub doesn't shed any thought for the massage that a user could receive. It is, in short, thoughtless and unnecessary. 

The other issue with having a mass of jets is that that this takes power away from a small concentrated amount of jets and spreads it between more, therefore creating a lot less focused massage for the hot tub user. So whilst you may be amazed by a hot tub with 500 jets, consider whether these additional jets are actually going to benefit you or are they simply part of a sales spiel? 

Quality not Quantity 

This old saying can go a long way when it comes to hot tub jets. As mentioned above, it is not the amount of jets that produces a good massage, it is the right amount of jets but more importantly, a good quality set of jets. In terms of quality, many brands offer unique jets, none more unique and beneficial than the exclusive Hot Spring® Spas Moto-Massage® jet. This jet delivers two powerful jet streams and moves up and down your back to deliver the most amazing massage. Come and try it at one of our South Coast showrooms (http://www.hotspringsouthcoast.com).
A great hot tub must have a variety of jets to allow a thorough full body massage. At Happy Hot Tubs, we are lucky enough to be a Hot Spring retailer and the variety available within Hot Spring Spas is not only impressive, but very thoughtful and focused on the ultimate goal, relaxation. Variety can come with different sized jets, different rotation methods and potentially differing spray styles. Ensure any hot tub you purchase has a good variety of jets to allow a complete and fulfilling massage. 

Overall, jets are important but it is definitely worth looking beyond the number of jets and worth investigating the quality of massage that a hot tub can offer. If you want a hot tub and are based in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire or Sussex in the UK, pop along to www.hotspringsouthcoast.com and go Hot Spring today!  

Hot Tub Removal and Disposal: Your Options

When an old hot tub is in such a condition that it must be removed from a garden and disposed of, multiple options exist in order to ensure the best outcome for all parties. It may be that the hot tub has an old wooden frame that has subsequently become rotten over the years and makes the hot tub very difficult to move. It could be the case that the old spa has stopped working and therefore you have given up hope, but in any case, we are here to help!

Trade-In Option

The first thing to consider is a trade-in. This is where your old spa could be traded in for a brand new hot tub with a potential discount attached for the supply of your old hot tub. This option is becoming more common, probably due to the advancement of hot tub technology and the cost savings that new hot tubs bring. Rather than assuming that your love for hot tubs has died with your old rotten spa, reinvigorate that passion for hot tubs with a fresh, new approach to hot tubbing. The Hot Spring Spas’ Energy Smart system that combines a variety of features such as the SilentFlo circulation pump and FiberCor foam results in a highly energy efficient hot tub that can save you a lot of money on running costs. See more about the Hot Spring Spa energy initiatives here - http://bit.ly/1fux0eL.

Considering a trade-in is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Head to your dealers website, input data about your existing hot tub, as well as some of your personal details and they will get back to you with a quote for the spas that interest you, with the price including the trade-in of your old spa. Check out our trade-in section here - http://bit.ly/1kkmAM8. 

Removal/Disposal 

If you are by no means tempted by a new spa then one would assume that removal or disposal is your best option. Most hot tub dealers will offer a removal service FOC or may charge a small fee for tough removal jobs even though this is quite rare. 

Usually removal will be as simple as delivery, with the spa being collected and transported back to a dealers warehouse. The dealer is likely to either breakdown the hot tub for parts or if good enough, refurbish the spa with the aim of putting it up for sale. If you see your spa up for sale for £2000 at your dealership, do not instantly assume that they have ripped you off. A dealer collecting a spa will have to invest resources in this process and refurbishment can also be costly. The main cost to a dealer in selling a used hot tub is the addition of a warranty, which requires the commitment to keep an older hot tub in good working order for a set period of time at their expense. This is obviously a consumers right and investment in this is vitally important for both the business and the consumer. 

Some removal jobs may be very difficult, with more resources necessary to remove a spa. These could include a crane, extra manpower or tools that may be required. In this case, a fee may be charged for removal to make it viable for a dealership. 

Disposal of a hot tub through proper mechanisms can be extremely costly due to the materials that the hot tub is built with. For items such as the cover, recycling can be easy, cut the polystyrene foam into sections and take it to your local waste disposal site. For the spa, Ebay could be a good option and offering items such as the shell could be useful for DIYers who are looking to build their own hot tub from scratch, these people would pay quite a lot for a hot tub shell in good condition. 

A Message From The Hot Tub Gods!

Do not give up! Hot Tubbing is an experience that everyone should enjoy and if your first experience with hot tubs hasn't gone exactly to plan, ensure that your next attempt does. 

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.” ― Elbert Hubbard.

Visit www.hotspringsouthcoast.com to see the light! With the best technology, the best energy efficiency and the most popular hot tubs in the world, Hot Spring Spas could be your door to the amazing world of hot tubbing! 

