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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2016
Wow. I am really impressed so far with this hot tub! I have owned this tub for about 5 days now and I will take you through my experience so far.
Delivery:
Arrived on time, the box was pretty beat up and looked like it may have been opened and taped shut again at some point. It was the actual Coleman-branded box, not just brown cardboard, and it was probably two feet tall, three feet long and maybe two and a half feet wide. Weight was given as 88 pounds. The UPS guy looked a little annoyed to be delivering such a heavy, large box, but didn't require a signature. The box has handles on it and I was able to pick it up by myself and move it to the car port in my back yard.
Setup:
Despite my suspicion that this had been returned, everything inside the box appeared factory-sealed. They must suck all the air out of this thing with a pump because it was TIGHTLY packed. Pro tip: open the pressure valve right away and press the button. It will actually let some air in and make the thing much more workable. I plugged in the GFCI plug (It's a BIG plug so make sure you have room) and attached the hose and the pressure gauge. The tub inflated in under ten minutes with no problem. As other reviews have stated, the pressure gauge is pretty much useless, so just use some common sense and stop adding air when it feels solid. Also blow up the "disk" that acts as the insulator for the top. If you can, try to inflate this while it is still in the sleeve. It's a pain to try to get it back in the sleeve after you blow it up. Might be easier with help, though. I removed the plugs and attached the filters. It's easy, they screw right on. Next attached the control "egg" to the three points on the outside. Everything screwed on cleanly and easily. Finally, fill it up. I first ran my garden hose and connected it to the hot water hose for the washer. I let that run until the hot water tank was empty and then connected it to the spigot outside and let it fill up the rest of the way. I added a few pots of boiling water along the way for good measure, but I don't think they made much difference. Total capacity is 257 gallons. I think it ended up filling in less than hour and my starting temp was around 70 degrees F. I activated the heater and turned it up to 104. From 70 degrees it took about 25 hours to heat up the rest of the way. This was in temps ranging from a high of 40 during the day to about 28 at night. By about 8:30pm the next day, the tub was ready to go!
Chemicals:
This is my very first pool or hot tub so I had a lot of boning up to do on chemicals. I read a ton of forums and info sites in order to get prepared. It turns out the chemicals are VERY important. Don't skip out on this. Think about it. This thing is 100 degrees of moisture combined with human oils and dirt. It's just asking for bacteria to grow. It's basically a supersized culturing machine. If you let this go, not only will it be harder on your filters and your heater/pump, you could also get very very sick. I read some terrible stories about people neglecting this and getting horribly ill from bacterial infections. Don't be that guy. That being said, you can get a year's worth of chemicals for around 50 bucks. You can choose between chlorine or bromine as your sanitizer. I chose bromine because my girlfriend has sensitive skin and I read that bromine is easier on skin and leaves less odor. I purchased Leisure Time branded chemicals and have had good luck so far. Here's what I got to start:
-4 Way Bromine Test Strips - use to determine your water chemistry so you can adjust.
-Sodium Bromide granuals - use as directed (I think I started with 2.5 tablespoons) NOTE: Think of this as dormant Bromine. It needs to be "activated" by "shocking" via non-chlorine shock. At first you're building a reserve of bromide which will be converted to bromine when shocked.
-Renew - This is your non-chlorine shock which will convert your sodium bromide to bromine
-PH up - raises ph level of water
-PH down - lowers ph level of water
-Total Alkalinity increaser - raises TA of water (TA works like a PH buffer and helps prevent large swings in ph balance) I haven't had to use this yet.
-Brominating Tablets - use in floater to continually add bromine to water
-Calcium control - can use to increase calcium level of water (I haven't had to us this yet)
-Clear Spa - enzymes that help clean the water and keep it clear. I've added some, and my water has stayed clear, but i'm not sure if it is because of this product.
