Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: pmcrazi on May 09, 2006, 12:05:45 am
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I am first time hot tub hunting, and have found a local dealer with hydro pool spa, which if very nice at a great price. I am concerned while the wooden cabinet is beautiful, how would it wear, or what about internal plumbing problems? Also, it claims to be "self-cleaning", and has alot of nice features.However, I have not been able to find any forum info on this line. If any info, recommendations, etc for this line please LMK. thanks
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re:Hydro pool ??
I don't know anything about Hydro Pool
but I notice they have a great gallery on their website.
I am sometimes amazed how some spa makers
have limited picture galleries on their web sites.
The people want to see pictures!....Hello?.....LOL
(http://www.hydropoolhottubs.com/en/gallery/SelfClean/Self_Clean_13_Lrg.jpg)
(http://www.hydropoolhottubs.com/en/gallery/SelfClean/Self_Clean_1_Lrg.jpg)
(http://www.hydropoolhottubs.com/en/gallery/SelfClean/Self_Clean_30_Lrg.jpg)
Click Below To See Hydro Pool Awesome Picture Gallery:
http://www.hydropoolhottubs.com/en/gallery.asp?Type=SC
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I am first time hot tub hunting, and have found a local dealer with hydro pool spa, which if very nice at a great price. I am concerned while the wooden cabinet is beautiful, how would it wear,
Cedar has been used on hot tubs, gazebos, sheds and decks for a LONG time. It has been selected for these uses because it stands up very well to the elements. Yes, to maintain the look you do need to stain it. If you don't, it will turn grey but will not likely rot.
Many manufacturers and retailers make wood sound bad using the dreaded word maintenance. Many of these companies either don't offer wood or are trying to up-sell you.
Synthetic cabinets are great, but they don't smell like cedar.
Most cannot be refinished like cedar.
I don't think anyone can definitively say that the synthetic cabinet will outlast cedar as these products have not been around on decks and tubs long enough to make said claims. I could offer a 200 year roofing product, but until its been around 200 years, how do we really know?
or what about internal plumbing problems?
A Hydropool's plumbing is easier to access than most FF tubs.
Also, it claims to be "self-cleaning", and has a lot of nice features. However, I have not been able to find any forum info on this line. If any info, recommendations, etc for this line please LMK. thanks
What model are you looking at?
Hydropool makes a fine spa. Steve or I would be pleased to answer any of your questions.
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Yeah there is some guy supposedly named "Steve" that shows up here from time to time.....he seems to be a real pompous a*#.......he claims to know a"little" something about the product...... ::)......no really Steve...is a great guy and speaks very highly of the line and for me if he believes in it than I think it is most differently worth a look.....
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Wow, thanks for the great info, this site is really helpful. We are looking at the 575 gold series tub, with the extra garden light package. Cover, steps, ozone, etc... just is the only dealer in town, so there is not to compare to. Another dealer who sells only synthetic tubs mentioned concerns with the wooden tubs rotting from the inside out if there is ever any internal plumbing problems. He actually has a "damaged" wooden tub in the back of his parking lot. I am also concerned as Hydro pool is in Canada, and just not comfortable with warrenty issues. Any other information would be appreciated. Otherwise if we went synthetic, I have been looking at Master, Gulf Coast, and Aquaform (which I think is Sunbelt).
Thanks again.
Karen
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Yeah there is some guy supposedly named "Steve" that shows up here from time to time.....he seems to be a real pompous a*#.......he claims to know a"little" something about the product...... ::)......no really Steve...is a great guy and speaks very highly of the line and for me if he believes in it than I think it is most differently worth a look.....
Don't make me come over there ya big galoot! :P ;)
HotTubMan has given you some great information and he's bang on about cedar. Any idea what material is used on Totem poles? Yep, cedar... Most people with cedar cabinets on their hot tubs spend maybe an hour a year clear coating the cabinet. The REAL sales pitch for synthetic should be..."Save 60 minutes of maintenance every year by going to this product". It doesn't have quite as dramatic effect though... ;)
The 575 Gold is one of Hydropool's best selling spas worldwide. It's a great spa offering fantastic therapy and very comfortable. A perfect spa for 4-5 adults!
