Remember price directly relates to quality, this is true for anything you buy. Take a laptop for example, the more you spend, the better the graphics card and memory get. This is a simple way of looking at it but it’s also true for spa pools. The more you spend, the better the components, insulation and filtration will be. This directly impacts how long your spa will last, what it will cost to run and how how much chemical usage the spa demands to keep you safe.
When you save the cost of overheads like you do when you buy a spa online, you spend time instead of money to find exactly the right spa for you.
Most people get caught up on the price, size, number of jets and seats. These are things you can see and companies play this numbers game to make you feel they are giving you quality and value. Most of the spa is hidden inside the cabinet and this is where high running cost spa companies save their money to meet a price point. At the end of the day, would you buy a car without looking at it inside and out?
Here are our top five things NOT to do when buying a spa pool.
- DON’T buy a spa without a separate circulation pump
- DON’T buy a spa without looking inside the cabinets and be worried if asking to do so causes concern or delay
- DON’T just buy on price
- DON’T buy too small for your needs
- DON’T buy a spa with any less than a 3kw heater
Here are our top five things you NEED to consider when buying a spa pool.
- CONSIDER the type of shell and frame construction - These are the only two parts on a spa that can’t be replaced. so when either of these two fail, your spa is at the end of its life.
- LOOK at the plumbing - you have hundreds of points a spa can leak, so you don’t want to be fixing these during the first few years. AT ALL! Saving money here will cost you dearly in the future.
- ASSESS Components - are they quality brands and can they be easily replaced years down. Also, does the seller carry spare parts.
- REMEMBER massage hydrotherapy, as this is why spas where originally created. Even if you feel you don’t use the “jets”, why not have the best experience when you do.
- UNDERSTAND the chemical filtration, this is a key consideration and well worth doing research before the purchase of any spa.
WE WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU GET PICTURES OF THE INSIDE OF ANY SPA YOU ARE LOOKING AT BUYING BEFORE YOU BUY.
Let’s break these down the technical key features in more detail and answer some questions you may have.
Filtration
Who enjoys using chemicals or being locked into to just using chlorine. You want choices depending on your lifestyle and the family’s health needs. All spas need sanitizer to help them break down algae, bio waste and to help kill bacteria. There are natural alternatives to chlorine. Here a few tips on the pros and cons of a few filtration systems in the New Zealand market today.
1) CD Ozone - Common and in all spas found in NZ and dramatically reduces the amount of chemicals required in a spa. The spa fires super charged O3 gas into the water blasting all the chemicals away. Chlorine is still required to help this system, but we do offer non chlorine options as an alternative.
2) Salt - We at NZ Spas Online did a lot of research into this area and have decided that it offers little to no benefit to the spa user. The myth with salt spas is that you are getting away from Chlorine. This is in fact is a misdirection. There will be a salt cell chlorinator within the spa that turns the salt into chlorine. You lock yourself into a chlorine-based system and have no alternatives to get away from chlorine and use natural alternatives. We also felt the corrosive properties of salt cause long term damage to the spa pool by dramatically reducing the spa components lifetime and increasing the cost of maintenance. Salt spas also lock you into using the spa brands proprietary components that are normally well over market value and only available through their supply. Buyer; please be beware here of the on going costs of salt spa pools in the future.
3) CD Ozone and UV purifier - This is similar technology that is used in most water drinking and filtration systems. UV purifier can kill up to 99.9 percent of bacteria found in water. Some bacteria is resilient to chlorine and other sanitizers, so this is extra peace of mind and safety for any family or spa user. We offer this technology with our Heaphy, Kepler, Routeburn and Tongariro models. If you are pre-ordering a spa, you can upgrade your pool to include UV Purification at 50% off until further notice.
Beware of brands that offer 24/7 filtration, this means your spa will always be running and the costs will be high to run these options. Also, if the retailer is unable to offer good advice on your personal needs around chemical options, then decide if this is the best choice in a spa option for you.
Framing
One of the most important parts of your spa that no one looks at. We don’t mean the nice glossy cabinets that you can see, we mean the frame that holds your spa together. There are 3 primary materials these are constructed from; wood, plastic and alloy or steal.
1) Wood - The most tradition way of making a frame. In recent years there has been a trend to get the cheapest spas possible into the market and this is one area that spa companies save money. Most US made brands will use tanalised wood, which will last well into the future. The trend of out of China and big box retailers in NZ is to use stained treated wood. This dramatically shortens the life span of the spa and the length of the warranty is a good indication of this. Advantages of wood are that it allows the spa to settle on your surface and not stress the shell. Life expectancy of your spa - tanalised wood = 15-20 years. Non tanalised wood 5-10 years.