Here's is my experience adding the chemicals: I added I think 2.5 tablespoons of sodium bromide and then I believe 1 tsp. of shock. I ran the bubbles for half an hour or so. I came back and tested the water and it showed zero bromine and the PH was pretty high. Everything else looked okay though. I added some PH down and one more tablespoon of sodium bromide and maybe a third tsp. of shock. I ran the bubbler for maybe ten minutes and then I had to leave for a few hours. I came back and the bromine was off the charts. The stick showed bright glowing purple and it smelled super strongly. I'm pretty sure it was so high that it was affecting the other test results too. At this point i'm a little frustrated but decided to let it go until the next day when it would be at temperature. I read some forums saying the best way to decrease to bromine levels is to use the tub (though I also read that soaking in super high bromine levels was probably horrible for you. I took the chance. You may not want to risk it. It didn't seem to affect me negatively at all except smelling little like bleach for a couple hours. No rash or irritated skin or anything.) I soaked for maybe 10 minutes and then came back a few hours later. Guess what. Bromine back at 0. This time I added 1 tablespoon of bromide granuals and 1 tsp of shock. Ran the bubbler for a bit. Covered it up and came back yet a few more hours later. This time, the bromine was a bit on the high side, maybe around 10 but not horrible. So me and my girlfriend got in for half an hour or so. At this point I added the floater with 3 of the brominating tablets in it. Came back the next day and all of my numbers, including bromine, were spot on. Your mileage may vary. But I'd say if your PH is okay, don't be afraid to use it.
Usage:
This thing is SOLID. I was concerned it might feel fragile, but I am no longer concerned. It is TOUGH. And the pump and pipes and connectors also seem really well made. After the initial heat up (in 40ish degree weather) we immediately had a couple of days of super cold weather (lows around 3 degrees). I've been very surprised at how well this thing heats up and maintains temperature considering it only has air as an insulator. I did add some 2inch builder's insulation sheets for the whole thing to sit on so that the concrete pad doesn't suck away all the warmth through the bottom. But we were using it last night in 4 degree weather and the temp dropped maybe 4 degrees over 2 hours. FYI with the bubbles on in that cold of weather, the temp drops pretty fast since it takes in outside air and injects in the water. One thing I did notice though is that when the blower is running, the "egg" thinks the temp drops faster than it does. As soon as you turn the heat back on, it shoots back up 4 or 5 degrees right away. So keep that in mind. It's not cooling as fast as you think. I would also state that the bubbles are AWESOME. Way better than you’d think for this price. As other reviewers have suggested, I’m lowering the temp to 100 or 99 when I’m not using the tub. This seems to make a huge difference in how much the heater runs. Just have to turn it back up a few hours before using it. I have noticed that my inflated lid has lost some pressure. I’m not sure if there is a leak, if it’s leaking slightly around the valve or if my 110 pound german shepherd punctured it slightly when he stepped on it. I guess I will try airing it up again with my compressor and see if it stays.
Summary:
5 days in, this tub has been an incredible value. The 5 star reviews on here are not over-stated. The bubbles are awesome, it keeps the temp pretty well, it’s SOLID construction and engineering. And it totally works in weather under 40 degrees. Don’t let that scare you. Just make sure you get the water warm and don’t let it freeze in the pump when it’s cold outside. And don’t forget about the 72 hour auto shutoff. We added a projector and a screen to our setup so we can sit outside and watch movies from the tub! Get this tub! It’s awesome!
UPDATE 2/3/16 - About a month of owning this hot tub and using it every night, i'm still in love! No problems so far and I've even been using it in weather as low as 2 degrees. I haven't gotten my first electric bill yet... that has me worried.
UPDATE: 3/24/16 - Still loving the tub.. thought it has lost a little bit of air. Not enough to be an issue, just noticeable a little softer than before. I'm getting ready to move houses though so it will be a good opportunity to drain, clean and refill the air. I honestly haven't really even noticed much of an increase in the power bill.
UPDATE 11/22/16 - After about a year of owning this tub, it still works like a charm. This is even after moving it to a new house. Still heats up just fine and keeps its temperature. Bubbles are still great and the vessel seems to hold air without leaks. My girlfriend agreed that even if we have a problem soon, we got way more than our money's worth and would purchase a new one. Luckily no issues so far though.
