talk to me about hot tubs

[ThePenIsMightier]

You won't like it.
Prep for sale while the market is hot.

[Tik-Tok]

Markets definitely still hot. Sold mine this weekend after only a week on Kijiji. Also for almost double that I would have expected to get any other year.

[schurchill39]

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Ran a piping flush overnight then drained, scrubbed, and filled my tub on Sunday. I found that the clowns that used to own my house didn't use a filter at all and just put some 3" tall pleated thing the size of an oil filter in the skimmer basket thinking it would do anything. I also found out that the cover was held together by duct tape precariously placed in the middle hinge area

Thankfully the tub itself is in pretty good condition as well as the piping, pumps, and electronics. Besides some sun bleaching on the plastics and a knife valve I'll have to replace because the handle is broken everything was good. I bought a new cover and a new filter and took it for its inaugural spin today. We're not really hot tub people but it came with the house so we'll give it a go over winter and see if we like it or not.

Well after topping up 3-4" a couple times over the last month I finally admitted to myself I'd been had by the previous home owners and this thing has a leak. I guess this shouldn't come as any sort of surprise because they were scum bags but its still disappointing. Thankfully its on the side that is away from the foundation of the house. With Beachcomber's design its not accessible from the sides without tipping it and its all spray foamed in so I ran a few bottles of "fix a leak" through it and see if I can limp it through the winter.

[suntan]

Ask the former owners to fix the hot tub, according to some of the posters in the RE forum that is totally feasible.

[mr2mike]

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Ask the former owners to fix the hot tub, according to some of the posters in the RE forum that is totally feasible.

Zing! Haha.

[schurchill39]

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Well after topping up 3-4" a couple times over the last month I finally admitted to myself I'd been had by the previous home owners and this thing has a leak. I guess this shouldn't come as any sort of surprise because they were scum bags but its still disappointing. Thankfully its on the side that is away from the foundation of the house. With Beachcomber's design its not accessible from the sides without tipping it and its all spray foamed in so I ran a few bottles of "fix a leak" through it and see if I can limp it through the winter.

Fix-a-leak worked for about a month but now I am back to loosing about half an inch of water a day. What would beyond do?
1. I could limp it through the winter by filling it up every 10 days given my out door taps don't freeze and cause me bigger problems (or put a rush on getting taps installed in my garage)
2. Under the cover of darkness go and pump it out then leave it to be disposed of in the spring
3. See if there are any hot tub removal companies that want to brave the winter to come and empty and remove it.

This is way more headache than its worth to me.

[killramos]

Where is the leaking water going? In -30 temps I’m guessing not far…

Have you considered repairing it properly?

[ercchry]

When mine leaks it’s usually the LED covers… if it’s above waterline, just pop the offending cover off and fill the hole with silicone, if it’s below waterline, what worked surprisingly well and is still somehow holding is rim tape for running tubeless mtb tires, just slapped a little square of that over the hole, when it was wet… been a few months and still holding.

If you can get into the underside (hopefully open cavity and not full of spray foam) it’s pretty easy to see what’s leaking as there will be a white trail of calcified water leading from it

[suntan]

Do you have access to the bibs from the basement? Put in frost-free bibs.

[schurchill39]

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Where is the leaking water going? In -30 temps I’m guessing not far…

Have you considered repairing it properly?

The fix would be worth more than the tub is worth. Fix-a-leak was to limp it through the winter and re-evaluate it in the spring if I wanted to get rid of it or attempt to undertake the repair myself.

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When mine leaks it’s usually the LED covers… if it’s above waterline, just pop the offending cover off and fill the hole with silicone, if it’s below waterline, what worked surprisingly well and is still somehow holding is rim tape for running tubeless mtb tires, just slapped a little square of that over the hole, when it was wet… been a few months and still holding.

If you can get into the underside (hopefully open cavity and not full of spray foam) it’s pretty easy to see what’s leaking as there will be a white trail of calcified water leading from it

Unfortunately its completely sprayfoamed in and Beachcomber does not have access panels so it needs to be tipped on its side to dig out the foam. I thought I knew where it was leaking but the water level is below that point now so my next guess would be the LED light. I'll try the rim tape if I decide to keep limping it through

[ercchry]

The speed of draining is about inline with a leaking LED, that much I can confirm

When I was still hunting them down I would fill about once every 4 days or so… fill nice and full, then when it was just about to the level where it wouldn’t circulate, fill again… pro tip: toss your frozen hose into the tub is an easy way to get it flowing again when it’s -30

[gwill]

If fix a leak worked for a month I'd buy a bigger bottle and see if that helps. If you can get through till spring you'll be able to properly fix any leak.

[OU812]

The hardest part will be flipping it because it will be water logged and therefore heavy af. When you get it up the spray foam will be water logged and you can just dig through it by hand to find the leaky part(s). I paid $100 for a tub and put about 1500 into it including a new cover and its been great ever since. Was it work? It sure was but much better than dumping 10k plus on a new one.

[gwill]

10k gets you a shitty hot tub these days..Hot Tubs have gone up 30% since covid hit.

[s2k_boi]

We are looking to get a hot tub. Do you guys have any recommendations on where and brand?

Ie. Vita Spa, Hot Springs, Master Spa, Trevi spas?

Thanks!

[killramos]

I like our hot springs spa?

[SJW]

I like my arctic spa.

[bjstare]

Beachcomber. I had an arctic spa, my parents have always had beachcomber. Arctic spas follow the typical “more features = more things to go wrong” in my anecdotal experience.

[gwill]

don't buy a dynasty not that it's on your list to look at. I hated mine. Definitely love my beachcomber.

Good luck with your shopping. I found buying my first hot tub super confusing as each company trashes the rest on how they make them. Arctic was the worst when I shopped around.

[ExtraSlow]

Good day for tubbing.