If you have a local dealer, why does the location of head office play a factor in warranty Karen? We have dealers all over Europe too and in 40 countries worldwide! I wouldn't let that be a concern in any way.
The Self Clean aspect of Hydropool is what we are known for. This system has complete top and bottom filtration and is one of the only spa companies to address any debris that is heavier than water and sits in the footwell by removing it with the built in floor vacuum. It's very difficult to remove this otherwise and this debris causes more frequent draining and refilling. With complete top and bottom filtration, the entire body of water is filtered every 15 minutes and this system is considered more of a commercial filtration. The end result is less time and maintenance looking after your water!
I'm unclear about your question of internal plumbing problems? All fittings are a friction fit, glued and clamped which is far above industry standard and as HotTubMan pointed out, Hydropool has easy access into the cabinet should you ever require it.
Hydropool is a 26 year old Canadian company and although we have a very high quality product, we don't have the marketing budget that the "big boys" have.
Certainly feel free to ask any questions and I will answer them as best I can. Best of luck Karen!
Steve
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Steve,
Thankyou for all the great information, and a little better understanding of hydro pool. There just didn't seem to be much said about them here or on other sites, so I wasn't sure. The self-cleaning, and the wood cabinet is what sold my husband, I am just trying to be the more practical one, and do the research. The local dealer only had a few hydro pools, and made a comment about selling them to make room for jacuzzi, hense the hesitation about the warrenty locally. Another retail store for spa's that I went to only sold synthetic cabinets, and actually hit one with a rubber mallet to prove the durability. He had a wooden cabinet out in his back parking lot, that he claimed sprung an internal leak and compleatly ruined the cabinet, which is why he didn't recommend wooden cabinets. So is this just a selling tactic of his, or could there be concern for the wood warping as such. Also another question if you don't mind, we are looking to put the spa inside a glass "florida room" that is being built on to our home. What concerns do we have with an inside tub? Do we need exhaust fans put in for the extra humidity of the tub? and additional info is greatly appreciated.
Karen
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I dont have a hydropool, but I do have a cedar cabinet. The tub came with specific suggestions for what to protect it with, which SUPPOSEDLY lasts three years, but I plan to coat mine yearly. It did take about 2 hrs, since I have a lot of steps, too, but it is worth it, for sure. And wet cedar smells great!
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Steve,
Thankyou for all the great information, and a little better understanding of hydro pool. There just didn't seem to be much said about them here or on other sites, so I wasn't sure. The self-cleaning, and the wood cabinet is what sold my husband, I am just trying to be the more practical one, and do the research. The local dealer only had a few hydro pools, and made a comment about selling them to make room for jacuzzi, hense the hesitation about the warrenty locally. Another retail store for spa's that I went to only sold synthetic cabinets, and actually hit one with a rubber mallet to prove the durability. He had a wooden cabinet out in his back parking lot, that he claimed sprung an internal leak and compleatly ruined the cabinet, which is why he didn't recommend wooden cabinets. So is this just a selling tactic of his, or could there be concern for the wood warping as such. Also another question if you don't mind, we are looking to put the spa inside a glass "florida room" that is being built on to our home. What concerns do we have with an inside tub? Do we need exhaust fans put in for the extra humidity of the tub? and additional info is greatly appreciated.
Karen
You are very welcome my dear! Going back to the cedar issue, keep in mind that cedar is one of the strongest, most durable woods in the world. On all Hydropool Self Clean hot tubs, we use western Canadian clear cedar which is a very beautiful wood. Having your spa inside a room as you suggested will dramatically reduce the amount of times you will need to clear coat it so this is even less of an issue given that application.