Delivery:
Arrived on time, the box was pretty beat up and looked like it may have been opened and taped shut again at some point. It was the actual Coleman-branded box, not just brown cardboard, and it was probably two feet tall, three feet long and maybe two and a half feet wide. Weight was given as 88 pounds. The UPS guy looked a little annoyed to be delivering such a heavy, large box, but didn't require a signature. The box has handles on it and I was able to pick it up by myself and move it to the car port in my back yard.
Setup:
Despite my suspicion that this had been returned, everything inside the box appeared factory-sealed. They must suck all the air out of this thing with a pump because it was TIGHTLY packed. Pro tip: open the pressure valve right away and press the button. It will actually let some air in and make the thing much more workable. I plugged in the GFCI plug (It's a BIG plug so make sure you have room) and attached the hose and the pressure gauge. The tub inflated in under ten minutes with no problem. As other reviews have stated, the pressure gauge is pretty much useless, so just use some common sense and stop adding air when it feels solid. Also blow up the "disk" that acts as the insulator for the top. If you can, try to inflate this while it is still in the sleeve. It's a pain to try to get it back in the sleeve after you blow it up. Might be easier with help, though. I removed the plugs and attached the filters. It's easy, they screw right on. Next attached the control "egg" to the three points on the outside. Everything screwed on cleanly and easily. Finally, fill it up. I first ran my garden hose and connected it to the hot water hose for the washer. I let that run until the hot water tank was empty and then connected it to the spigot outside and let it fill up the rest of the way. I added a few pots of boiling water along the way for good measure, but I don't think they made much difference. Total capacity is 257 gallons. I think it ended up filling in less than hour and my starting temp was around 70 degrees F. I activated the heater and turned it up to 104. From 70 degrees it took about 25 hours to heat up the rest of the way. This was in temps ranging from a high of 40 during the day to about 28 at night. By about 8:30pm the next day, the tub was ready to go!
Chemicals:
This is my very first pool or hot tub so I had a lot of boning up to do on chemicals. I read a ton of forums and info sites in order to get prepared. It turns out the chemicals are VERY important. Don't skip out on this. Think about it. This thing is 100 degrees of moisture combined with human oils and dirt. It's just asking for bacteria to grow. It's basically a supersized culturing machine. If you let this go, not only will it be harder on your filters and your heater/pump, you could also get very very sick. I read some terrible stories about people neglecting this and getting horribly ill from bacterial infections. Don't be that guy. That being said, you can get a year's worth of chemicals for around 50 bucks. You can choose between chlorine or bromine as your sanitizer. I chose bromine because my girlfriend has sensitive skin and I read that bromine is easier on skin and leaves less odor. I purchased Leisure Time branded chemicals and have had good luck so far. Here's what I got to start:
-4 Way Bromine Test Strips - use to determine your water chemistry so you can adjust.
-Sodium Bromide granuals - use as directed (I think I started with 2.5 tablespoons) NOTE: Think of this as dormant Bromine. It needs to be "activated" by "shocking" via non-chlorine shock. At first you're building a reserve of bromide which will be converted to bromine when shocked.
-Renew - This is your non-chlorine shock which will convert your sodium bromide to bromine
-PH up - raises ph level of water
-PH down - lowers ph level of water
-Total Alkalinity increaser - raises TA of water (TA works like a PH buffer and helps prevent large swings in ph balance) I haven't had to use this yet.
-Brominating Tablets - use in floater to continually add bromine to water
-Calcium control - can use to increase calcium level of water (I haven't had to us this yet)
-Clear Spa - enzymes that help clean the water and keep it clear. I've added some, and my water has stayed clear, but i'm not sure if it is because of this product.