Why a Hot Tub Could Be a Great Investment

Purchasing a portable hot tub for your garden could be one of the best decisions you make in life. Ok, this may seem over the top to some but a hot tub has a lot more to offer beyond its initial novelty value. This article will set out some of the key benefits to owning a hot tub but with a focus on the investment aspect.

Despite some fundamental differences, a good way to look at investment is by comparing the hot tub industry to the car industry. So, when purchasing a Range Rover for instance, you would expect it to be more reliable and better quality than say, a KIA. In reality, KIA are extremely reliable cars and Land Rovers have poor reliability. So the £20k-£40k difference in price will not guarantee better quality, even if it may provide better service. In the hot tub industry, it is extremely different.

Let's compare an online hot tub worth £3000 with lots of features and a £7000 hot tub bought from a dealership. That £3000 hot tub may seem like a purchase where you cannot go wrong, it is cheap and it comes with a warranty, which they have to fulfil. Yes, they do have to fulfil this warranty, however you need to do your homework when finding out about a dealership. Online reviews are great but do not rely on them, ask the online seller if they have their own engineers, ask if they understand the manufacturing process, ask how long they have been in the industry and ask if the parts are readily available. One of the key issues here is the Chinese control system, online hot tubs generally will have an uncommon control, which are not only prone to problems but also potentially unsafe. You cannot go wrong when purchasing a hot tub with either a Balboa, Gecko or own brand american system such as the Hot Spring IQ 2020^{®, all these systems are easy to replace if faulty and feature good safety systems.} 

^{So what is the difference between the £3000 online hot tub and the £7000 model from a dealership. I would say the main difference could be service, I am not saying that all online hot tub dealers have poor service, but a good old fashioned pool and hot tub dealer will generally be able to offer a more personal and guaranteed service. The training that dealerships of the main hot tub brands undertake is also a lot more thorough, allowing them to excel in customer service. The difference in quality does not just involve the control system, the quality of certain brands is shown through massive global sales figures and genuine investment in innovation.} 

The classic situation is someone looking to sell a 2-3 year old hot tub on ebay due to a house move, divorce or for financial reasons. Ebayers love their branding and what this results in is branded second hand tubs going for a very high price. Some second hand hot tubs sell for £5000, which is a huge amount of money for say an originally £7000 hot tub. You can see for yourself by searching used hot tubs on eBay and comparing the branded hot tubs to some obscure online spas. What I am trying to highlight is that investment in a good hot tub, from an established and reliable dealer can result in a smaller depreciation and allow you to get a high trade-in value, a well as a good price if you wanted to sell second hand privately. 

Investing in your garden is also never a bad thing. A hot tub adds value to your property and could potentially be the bargaining tool in a house sale. Even if the new owner didn't want the hot tub, the portable nature of it means that it can easily be removed and you can take it with you! 

In addition to the range of investment benefits that a hot tub has to offer, the personal benefits of hydrotherapy can be key to the daily lives of some individuals. For more information on these, please view our website article here- http://bit.ly/H7ZHgS. 

Happy Hot Tubs pride ourselves on good customer service, we are an authorised Hot Spring dealer (the world #1 hot tubs) and we are prominent on all social media sites, offering customer service in a more informal yet modern way. Our managing director was the creator and first chairman of BISHTA (British and Irish Hot Tub Association), he is one of the most established members of the UK hot tub industry and was part of the group that first manufactured hot tubs in the UK. This experience and wealth of knowledge feeds down to all our staff and through this we can offer you the best service in the industry. Follow our social media outlets for more useful information or visit our website- www.happyhottubs.co.uk. 

Hot Spring Spas Heading to the South Coast!

Happy Hot Tubs are delighted to announce that we are to hold the exclusive dealership for Hot Spring Spas on the South Coast. This will see the worlds best hot tubs arrive at our showrooms within the next few weeks. 

Hot Spring Spas are the world's number-one selling brand of hot tubs and for over 30 years they have lead the way in state-of-the-art design and energy-efficient performance. Hot Spring recently reached the mark of 1 million global customers, showing the true strength and integrity of the brand.

The three hot tub collections available from Hot Spring ensure that every preference and budget is met. 

The decision to sell Hot Spring Spas is based on our drive for quality and efficiency. Our range of Astro Spas has proved to be a huge success and by becoming a Hot Spring dealer, we are building on this with a strong brand behind us. All Astro Spa warranties are unaffected and we will continue to stock Astro Swim Spas at our showrooms. 

We will keep you posted with more details via our social media sites.

Cloudy, Milky & Foamy Hot Tub Water

Get your spa water sparkling like this!

It pretty much goes without saying that hot tub owners will experience cloudy, milky or foamy hot tub water at some point during the period that they own a hot tub. This is not something to worry about as such, as these problems can be easily overcome by using certain methods. This article will firstly describe the type of water problem, how it could have been caused and finally, ways to rectify the problem and make your spa water sparkling again!