Welcome to sales 101 where some will say ANYTHING to sway your opinion. There are 10's of thousands of cedar hot tubs all over the world. If this was as serious as this guy is leading on...well, let's just say that he's slightly uneducated and leave it at that! ;)
What will be a concern is a couple things Karen; First, you will require an exhaust fan to remove the humidity in the room. It would be unfortunate to have a beautiful glass room and not be able to see out of it. A dehumidifier is also an option. You will also require a floor drain in that room. The only other concern (from personal experience) is sitting in a 70 degree room in 100+degree water, can limit the length of time in the spa due to overheating yourselves.
I'm assuming you have looked over the website at http://www.hydropoolhottubs.com and it's there and with your dealer that you will gain the knowledge required on our product.
As mentioned, please let me know if there's anything specific I can answer. There are a lot of great spas out there and Hydropool is one of them!
Steve
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Sorry to highjack this thread, but I cannot open the hydro pool website, maybe Steve can help. I can only get about 10 seconds on the home page then a white screen. I do not seem to have any probs with other sites....any ideas?
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Anne, that is a beautiful tub, ty for the info.
Steve,
The glass florida room we are putting in will be air conditioned, and insulated. The sliding glass windows will open to let out humidity, and we will have 2 ceiling fans in that room also. The dehumidifier is something to think about if needed. Now floordrain? We figured with the windows we can pop the screen out for filling and draining...is there something i'm missing? As far as temp, it will be cooler in the room than out in our Florida heat (80's at night during the summer). I am going to look at the spa again tomorrow, and talk more to the dealer.
Karen
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Sorry to highjack this thread, but I cannot open the hydro pool website, maybe Steve can help. I can only get about 10 seconds on the home page then a white screen. I do not seem to have any probs with other sites....any ideas?
We only allow certain people to view it... ;)
Can't explain that. I've been on and off it all day in the dealers section without a problem...
Karen:
A floor drain is something I would consider for a couple reasons. I'm not sure what the flooring will be but I'm assuming it's some form of waterproof material. Exiting the spa draws quite a bit of water out with us and also planning for the worst case scenario of a leak. ASk yourself what would happen if something major did go wrong and the spa lost half of its volume? Hopefully it should never happen but...
The room sounds like a perfect room for a hot tub and once your Hydropool is installed, I'd love to see some pictures!
Let us know how your visit goes tomorrow!
Steve
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Try using MS Internet Explorer to see the site. The new Hydropool site has some major compatibility issues. Like anything more than a 5 year old browser will work. I guess the honchos over at Hydropool can see the content and the javascript, so they don't seem to mind if Opera, Firefox, Netscape or Safari users can see stuff or not. That's quite the market share. Hydropool should talk seriously to their Web Designers...
They have a great product with some great features and minor flaws, like most hot tubs i imagine. We love ours. 20 celsius below zero, starry nights or a cloudy night, light show. Jets are amazing! Go bigger - you might (will) want more (room, jets, colours) later.
Good luck!
(do a search for "Hydropool" on this site and remove some time filters, there's a lot here...)
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Thanks ramdom, I was able to pull it up on IE.
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You bring up a valid point ramdom and I will certainly talk to the powers that be and find out why that is.
As this is far from area of expertise, do any of you have an idea of what % of users are working from the Opera, Firefox, Netscape or Safari platforms as compared to IE?
Is that number increasing or decreasing over the past year or two?
Thanks,
Steve
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Wow, thanks for the great info, this site is really helpful. We are looking at the 575 gold series tub, with the extra garden light package. Cover, steps, ozone, etc... just is the only dealer in town, so there is not to compare to. Another dealer who sells only synthetic tubs mentioned concerns with the wooden tubs rotting from the inside out if there is ever any internal plumbing problems. He actually has a "damaged" wooden tub in the back of his parking lot. I am also concerned as Hydro pool is in Canada, and just not comfortable with warrenty issues. Any other information would be appreciated. Otherwise if we went synthetic, I have been looking at Master, Gulf Coast, and Aquaform (which I think is Sunbelt).
Thanks again.