Here's is my experience adding the chemicals: I added I think 2.5 tablespoons of sodium bromide and then I believe 1 tsp. of shock. I ran the bubbles for half an hour or so. I came back and tested the water and it showed zero bromine and the PH was pretty high. Everything else looked okay though. I added some PH down and one more tablespoon of sodium bromide and maybe a third tsp. of shock. I ran the bubbler for maybe ten minutes and then I had to leave for a few hours. I came back and the bromine was off the charts. The stick showed bright glowing purple and it smelled super strongly. I'm pretty sure it was so high that it was affecting the other test results too. At this point i'm a little frustrated but decided to let it go until the next day when it would be at temperature. I read some forums saying the best way to decrease to bromine levels is to use the tub (though I also read that soaking in super high bromine levels was probably horrible for you. I took the chance. You may not want to risk it. It didn't seem to affect me negatively at all except smelling little like bleach for a couple hours. No rash or irritated skin or anything.) I soaked for maybe 10 minutes and then came back a few hours later. Guess what. Bromine back at 0. This time I added 1 tablespoon of bromide granuals and 1 tsp of shock. Ran the bubbler for a bit. Covered it up and came back yet a few more hours later. This time, the bromine was a bit on the high side, maybe around 10 but not horrible. So me and my girlfriend got in for half an hour or so. At this point I added the floater with 3 of the brominating tablets in it. Came back the next day and all of my numbers, including bromine, were spot on. Your mileage may vary. But I'd say if your PH is okay, don't be afraid to use it.
Usage:
This thing is SOLID. I was concerned it might feel fragile, but I am no longer concerned. It is TOUGH. And the pump and pipes and connectors also seem really well made. After the initial heat up (in 40ish degree weather) we immediately had a couple of days of super cold weather (lows around 3 degrees). I've been very surprised at how well this thing heats up and maintains temperature considering it only has air as an insulator. I did add some 2inch builder's insulation sheets for the whole thing to sit on so that the concrete pad doesn't suck away all the warmth through the bottom. But we were using it last night in 4 degree weather and the temp dropped maybe 4 degrees over 2 hours. FYI with the bubbles on in that cold of weather, the temp drops pretty fast since it takes in outside air and injects in the water. One thing I did notice though is that when the blower is running, the "egg" thinks the temp drops faster than it does. As soon as you turn the heat back on, it shoots back up 4 or 5 degrees right away. So keep that in mind. It's not cooling as fast as you think. I would also state that the bubbles are AWESOME. Way better than you’d think for this price. As other reviewers have suggested, I’m lowering the temp to 100 or 99 when I’m not using the tub. This seems to make a huge difference in how much the heater runs. Just have to turn it back up a few hours before using it. I have noticed that my inflated lid has lost some pressure. I’m not sure if there is a leak, if it’s leaking slightly around the valve or if my 110 pound german shepherd punctured it slightly when he stepped on it. I guess I will try airing it up again with my compressor and see if it stays.
Summary:
5 days in, this tub has been an incredible value. The 5 star reviews on here are not over-stated. The bubbles are awesome, it keeps the temp pretty well, it’s SOLID construction and engineering. And it totally works in weather under 40 degrees. Don’t let that scare you. Just make sure you get the water warm and don’t let it freeze in the pump when it’s cold outside. And don’t forget about the 72 hour auto shutoff. We added a projector and a screen to our setup so we can sit outside and watch movies from the tub! Get this tub! It’s awesome!
UPDATE 2/3/16 - About a month of owning this hot tub and using it every night, i'm still in love! No problems so far and I've even been using it in weather as low as 2 degrees. I haven't gotten my first electric bill yet... that has me worried.
UPDATE: 3/24/16 - Still loving the tub.. thought it has lost a little bit of air. Not enough to be an issue, just noticeable a little softer than before. I'm getting ready to move houses though so it will be a good opportunity to drain, clean and refill the air. I honestly haven't really even noticed much of an increase in the power bill.
UPDATE 11/22/16 - After about a year of owning this tub, it still works like a charm. This is even after moving it to a new house. Still heats up just fine and keeps its temperature. Bubbles are still great and the vessel seems to hold air without leaks. My girlfriend agreed that even if we have a problem soon, we got way more than our money's worth and would purchase a new one. Luckily no issues so far though.
