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Artesian vs West Coast Spas

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amityeric:
New forum member. New spa buyer.

I live in Vancouver, Washington, across the river from Portland, Oregon. I've narrowed down my spa search to two spas: the Artesian Captiva and the West Coast Spas Deschutes.

I have a bit of paralysis.

WCS has a lower price, a better warranty, 4 more jets, more LED lights . . . sounds like an easy win right?

The Artesian has a dealer that's in Vancouver. The dealer is much more established in the area. WCS doesn't get bad reviews, they're just in Portland and they have a much shorter history in the area. The Artesian is easier to find information on, as they're a much more established brand.

The Artesian spa uses two 5BHP pumps (2.5 continuous). Sounds kinda weak to me. I asked for the pump brand name and model #, but haven't been able to get it from the dealer yet. The WCS uses two 5.0HP Waterway pumps. But I can't figure out if that's BHP or continuous.

I don't know which has a better shell. I don't know which is insulated better. I don't know whether Artesian is REALLY any better or if just more well known.

Anyone have any sage advice for me? Thank you SO MUCH in advance.

Hottubguy:
Never heard of west coast spas but just looked them up. 5HP pumps are the same as artesian they just measure in BHP. One thing I noticed is the insulation method they use. If done properly it’s decent but full foam is a much better insulator. They are clearly a small regional brand so unless you are from the Oregon area nobody on here has probably heard of them. I can’t tell judging by there website where they would fall from a quality standpoint. Artesian has been around for a long time so that tells you they have staying power. How long has west coast been around for?  Have you seen one in person?  If not look at it and pop a panel off side and check how they insulate. What’s cheaper now may not be cheaper over the next 5,q
10, 15 years of spa ownership.

Tman122:

--- Quote from: amityeric on September 09, 2020, 04:44:37 pm ---New forum member. New spa buyer.

I live in Vancouver, Washington, across the river from Portland, Oregon. I've narrowed down my spa search to two spas: the Artesian Captiva and the West Coast Spas Deschutes.

I have a bit of paralysis.

WCS has a lower price, a better warranty, 4 more jets, more LED lights . . . sounds like an easy win right?

The Artesian has a dealer that's in Vancouver. The dealer is much more established in the area. WCS doesn't get bad reviews, they're just in Portland and they have a much shorter history in the area. The Artesian is easier to find information on, as they're a much more established brand.

The Artesian spa uses two 5BHP pumps (2.5 continuous). Sounds kinda weak to me. I asked for the pump brand name and model #, but haven't been able to get it from the dealer yet. The WCS uses two 5.0HP Waterway pumps. But I can't figure out if that's BHP or continuous.

I don't know which has a better shell. I don't know which is insulated better. I don't know whether Artesian is REALLY any better or if just more well known.

Anyone have any sage advice for me? Thank you SO MUCH in advance.

--- End quote ---

Number of jets and lights means nothing. Pump HP means nothing, what feels good is what is important. Better warranty is good if it truly is better? Example of pump HP: pump water from a 2.5 hp pump 2 feet through a straight piece of pipe and feel the pressure. Pump water from a 3.5 hp pump 4 feet through a winding pipe and feel the pressure.

amityeric:
Number of lights might add to the ambiance. So it might mean something to someone. Number of jets might matter to someone as well, otherwise there wouldn't be some spas with 30 jets and some with 100. Pump horsepower means something. It means the pump is more powerful. I would assume that most hot tubs are plumbed in a similar way (but maybe that's assuming way too much). I mean, why would one 7-foot spa be plumbed with significantly more pipe than another?

Sam:

--- Quote from: amityeric on September 10, 2020, 12:29:09 pm ---Number of lights might add to the ambiance. So it might mean something to someone. Number of jets might matter to someone as well, otherwise there wouldn't be some spas with 30 jets and some with 100. Pump horsepower means something. It means the pump is more powerful. I would assume that most hot tubs are plumbed in a similar way (but maybe that's assuming way too much). I mean, why would one 7-foot spa be plumbed with significantly more pipe than another?

--- End quote ---

Not so fast.  They type of jet, flow, and power are more important than the number of jets.  For instance, Bullfrog has a jetpak with 4 jets in it.  I'll take that seat over a whole lot of other seats with 4 times the jets. 

Horsepower is really not an accurate gauge of anything.  You can take a small motor but put a 5hp impeller on it and will perform differently than a different combination.  Also, the type of jet, plumbing diameter, plumbing efficiency, hard 90 degree or soft 90 degree elbows, etc.  There are so many other factors that affect the ultimate feel that horsepower really tells you nothing. Feel the jets and decide which feels better to you.  Don't worry about horsepower and number of jets if another spa feels better.

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