Karen
Karen - I am NOT a dealer but rather a consummer who comes on here every once in a while to give these guys some guff. Of the ones you've mentioned in this thread, Hydro Pool is probably the better spa. Sunbelt is a low end spa shell that dealers can use to add their own jets to . They will tell you it is to give you the "most customized" spa but the reality is that it is simply THE BEST way for them to make the absolute most profit out of you, the buyer. Sunbelt isn't bad but if you spend any more than $5K on one, you've made a mistake. Lower end plumbing, lower end controls, etc. Master is the other extreme. They build nice units for their high-end peices but they also have a PROFIT at all cost mentality. I was actually at a spa show where one of the owners of MASTER was doing customer sales. I thought that was a GREAT move but later learned (during our private chat) that he was WAY too profit oriented when I put this to him... "When a large percentage of all spa sold are priced between $5K and $8K, why does Master price almost ALL of their spa's above the $8K mark." His response was that "there are people out there willing to pay $11K for a spa so why not take their money?" He was trying to pretend like they were a high end spa worthy of the additional $'s but this pitch made it transparent to me that he "could" sell these spa's more competitively but siply wasn't interested. The third listing you referenced, Gulf Coast Spa's should be AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS. These guys are the opposite end of the scale. They are CHEAP spas, PERIOD. They are worth $4K and that's what they sell for EVERY day. Gulf has this nasty marketing approach that is being investigated in numerous states where they "claim" that they are offering a $8K spa for $4,500 when in fact, that spa has NEVER been sold to ANYONE for $8K. They act like they are factory direct but the truth is that they will ship truckloads of Spas to ANYBODY who even expresses even the slightlest notion of sell spas. Usually, the "dealers" will be set up in temporary settgins like a monthly rental storage facility or a cheap out-of-the-way warehouse. In fact, that "dealer" could EASILY be gone tomorrow. They promote a central support desk but what you REALLY get is a person on the other end of the line saying ..."OK, now try this... Unplg X and reconnect Y....does it work now? Hmmm, no? let's try this...." Acting as the hands and eyes for a guy that is sitting at a desk somewhere is hardly what ANY spa owners want to do. If cheap is the PRIMARY driving factor consider Costco's rebranded Hot Springs or one of the Jacuzzi lower end spas you can get from (I don't recall the big store that does the low end Jacuzzi) for about $4,500 you can get a true name-brand tub. Hope this helps
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Excellent post! :)
Terminator
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Steve:
Some discovered Browser Stats:
Internet Explorer - 50.76%
Firefox - 36.20%
Safari - 7.69%
(I hear these tend to vary quite a lot any given week, for many different reasons...)
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OK, so my new Hydropool spa is being delivered tomarrow (wed), and they are building the room around it. Structure starts to go up on thursday. Unfortunately it will be a few weeks before I can actually use my tub :'(
but just seeing it out there will have to do for now. In the mean time we are going to put a protective coat of water sealer on the cabinet and steps. Any other pre-tub recommendations? Just toooo excited, and thanks every1 for the great imput- I am sure we've made the right choice!
Karen :D
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Don't use Thompsons' water sealer. It turns wood black, and stays oily for weeks. It is not really intended for use on decorative wood.
If you like the Thompsons' brand, they make some fine semi-transparent stain, which is what you should use.
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Sorry for the delay. Cedar they use is great quality, should last forever in the area you are placing it. You'll enjoy the spa. My concerns are the bottom cleaning system pulls dirt and debris through the pump area before being filtered, the filter is pressurized and the opening for the skimming action is extremely small. However, they do use very high quality components which will overall last a long time. Seating designs are a little old or look old I should say, but again components are very good.
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Sorry for the delay. Cedar they use is great quality, should last forever in the area you are placing it. You'll enjoy the spa. My concerns are the bottom cleaning system pulls dirt and debris through the pump area before being filtered, the filter is pressurized and the opening for the skimming action is extremely small. However, they do use very high quality components which will overall last a long time. Seating designs are a little old or look old I should say, but again components are very good.
I believe Kyle just set the record for the most "back handed compliments" in one post!!