Wow. I am really impressed so far with this hot tub! I have owned this tub for about 5 days now and I will take you through my experience so far.
Delivery:
Arrived on time, the box was pretty beat up and looked like it may have been opened and taped shut again at some point. It was the actual Coleman-branded box, not just brown cardboard, and it was probably two feet tall, three feet long and maybe two and a half feet wide. Weight was given as 88 pounds. The UPS guy looked a little annoyed to be delivering such a heavy, large box, but didn't require a signature. The box has handles on it and I was able to pick it up by myself and move it to the car port in my back yard.
Setup:
Despite my suspicion that this had been returned, everything inside the box appeared factory-sealed. They must suck all the air out of this thing with a pump because it was TIGHTLY packed. Pro tip: open the pressure valve right away and press the button. It will actually let some air in and make the thing much more workable. I plugged in the GFCI plug (It's a BIG plug so make sure you have room) and attached the hose and the pressure gauge. The tub inflated in under ten minutes with no problem. As other reviews have stated, the pressure gauge is pretty much useless, so just use some common sense and stop adding air when it feels solid. Also blow up the "disk" that acts as the insulator for the top. If you can, try to inflate this while it is still in the sleeve. It's a pain to try to get it back in the sleeve after you blow it up. Might be easier with help, though. I removed the plugs and attached the filters. It's easy, they screw right on. Next attached the control "egg" to the three points on the outside. Everything screwed on cleanly and easily. Finally, fill it up. I first ran my garden hose and connected it to the hot water hose for the washer. I let that run until the hot water tank was empty and then connected it to the spigot outside and let it fill up the rest of the way. I added a few pots of boiling water along the way for good measure, but I don't think they made much difference. Total capacity is 257 gallons. I think it ended up filling in less than hour and my starting temp was around 70 degrees F. I activated the heater and turned it up to 104. From 70 degrees it took about 25 hours to heat up the rest of the way. This was in temps ranging from a high of 40 during the day to about 28 at night. By about 8:30pm the next day, the tub was ready to go!
Chemicals:
This is my very first pool or hot tub so I had a lot of boning up to do on chemicals. I read a ton of forums and info sites in order to get prepared. It turns out the chemicals are VERY important. Don't skip out on this. Think about it. This thing is 100 degrees of moisture combined with human oils and dirt. It's just asking for bacteria to grow. It's basically a supersized culturing machine. If you let this go, not only will it be harder on your filters and your heater/pump, you could also get very very sick. I read some terrible stories about people neglecting this and getting horribly ill from bacterial infections. Don't be that guy. That being said, you can get a year's worth of chemicals for around 50 bucks. You can choose between chlorine or bromine as your sanitizer. I chose bromine because my girlfriend has sensitive skin and I read that bromine is easier on skin and leaves less odor. I purchased Leisure Time branded chemicals and have had good luck so far. Here's what I got to start:
-4 Way Bromine Test Strips - use to determine your water chemistry so you can adjust.
-Sodium Bromide granuals - use as directed (I think I started with 2.5 tablespoons) NOTE: Think of this as dormant Bromine. It needs to be "activated" by "shocking" via non-chlorine shock. At first you're building a reserve of bromide which will be converted to bromine when shocked.
-Renew - This is your non-chlorine shock which will convert your sodium bromide to bromine
-PH up - raises ph level of water
-PH down - lowers ph level of water
-Total Alkalinity increaser - raises TA of water (TA works like a PH buffer and helps prevent large swings in ph balance) I haven't had to use this yet.
-Brominating Tablets - use in floater to continually add bromine to water
-Calcium control - can use to increase calcium level of water (I haven't had to us this yet)
-Clear Spa - enzymes that help clean the water and keep it clear. I've added some, and my water has stayed clear, but i'm not sure if it is because of this product.
