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Brand research not going well

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Ripper238:

--- Quote from: Tman122 on August 30, 2022, 07:41:40 am ---

Masterspa= low reliability and high energy use but lots of itchy jet power.
Wellis=who knows, I haven't look inside one but I have a feeling.

--- End quote ---

We had a dealer near me that was excellent so i guess the Masterspas appeared better than what they were.

Wellis is certainly a good brand, but I guess a lot depends on the dealer with any hot tub.

That said still don't know where OP is to recommend a dealer.

MKEhottub:
All thanks for the feedback thus far.

I’m in the Milwaukee area.

So far I’m looking at
Master Spas Twilight 8.2 - $13.5K
Artesian Island Series Grand Bahama - $14.4K
Marquis Crown Epic - ?

Still need to look at Bullfrog

I like the neck jets on the first two but with the lower seat on Marquis may be able to get the jet to hit back of neck.

Twilight has slightly better warranty

Marquis is apparently hard to get right now. 
Each dealer’s pitch is balboa electronics, two pumps and them pick your layout and number of jets.

No one can apparently differentiate from competitive brands so it’s making it more difficult to chose.

5-6 person with lounger

cranbiz:
I have an Artesian Island Nevis, which is a 5-6 person tub. It was delivered a year ago May. So far, the only issue I have had with it was one segment of the tri color LED went out in one of the 6 lights in the waterfall. My dealer is taking care of it with no arguments or excuses. That certainly is not affecting the tub's performance. My close friend has an Island Grand Cayman (the Grand Bahama without the lounge), delivered in November. It also runs like a champ. The neck jet seat is deeper than the neck jet seat in my Nevis, which works for both of us as I'm 5'7" and he is 6'3"

The Grand Bahama has 3 pumps, a 24/7 circulation pump (4th pump) and full foam insulation. It really is a nice tub. I don't think you can go wrong with it.

We bought out tubs at the same time at the same dealer. If I had the space, I would have got either the Grand Cayman or Grand Bahama.

I will say, the Marquis Crown Epic is a very nice tub. I looked at Marquis (my dealer sold them too) but they didn't have one that I could get into the space my tub was going into. I easily could have come home with one. They were a lot more money than the Artesian's we looked at but if it's got Microsilk, it very well could be worth it.

What is the reputation of the Artesian and the Marquis dealer? Things being equal (if not going Microsilk) buy from the best rated dealer. You won't go wrong with either of these 2 brands.

Personally, I won't buy a Master and in my case, Bullfrog didn't make a 79" wide tub. I do believe the Bullfrog shell is a bit lighter (ABS vs Acrylic)  but the changeable jet packs is a really neat feature.

MKEhottub:
Thanks for the feedback on the artesian

The same dealer has artesian and Marques.  They are pushing for the artesian just because they’re easier to get right now

I contacted the Wellis dealer.  They are the first ones that called out a differentiator. 
They said they have an insulated perimeter so that they can service every component on the inside versus everybody’s blowing in the foam and you can’t get certain components if there are leaks.  I asked how the efficiency and thermal barrier compares to the blown in insulation he said it’s about comparable.  Service is the key aspect.

The Wellis is is the best price for the feature set you get.  It’s $14.9K with Wi-Fi and built in stereo.  I asked about the neck jets and he said it just depends on your height and how you fit in the spa very quickly started talking about the Hip jets.

Wellis has Geko vs Balboa.  He said they are comparable as well.

cranbiz:
You don't want the built in wifi and stereo. They almost always fail and are overly expensive to replace if out of warranty. Speakers fail and leak. You are far better off with an external BT speaker and a streaming device.

Gecko Vs Balboa, well IMHO, Balboa is better than Gecko. It's generally accepted that Balboa is #1, Gecko is #2 and everyone else lags far behind. Balboa builds and designs their stuff, Gecko just buys stuff and assembles it. I will say that Gecko support is usually more end user friendly. One issue with Gecko is there are many documented cases where a power glitch will brick a unit and IF you can get the software, you might be able to re-flash it, but if you can't re-flash it, it's a new Spa Pack time. I don't recall seeing any Balboa unit that bricked due to a software glitch. The 2 manufacturers are comparable because they both sell Spa controls.

If you are not in a cold area, then a perimeter insulation system might be an asset. You are in Milwaukee, you want full foam insulation. Better R value, lower cost to operate and the foam helps keep parts from vibration, which helps minimize leaks due to vibrations. The foam used these days is easier to dig out than the old style hard shell foam.

The salesman is just that, a salesman. His statements are going to minimize the faults of his product. As you noted, he glossed over the neck jets to push something else. When I was looking, I stopped by an Aqua Living store to see what they had as it seemed like a lot of bang for the buck. I got pretty much the sale sales pitch on the Dr. Wellness tubs as you got on the Wellis. Gecko controls were equal to Balboa, perimeter insulation is better than full foam, we have lots of jets. In reality, it's a LPI tub that is poorly made and a service nightmare.

I'm not saying not to buy the Wellis, I'm saying take what he says with a grain of salt. Wellis does not have a track record here in the states, Marquis, Artesian and Bullfrog do.

What I hope to do is help you in researching a quality tub (something I did 18 months ago) and avoid the pitfalls and marketing BS. A hot tub is a $15K, long term investment. I am simply a hot tub consumer, I have no dog in this hunt.

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