2) Plastic - Perfect for spas. Lasts, lets the spa settle on your surface and is near indestructible. Check if this is recyclable at the end of the spa’s life. Life expectancy of spas with a plastic frame 15 to 20 years.
3) Steal or alloy - Again, great for spas, if done properly. Steal and alloy can be to rigid for spas to settle on your surface and place all the load directly on your shell, cracking it over time (which most companies wont warranty). We use a combo of 20mm to 40mm alloy to allow the framing some flex, without losing any structural strength. Alloy can also be recycled at the end of the spas life, reducing our footprint in the world. Life expectancy of a spa with an alloy frame 15 to 20 years.
Plumbing
There are hundreds of places you can leak from so here a few tips to look out for.
Spas run hot water with chemicals through them, which will break down and make plumbing brittle over time causing leaks that can be hard to find and fix. Look for a food grade plumbing that is designed for this environment and has good warranties for the spa company you are looking at.
Make sure the plumbing is clamped and glued. Without clamping in the high-pressure points, plumbing will eventually burst off, causing rapid water loss and major repair costs. Similar if the plumbing isn’t glued and welded together. Repairs are likely very early on within the spa and ongoing problems will never cease.
In our opinion spraying foam on the plumbing is a recipe for disaster. It can create temperature spikes that the plumbing isn’t designed to withstand making it brittle over a short period of time. Having spray foam on your plumbing makes it hard to find the leak and very messy trying to make any repairs, to the point where many spa technicians wont repair spas with spray foaming.
Components
There are many good component companies in the spa industry. We decide to spec our spas with Balboa USA made components. Balboa has been making spa components since 1979 and is the largest and most respected spa component company in the world. We carry all back up components and they are widely available in the marketplace.
We won’t sell a spa without a circulation pump. Most of our competitors will remove the circulation pump to meet price points and not make the customer aware of the benefits of a circulation pump. A circulation pump will not only save you money but will also be whisper quiet. If you are placing a spa outside a bedroom or on a deck, you don’t want to hear the spa or feel the vibration through the deck. We use a tiny .35hp circulation pump in all our spas, so you can rest easy that its efficient, vibration free and whisper quiet. Typically, if a retailer is not shouting out that the spa has a circulation pump, it won’t have one, ask the question or you may regret not doing so.
We also only use 3kw heaters. Some major brands or price point spas will use 1.5w or 2kw and claim they are more efficient; this is in your opinion incorrect and only a cost saving measure. The faster you can heat your water, the more cost effective this is, due to the fact you also need to run a pump to push the water through the heater at the same time. Thus, the faster you heat the water, the less time this pump is also running, makes sense right! Also, if you notice heat loss in your spa while you are using it (due to lid being removed and the water temperature being affected by the atmosphere), a 3kw heater will recover this heat loss much quicker.
Massage / Hydrotherapy
Again, there is a lot if misdirection about hydrotherapy in the market. “More jets mean better massage”, “smaller pumps will cost you less to run”, “you won’t use your jets anyway”.
The key to hydrotherapy is water movement, the more water you move, the better the experience.
The key things to look for are massage pump size, plumbing diameter and jet style and location. Some brands will use tiny pumps and claim they are super-efficient to run, well who can claim they’re not. Just like a small car, this will be efficient to run but a V8 will give you the power and let’s face it, who wants a efficient massage. When a small pump is used, they typically reduce the plumbing diameter to increase pressure flow, firing the water out through tiny jets. A common complaint about this method is irritable skin, the skin jets tingle and feel uncomfortable and then people never use the jets because their experience is nicer without them.
Over jetting the spa! Placing lots and lots of jets in a spa, reduces your experience too. The pump has to give pressure to an over whelming number of jets and the jets just end up under powered. In NZ Spas online research, a 3hp pump should power between 25 to 40 jets.
We use 3hp massage pumps in all our spas and in our high-end models we offer up to three 3hp pumps (32amp power supply required for these models), to ensure when you want that massage you are getting the best you can get. Our jets are custom made and ergonomically positioned for the best targeted massage you will get. Let’s face it when you want a massage, you want the best, so that is what we have strived to offer.
These are some of the key and important facts and features to look for when purchasing your new spa.
NZ Spas Online has decades of expertise in these areas and are more than willing to share our knowledge. Please feel free to email, message or call us for more details on any of our spas.
Please give me a call or let's have a chat about Spa Pools before you make your choose. Our advice is FREE. Please take advantage of it.
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