Here's is my experience adding the chemicals: I added I think 2.5 tablespoons of sodium bromide and then I believe 1 tsp. of shock. I ran the bubbles for half an hour or so. I came back and tested the water and it showed zero bromine and the PH was pretty high. Everything else looked okay though. I added some PH down and one more tablespoon of sodium bromide and maybe a third tsp. of shock. I ran the bubbler for maybe ten minutes and then I had to leave for a few hours. I came back and the bromine was off the charts. The stick showed bright glowing purple and it smelled super strongly. I'm pretty sure it was so high that it was affecting the other test results too. At this point i'm a little frustrated but decided to let it go until the next day when it would be at temperature. I read some forums saying the best way to decrease to bromine levels is to use the tub (though I also read that soaking in super high bromine levels was probably horrible for you. I took the chance. You may not want to risk it. It didn't seem to affect me negatively at all except smelling little like bleach for a couple hours. No rash or irritated skin or anything.) I soaked for maybe 10 minutes and then came back a few hours later. Guess what. Bromine back at 0. This time I added 1 tablespoon of bromide granuals and 1 tsp of shock. Ran the bubbler for a bit. Covered it up and came back yet a few more hours later. This time, the bromine was a bit on the high side, maybe around 10 but not horrible. So me and my girlfriend got in for half an hour or so. At this point I added the floater with 3 of the brominating tablets in it. Came back the next day and all of my numbers, including bromine, were spot on. Your mileage may vary. But I'd say if your PH is okay, don't be afraid to use it.
Usage:
This thing is SOLID. I was concerned it might feel fragile, but I am no longer concerned. It is TOUGH. And the pump and pipes and connectors also seem really well made. After the initial heat up (in 40ish degree weather) we immediately had a couple of days of super cold weather (lows around 3 degrees). I've been very surprised at how well this thing heats up and maintains temperature considering it only has air as an insulator. I did add some 2inch builder's insulation sheets for the whole thing to sit on so that the concrete pad doesn't suck away all the warmth through the bottom. But we were using it last night in 4 degree weather and the temp dropped maybe 4 degrees over 2 hours. FYI with the bubbles on in that cold of weather, the temp drops pretty fast since it takes in outside air and injects in the water. One thing I did notice though is that when the blower is running, the "egg" thinks the temp drops faster than it does. As soon as you turn the heat back on, it shoots back up 4 or 5 degrees right away. So keep that in mind. It's not cooling as fast as you think. I would also state that the bubbles are AWESOME. Way better than you’d think for this price. As other reviewers have suggested, I’m lowering the temp to 100 or 99 when I’m not using the tub. This seems to make a huge difference in how much the heater runs. Just have to turn it back up a few hours before using it. I have noticed that my inflated lid has lost some pressure. I’m not sure if there is a leak, if it’s leaking slightly around the valve or if my 110 pound german shepherd punctured it slightly when he stepped on it. I guess I will try airing it up again with my compressor and see if it stays.
Summary:
5 days in, this tub has been an incredible value. The 5 star reviews on here are not over-stated. The bubbles are awesome, it keeps the temp pretty well, it’s SOLID construction and engineering. And it totally works in weather under 40 degrees. Don’t let that scare you. Just make sure you get the water warm and don’t let it freeze in the pump when it’s cold outside. And don’t forget about the 72 hour auto shutoff. We added a projector and a screen to our setup so we can sit outside and watch movies from the tub! Get this tub! It’s awesome!
UPDATE 2/3/16 - About a month of owning this hot tub and using it every night, i'm still in love! No problems so far and I've even been using it in weather as low as 2 degrees. I haven't gotten my first electric bill yet... that has me worried.
UPDATE: 3/24/16 - Still loving the tub.. thought it has lost a little bit of air. Not enough to be an issue, just noticeable a little softer than before. I'm getting ready to move houses though so it will be a good opportunity to drain, clean and refill the air. I honestly haven't really even noticed much of an increase in the power bill.
UPDATE 11/22/16 - After about a year of owning this tub, it still works like a charm. This is even after moving it to a new house. Still heats up just fine and keeps its temperature. Bubbles are still great and the vessel seems to hold air without leaks. My girlfriend agreed that even if we have a problem soon, we got way more than our money's worth and would purchase a new one. Luckily no issues so far though.
