Buying a Jacuzzi Hot Tub - Key questions to ask

When buying a Jacuzzi Hot Tub there are many points to consider and this article sets out some of those to take into account:-

What acrylic is used in the shell?

Most Spas look great in a showroom but you have to ask the question as to how the spa will actually look in a few months and in deed in a few years and for that reason you will want to consider the material used in the shell.

Is it proper branded Lucite or Quaarite. Just merely being told that it is US acrylic is not sufficient for the savvy buyer. Lucite-Xtra " cast acrylic is a non porous material that is stain resistant to the build up of lotions and oils which can harm non acrylic spas. This tough material retains its shine and colour despite sanitizing chemicals, high temperatures and exposure to sunlight.

How is the Shell made and how is it strengthened

Ask how the shell is made and formed and are the manufacturing processes used environmentally friendly. For example is a layer of ABS plastic used to re-inforce the strength of the shell. ABS is a class of plastics based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers and has a very high mechanical and impact strength. This construction procedures or environmentally friendly and much more efficient than using fibre glass as backing to the shell.

Manifold Plumbing

Manifold plumbing is designed to balance the water pressure distribution and reduce the number of plumbing joints to maximize water flow.

Guarantee

Obviously you need to know about the manufacturers guarantee and I would expect some thing on the following lines:

Shell - The Shell to be warranted against water leakage caused by a defect in the material for ten years from the date of the original purchase.

Plumbing - Spa Plumbing ,fittings pipes drains and fixtures are warranted against leaks for five years from the date of the original purchase.

Pumps - The Spa pump and pump motor for two years from the date of the original purchase.

Jets

Are the Jets are adjustable. If you have a Jacuzzi Spa where none of the Jets are adjustable then you are clearly buying a spa from the bottom of the range and one that is really useless to provide you a pleasant massage effect.

Pumps

Where are the pumps made are they proper Western American or European pumps as pumps made in China and the East are much less reliable than their western counterparts.

Construction

Has it got a proper bottom sealed from the elements or has it just got that cheap steel frame. These Spas are the cheapest of the cheap no bottom so the elements can get in let alone some small animals like termites' and even worse those beasties that chew through electric cables after all they do it to ignition leads on cars and plant.

Does it have proper planned and thought out insulation particularly look at the sides of the Hot Tub. Many with no proper bottom and the steel frame just have cheap wooden sides with no insulation. Again just a cheap import.

Does it have fully foamed and by that I mean that you cant see the pipes in the Jacuzzi. I expect the shell to be foamed but that the pipes etc are fully accessible and not hidden with in loads of foam because if they are it is more or less impossible to find a leak and fully foamed spas in my view (and that of many others in the Hot Tub industry) are hiding that the shell is not properly strong enough as they are using the foam to help provide strength to the shell.

Ozone water purification

Is the Ozone sanitizer injected directly into the spas water line and then distributed into in the spa's main body of water. You should hundreds of fine oxygen particles shooting into the bottom of the spa rather than just a small stream of water into the spa as you see on some cheap eastern imports.

These are some of the features to consider and is not to be exhaustive but to give some general guidelines.

As in all things it pays to buy from a long established manufacturer and there is that saying if you buy cheap you probably end up buying twice.