Cloudy Spa Water

Caused by...

Cloudy hot tub water can be described as the point where the water seems to have small particles floating around in it, however these particles are not large enough to touch and seem like they could just be air particles. There is no one cause of this issue and you will see this to be recurring in the other types of water issues. The problem could be caused by suspended insoluble particles, dead algae, organic debris, poor filtration (dirty filters), heavy usage or poor water chemistry, but it is difficult to diagnose the reason exactly.  

Rectifying the issue...

• Check your filter(s). This is your first point of call with any water quality problem, especially when clarity is an issue. If small particles are not able to be picked up by the filters, it is extremely difficult to solve the problem. Get your filters and rinse them thoroughly or soak them overnight in a filter cleaner. 
• Check the water balance levels. Your second point of call is the water balance. Check the PH is correct and alter if need be. Check the sanitiser is at the correct level, not too high or too low (a common clarity problem can be caused by high sanitiser levels). 
• Shock the spa. Using a non-clorine shock, you can usually clear the water fast! Working with your clean filter, the shock will clear the particles and in most cases will solve the issue.
• Try a clarifier. A product such as Spa Sparkle is similar to a flocculent in that it clumps all the small particles together so that they can be filtered, this may allow for the water to clear.
• Last resort, empty the spa. If you eventually decide that you have lost the battle, drain the hot tub and start again with fresh water. Sometimes this is the best way, especially after a period of heavy usage (e.g. a hot tub party!).

Milky Spa Water

Caused by...

Milky hot tub water can be described as the point where the water essentially looks like milk, adding a white tint to the water and making it difficult to see the bottom of the hot tub. Similar to cloudy hot tub water, there is no one cause of this issue. The problem could be caused by suspended insoluble particles, dead algae, organic debris, poor filtration (dirty filters), heavy usage or poor water chemistry, but again, it is difficult to diagnose the reason exactly. 

Rectifying the issue...

Check your filter(s). This is your first point of call with any water quality problem, especially when clarity is an issue. If small particles are not able to be picked up by the filters, it is extremely difficult to solve the problem. Get your filters and rinse them thoroughly or soak them overnight in a filter cleaner. You may find that rinsing the filters more frequently to recover milky water helps massively. 

Check the water balance levels. Your second point of call is the water balance. Check the PH is correct and alter if need be. Check the sanitiser is at the correct level, not too high or too low (a common clarity problem can be caused by high sanitiser levels, making the water look milky). 

Shock the spa. Using a non-clorine shock, you can usually clear the water fast! Working with your clean filter, the shock will clear the particles and in most cases will solve the issue.

Last resort, empty the spa. If you eventually decide that you have lost the battle, drain the hot tub and start again with fresh water. Sometimes this is the best way, especially after a period of heavy usage (e.g. a hot tub party!).

Foamy Spa Water

Caused by...

Foamy hot tub water is where a build up of foam is visible on the surface of the water and can sometimes lead to a film being left on the top of the water and around the waterline. For this problem, it is slightly easier to pin down the cause in comparison to cloudy or milky hot tub water. Foam build up is caused by a reaction between body and cosmetic oils and the alkalinity of the hot tub water. Body oils and cosmetics such as deodorant, makeup, and detergents on bathing costumes cause foaming.

Rectifying the issue...

• Nip it in the bud! Solve the problem by tackling it at the start. It may be hassle to make people shower before using the hot tub but this is the key thing to prevent foam build-up. Washing your bathing costumes in detergent seems like a good idea but it is not wholly necessary, it is better for your hot tub if you rinse them under the tap then hang them up to dry, meaning that no detergent can sneak its way into your hot tub. 
• Use enzyme technology to assist the water balance. Enzyme technology that is present in products such as "Spa Perfect" can help your spa water beat the causes of foam by preventing the reaction from occurring. 
• Use anti-foam products. "No Foam" is a product that should be used sparingly, as it is more of a quick-fix product that does not prevent the problem from reoccurring. Using it in small amounts can quickly clear the foam from the waterline in the short-term and therefore helps the appearance of the spa but it is best not to rely on it. 
• Drain down the hot tub and flush the system. A system flush using a product like Swirl Away will help flush the system through before draining. By draining the hot tub, you can remove any grease from the spa surface and tackle the foaming issue in this way. 

I hope this post has shed some light on the issues around hot tub water clarity. If you have any further queries, feel free to pop me an e-mail (eddie@happyhottubs.co.uk). 

Hot Tub Myths Part 2: Buying a Hot Tub

Following the success of our last post in regards to 'hot tub myths', we feel that more could be added and so welcome to 'Hot Tub Myths: Part 2'. At Happy Hot Tubs we are committed to giving our customers the best service and these myths allow us to protect consumers from industry methods that could affect you, as the consumer.