Delivery:
Arrived on time, the box was pretty beat up and looked like it may have been opened and taped shut again at some point. It was the actual Coleman-branded box, not just brown cardboard, and it was probably two feet tall, three feet long and maybe two and a half feet wide. Weight was given as 88 pounds. The UPS guy looked a little annoyed to be delivering such a heavy, large box, but didn't require a signature. The box has handles on it and I was able to pick it up by myself and move it to the car port in my back yard.
Setup:
Despite my suspicion that this had been returned, everything inside the box appeared factory-sealed. They must suck all the air out of this thing with a pump because it was TIGHTLY packed. Pro tip: open the pressure valve right away and press the button. It will actually let some air in and make the thing much more workable. I plugged in the GFCI plug (It's a BIG plug so make sure you have room) and attached the hose and the pressure gauge. The tub inflated in under ten minutes with no problem. As other reviews have stated, the pressure gauge is pretty much useless, so just use some common sense and stop adding air when it feels solid. Also blow up the "disk" that acts as the insulator for the top. If you can, try to inflate this while it is still in the sleeve. It's a pain to try to get it back in the sleeve after you blow it up. Might be easier with help, though. I removed the plugs and attached the filters. It's easy, they screw right on. Next attached the control "egg" to the three points on the outside. Everything screwed on cleanly and easily. Finally, fill it up. I first ran my garden hose and connected it to the hot water hose for the washer. I let that run until the hot water tank was empty and then connected it to the spigot outside and let it fill up the rest of the way. I added a few pots of boiling water along the way for good measure, but I don't think they made much difference. Total capacity is 257 gallons. I think it ended up filling in less than hour and my starting temp was around 70 degrees F. I activated the heater and turned it up to 104. From 70 degrees it took about 25 hours to heat up the rest of the way. This was in temps ranging from a high of 40 during the day to about 28 at night. By about 8:30pm the next day, the tub was ready to go!
Chemicals:
This is my very first pool or hot tub so I had a lot of boning up to do on chemicals. I read a ton of forums and info sites in order to get prepared. It turns out the chemicals are VERY important. Don't skip out on this. Think about it. This thing is 100 degrees of moisture combined with human oils and dirt. It's just asking for bacteria to grow. It's basically a supersized culturing machine. If you let this go, not only will it be harder on your filters and your heater/pump, you could also get very very sick. I read some terrible stories about people neglecting this and getting horribly ill from bacterial infections. Don't be that guy. That being said, you can get a year's worth of chemicals for around 50 bucks. You can choose between chlorine or bromine as your sanitizer. I chose bromine because my girlfriend has sensitive skin and I read that bromine is easier on skin and leaves less odor. I purchased Leisure Time branded chemicals and have had good luck so far. Here's what I got to start:
-4 Way Bromine Test Strips - use to determine your water chemistry so you can adjust.
-Sodium Bromide granuals - use as directed (I think I started with 2.5 tablespoons) NOTE: Think of this as dormant Bromine. It needs to be "activated" by "shocking" via non-chlorine shock. At first you're building a reserve of bromide which will be converted to bromine when shocked.
-Renew - This is your non-chlorine shock which will convert your sodium bromide to bromine
-PH up - raises ph level of water
-PH down - lowers ph level of water
-Total Alkalinity increaser - raises TA of water (TA works like a PH buffer and helps prevent large swings in ph balance) I haven't had to use this yet.
-Brominating Tablets - use in floater to continually add bromine to water
-Calcium control - can use to increase calcium level of water (I haven't had to us this yet)
-Clear Spa - enzymes that help clean the water and keep it clear. I've added some, and my water has stayed clear, but i'm not sure if it is because of this product.