She already purchased the spa so your "valued concerns" are kinda misplaced. :P
Should you require a detailed understanding of the designs in question Kyle, please don't hesitate to ask so I may make these clear to you. ::)
Oh, and BTW Kyle, that " bottom cleaning system" has only been done by us for 25 years but I'll let the factory know that you have some concerns with it... ;)
Steve
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;D Steve, WTG- I didn't quite understand that post either, I'm not looking for "other" spa salespersons opinions- I guess I will guide my future questions directly toward you, or intellectual individuals with information. The spa has arrived, unfortunately it will be awhile til we actually get to use it. The roof panels for our new Florida room are on back order, and they are not due in til next week. So constuction has been delayed a week. Once they get the structure started the tub will be moved into place, and the cables ran. We have decided to put indoor/outdoor carpeting under the tub and about 4 feet infront, for dryoff. The rest of the room will be ceramic tiled. I promise pictures with progress. Thanks again for all the great info.
Karen
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Sounds AWESOME Karen and I look forward to see the pics!
You have to understand Karen that even though there are some great spa vets here (and other forums) the advise one can receive isn't always based off of educated info. It's unfortunate really because it degrades the entire site...
Steve
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I believe Kyle just set the record for the most "back handed compliments" in one post!!
She already purchased the spa so your "valued concerns" are kinda misplaced. :P
Should you require a detailed understanding of the designs in question Kyle, please don't hesitate to ask so I may make these clear to you. ::)
Oh, and BTW Kyle, that " bottom cleaning system" has only been done by us for 25 years but I'll let the factory know that you have some concerns with it... ;)
Steve
I think this ties the record for the "most sarcastic" responses to "back handed" compliments.
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In the mean time we are going to put a protective coat of water sealer on the cabinet and steps. Any other pre-tub recommendations?
Karen :D
I used an Olympic Maximum 3 year sealant, and was very happy with the ease of application and the results. Also a cedar cabinet.
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I think this ties the record for the "most sarcastic" responses to "back handed" compliments.
Well, then...YOU just set the bar for the "cheekiest response" to "sarcastic responses" to a "backhanded compliment." :P (I think) ???
Steve
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The Self Clean aspect of Hydropool is what we are known for. This system has complete top and bottom filtration and is one of the only spa companies to address any debris that is heavier than water and sits in the footwell by removing it with the built in floor vacuum. It's very difficult to remove this otherwise and this debris causes more frequent draining and refilling.
Huh?
I have had 2 spas and never found it difficult to remove debris in the footwell and it's never caused more frequent draining and refilling.
::)
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Huh?
I have had 2 spas and never found it difficult to remove debris in the footwell and it's never caused more frequent draining and refilling.
::)
I have owned dozens of spas, and I agree - never found it tough to deal with the very rare debris in the footwell. Also never recall draining because of it.
???
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I have owned dozens of spas, and I agree - never found it tough to deal with the very rare debris in the footwell. Also never recall draining because of it.
???
If HS made a claim like this, or something related to superoir filtering, I think we'd see more people paying attention.
8)
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Yeah, I guess it's like "no bypass" filtration... Makes good hype but... ;)
I don't suggest by ANY means that this is a MAJOR issue in EVERY spa but the reality is that anything that is heavier than water will sit in the footwell. Ask anyone who's ever got sand in their spa. This, without even mentioning the additional volume of water that is being filtered because of it...
Also, any idea how many of those hand held "spa vacs" are sold every year? When I was with BC, we sold about 75 per year. That's 1 dealer... Obviously, there's a "few" people who might not agree with the 2 (two) of you guys... ;)
Steve
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But do you have a super high end diagram like Term has that clearly illustrates how it works? ;)
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But do you have a super high end diagram like Term has that clearly illustrates how it works? ;)
Sure Drewstar...try and make me look bad why don't you... :P ;)
Steve
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;D ya all, just crack me up...after a few beers - this is better than my soap, LOL. Anyway, ya all have at it- an I'll just let ya know how it goes when it does... thanks again,
Karen
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But do you have a super high end diagram like Term has that clearly illustrates how it works? ;)
How about a diagram with text that is impossible to read?
http://www.hydropoolhottubs.com/en/selfClean/6_8.cfm