The more horsepower, the better.

MYTH - This may be the case for racing but when it comes to hot tub this is not necessarily the case. Adding lots of pumps could just waste further energy, when it is not absolutely necessary. The salesman may highlight the huge horsepower of a hot tub but when you think about your electricity bill, you may be more inclined to go for a less powerful spa. Some newer brands have even began to exaggerate spa pump ratings. Internet companies that have recently emerged within the hot tub industry can easily round up a 1.5hp pump to 2 or 3hp without any legitimate certification. Just ensure you take the power talk with a pinch of salt.

A self-cleaning hot tub is better than others on the market.

MYTH - A 'self-cleaning hot tub'? Ask the salesmen to define what this means and how it differs from other brands. This is very clever marketing and one cannot deny that, however, the idea of a 'self-cleaning' hot tub that is marketed by some brands such as Hydropool is not as outstanding as you think. 'Self-cleaning' means that is has a filtration system and an ozone which is available in most other brands, just not marketed in such a way. All hot tubs with a Balboa control system will filtrate 2 times a day, keeping the water fresh. Go ahead and call this 'self-cleaning' if it makes you feel better. With a 'self-cleaning' system you will still need to top up the chemicals and you will spend the same amount of time maintaining a 'self-cleaning' hot tub as any other spa. So, do not buy into this clever branding, almost every hot tub is 'self-cleaning'.

Fully foamed spa cabinets are the best.

MYTH - This is not actually the case. Heat rises and therefore most of the heat lost in a hot tub is through your spa cover. For spas with a lot of space inside, it is better to have a cavity to allow warm air to be re-circulated by air injection jets. Full foam is once again a good piece of marketing but is not the best insulation for a hot tub. Ensure you take caution when being sold a fully-foamed spa for a it's energy saving capacity.

You pay a high price for high quality.

MYTH - Most small hot tub dealers will sell only 30-50 spas a year and will look to maximise the sale price for every customer. Larger stores will be able to charge less as they may be the sole dealer for those spas and therefore sell more at lower prices. At Happy Hot Tubs, we have some of the most competitive spa prices in the UK and have sold thousands nationwide, so not only can you feel safe about the price we are charging but also the high quality customer service that comes with buying a spa from us. 

Spa ratings and comparison sites are very useful.

MYTH - Who owns these sites? Well it is common knowledge within the industry that spa dealerships will create hot tub review sites and benefit from the leads they produce. An industry as specific as the UK hot tub industry is also very susceptible to backhanders for certain awards and certifications. The British and Irish Spa & Hot Tub Association (BISHTA) was setup and chaired by our managing director, Simon, who created it to ensure that people were using their hot tubs safely and also to ensure the industry started to pay more attention to water safety at exhibitions. This has even become slightly politicised within the industry as approved members simply pay for membership. Be careful when looking at these review sites as they are not totally impartial. 

These are only a few tips that will help with the hot tub buying process, if you want impartial advice from real industry experts contact us on Twitter (@HappyHotTubs), Facebook (fb.com/hottubcare) or e-mail myself eddie@happyhottubs.co.uk. 

Some of this content was based on ideas from SpaDepot.com (Link - http://www.spadepot.com/spacyclopedia/spa-buyers-guide.htm)

What Temperature Should A Hot Tub Be?

It might seem like an obvious question at first but it regularly confuses new hot tub owners. Most hot tub control systems have a maximum of 40º C and freeze protection that kicks in when the hot tub senses the water going below 6.7º C, which initiates the pumps and blowers to prevent the water from freezing. These are simply the boundaries that your hot tub temperature can be within, leaving it down to you to decide what you actually prefer.

Some Like it hot!

The maximum temperature of a hot tub is 40º C for safety reasons and any hot tub that goes above this is not fit for use. Some hot tubbers will like to bathe in 40º water and within an hour or so of use on a cold night, the temperature will drop to around 37.5º, so this is reasonable. 

We have noticed throughout the years that women tend to like the temperature slightly hotter,  usually around 38/39º C. When delivering a hot tub, we usually leave the customer with the temperature set to 38º C, this is more comfortable to get in than 40º C and allows for a slight temperature drop whilst the hot tub is in use. 

A Small Pool?

In the spring/summer months when the weather is hot and you are not wanting to bathe in 38º C water then simply turn it down! It is not just a hot tub, it can be a cold tub! As long as you keep it sanitised as you normally would, it will be perfect. Not only are you enjoying your spa to cool off, you are also saving on heating costs!

Health Precautions 

Firstly it is important to consult you doctor if you unsure whether hot water could affect you. Pregnant women should avoid hot water as it can damage the foetus. Also people with heart conditions or high blood pressure should not use a hot tub at higher temperatures. If you are in doubt, contact your doctor.