Here's is my experience adding the chemicals: I added I think 2.5 tablespoons of sodium bromide and then I believe 1 tsp. of shock. I ran the bubbles for half an hour or so. I came back and tested the water and it showed zero bromine and the PH was pretty high. Everything else looked okay though. I added some PH down and one more tablespoon of sodium bromide and maybe a third tsp. of shock. I ran the bubbler for maybe ten minutes and then I had to leave for a few hours. I came back and the bromine was off the charts. The stick showed bright glowing purple and it smelled super strongly. I'm pretty sure it was so high that it was affecting the other test results too. At this point i'm a little frustrated but decided to let it go until the next day when it would be at temperature. I read some forums saying the best way to decrease to bromine levels is to use the tub (though I also read that soaking in super high bromine levels was probably horrible for you. I took the chance. You may not want to risk it. It didn't seem to affect me negatively at all except smelling little like bleach for a couple hours. No rash or irritated skin or anything.) I soaked for maybe 10 minutes and then came back a few hours later. Guess what. Bromine back at 0. This time I added 1 tablespoon of bromide granuals and 1 tsp of shock. Ran the bubbler for a bit. Covered it up and came back yet a few more hours later. This time, the bromine was a bit on the high side, maybe around 10 but not horrible. So me and my girlfriend got in for half an hour or so. At this point I added the floater with 3 of the brominating tablets in it. Came back the next day and all of my numbers, including bromine, were spot on. Your mileage may vary. But I'd say if your PH is okay, don't be afraid to use it.
Usage:
This thing is SOLID. I was concerned it might feel fragile, but I am no longer concerned. It is TOUGH. And the pump and pipes and connectors also seem really well made. After the initial heat up (in 40ish degree weather) we immediately had a couple of days of super cold weather (lows around 3 degrees). I've been very surprised at how well this thing heats up and maintains temperature considering it only has air as an insulator. I did add some 2inch builder's insulation sheets for the whole thing to sit on so that the concrete pad doesn't suck away all the warmth through the bottom. But we were using it last night in 4 degree weather and the temp dropped maybe 4 degrees over 2 hours. FYI with the bubbles on in that cold of weather, the temp drops pretty fast since it takes in outside air and injects in the water. One thing I did notice though is that when the blower is running, the "egg" thinks the temp drops faster than it does. As soon as you turn the heat back on, it shoots back up 4 or 5 degrees right away. So keep that in mind. It's not cooling as fast as you think. I would also state that the bubbles are AWESOME. Way better than you’d think for this price. As other reviewers have suggested, I’m lowering the temp to 100 or 99 when I’m not using the tub. This seems to make a huge difference in how much the heater runs. Just have to turn it back up a few hours before using it. I have noticed that my inflated lid has lost some pressure. I’m not sure if there is a leak, if it’s leaking slightly around the valve or if my 110 pound german shepherd punctured it slightly when he stepped on it. I guess I will try airing it up again with my compressor and see if it stays.
Summary:
5 days in, this tub has been an incredible value. The 5 star reviews on here are not over-stated. The bubbles are awesome, it keeps the temp pretty well, it’s SOLID construction and engineering. And it totally works in weather under 40 degrees. Don’t let that scare you. Just make sure you get the water warm and don’t let it freeze in the pump when it’s cold outside. And don’t forget about the 72 hour auto shutoff. We added a projector and a screen to our setup so we can sit outside and watch movies from the tub! Get this tub! It’s awesome!
UPDATE 2/3/16 - About a month of owning this hot tub and using it every night, i'm still in love! No problems so far and I've even been using it in weather as low as 2 degrees. I haven't gotten my first electric bill yet... that has me worried.
UPDATE: 3/24/16 - Still loving the tub.. thought it has lost a little bit of air. Not enough to be an issue, just noticeable a little softer than before. I'm getting ready to move houses though so it will be a good opportunity to drain, clean and refill the air. I honestly haven't really even noticed much of an increase in the power bill.
UPDATE 11/22/16 - After about a year of owning this tub, it still works like a charm. This is even after moving it to a new house. Still heats up just fine and keeps its temperature. Bubbles are still great and the vessel seems to hold air without leaks. My girlfriend agreed that even if we have a problem soon, we got way more than our money's worth and would purchase a new one. Luckily no issues so far though.
Images in this review
