It seems pretty obvious what the split comes down to: if you turn out to be a "hot tub person" that's going to use it several times a week, it's totally worth it. If you're not a "hot tub person" and use it once or twice a season, it's an expensive pain in the ass that takes up space, time, and money that could be better used on other things.

No - Hot tubs are shit. Vacations and great food are what life is all about. If you read what I said, you'd know that I have a $10,000 Kohler bathtub/hot tub in my master bathroom. Enjoy it and then dump the water. No need to go outside, worry about chemicals, heat it in the freezing cold, and so on. I am just trying to save this guy a regrettable decision that I myself made. Just like a Porsche or other high performance car that will lose all of its value and become a "wish I didn't buy this" thing.

It’s not even close to being the same . My water pumps are 5 hp each and my air blower is 2 1/2

Your just not a hot tub person but it dosnt mean the are a waste of money

I have RA and it’s a life saver

If you go through this thread, you will see that most say it is and regret the decision. But that doesn't mean there aren't people who enjoy it. Let the OP read through the thread and make the decision. I once posted in a thread where a guy was contemplating buying a Porsche. I was honest and told him it was a horrible decision for me. He sent some PMs and we discussed it further and he was so thankful that I shed light on and confirmed some of his fears. He didn't end up getting the car. Just trying to state my opinion here and help the OP out. But then you call me (indirectly but I can read between the lines) and others with same opinion a moron for disagreeing with you. That is wrong.

Hey OP, this is all you need:

funny-pictures-humor-redneck-genius-homemade-hot-tub-fire (resized).jpg

I recently purchased a Master Spa Legend Series and find chemical maintenance to be a breeze. It goes excellent with a steam sauna I have had for almost 20 years and still use numerous times/week. Now I have spa days. I lay in the sauna, take a cool shower and then jump in the hot tub. Feels so good, my body is totally relaxed and I have never slept so sound. For me, purchasing the hydrotherapy spa was worth holding off on buying a new pin.

Typical Pinsider (probably)

Only-In-Russia-24-640x350 (resized).jpg

What's he got in the brown bottle?!?

Tiki Torch fluid/bathtub rum.

I can't relate to the hot tub horror stories. Mine came with the house, kind of. As we were negotiating the house price, they asked for $5k for the hot tub. I told them to take it with them, knowing that they didn't want to. They came back with $1k, so I agreed. I probably could have held out for a lower number, but it was fairly new and in good shape. So it was "worth" it to me.

Repairs - That was 7 years ago. The tub still works great. Sure some LEDs have faded or died and a pump has gone out and had to be replaced, but overall that's minimal. I have it "serviced" (checked out) every October/November before the real cold hits. I don't know anything about the internals, so I have a service shop handle it. Think of it like changing oil/tires...you have to do preventative maintenance sometime (or pay someone else to do it). He doesn't sell and only maintains/repairs. Just like a good auto mechanic, find one you think you can trust.

Maintenance - Ours is a 550 gallon, six person tub. Maintenance isn't overly taxing if you set a routine. Check the chemicals and adjust every weekend. Buy chemicals online at SpaDepot...if I can say that here. It's a bulk warehouse shop and prices are cheap. Buy for between 3 and 6 months depending on available storage. This stuff doesn't go bad in the unopened container.

Changing Water - I'm a bit on the germophobe side, so I change the water every three months and give the surfaces a good wipe-down. That's really not necessary, but it's not a terrible burden either. Get a submersible pump, and it's over quickly. Someone already said have two filters. I couldn't agree more. A clean filter (not just spraying it off and putting it back in) will really cut down on issues.

Utility Expense - As long as power is already accessible, is this a real concern? If you want the tub you pay the bill.

Granted, this is just one anecdotal story, but aren't they all? So, if all of that doesn't sound too daunting and the money (as well as knowing you won't get it back on a sale) isn't an issue, get a really nice new hot tub. If that sounds like more work than you hoped but want to get one anyway, find one that someone is giving away and fix it (or have it fixed). Finally, if all this sounds like a pain in the ass, forget about it and get another pinball machine.

The one thing hot tubs and pinball machines have in common is that in both, cost and worth are not synonyms.

I just wish Stern made Hottubs.

It was all fine until JJHT started up!

The man does know water.

Or claim to anyway

How to flee across bodies of it, at the very least.

I was able to sit in my hot tub backwards, and with a reach, play pinball too!
(yes, electricity and water isnt good...we did move the games out)

Hot tubs are free on Craigslist enough said

I've seen some girls who were really hot.
And I've seen girls who were definitely tubbies.
But those two groups are mutually exclusive.

The tubbies are usually more fun

Best thing is make friends with a person that has a hot tub and get invited over at least once a week. Bonus if he has pins too.

LTG : )

Hot tube? That sounds naughty or painful

Yes, I changed that. Don't want to upset the PC crowd.

Of course we are getting to the naughty or nice season.

LTG : )

I’m sure I’m due for a lump or two in my stocking

Well, they are into pooling.

I never had a girlfriend take off her clothes to play pinball, but they all have gotten naked to get in the jacuzzi.

Hot tubs much like pools are great when a friend owns one. That way you can stop by once in awhile to enjoy it then leave and not have to do any of the upkeep. Convince a buddy that he needs a hot tub then go pick up another pin lol

My brother in law loves his outdoor hot
Tub uses it everyday he has some sort of bobber that measures chemicals and ph etc and reports to his iPhone tells him when he needs to adjust something. He swears by it

Tough call.

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Bought a Sundance spa for my last house Loved it...especially in the winter...

Built a new house 6 years ago. Took the recommendations of a friend to check out a different place and brand. Budget was a bit tight so I went with a Great Lakes brand tub. They have since gone out of business. The jets were poorly designed and popped out whenever you turned the jets on (not all of them but man of them). I tried to replace them but being out of business, parts were hard to find, expensive, and still the same poor design. Then the motor conked out. Apparently this particular tub takes a certain motor and I've been advised that "you can't find them any more". After much research I found a place a couple hours away that bought out the balance of the Great Lakes Motors when they went out of business. $500 if I want to come pick one up and install myself. I was so perturbed with the situation, I told the company that first sold it to me that I had been dissatisfied from the beginning and had complained a number of times. I advised them that I'd prefer to have it gone and they could come get it. They said they would for $700. Such a deal. Sitting empty now until I get the chance to unhook it and haul it out of here. I loved my first one, but due to financial constraints went with a less know brand and paid the price. Get a Sundance.....

Are you still friends?

I can not remember what my actual brand is, but the 800 # on the manual goes to Living The Spa Life, and since 1998 when I bought the hot tub ordering has been super easy with my serial #.

I think the last pump I ordered was 265 with shipping from FL.

Like I have said here before, my hot tub stays ready but barely gets used anymore because my girlfriend going on 4 years now loves pinball and does not care much for the hot tub.

Now if she were to go out of town to visit her Mom, my ass is in the hot tub. And the next time I have back pain in it anyway, it really does help when your back is messed up.

We love our hot tub! It's a built in hot tub that came with the house and doesn't cost much of anything to run because we only heat it when we use it, so pennies in natural gas. Once a year we have a guy look at it which doesn't cost much either, it just needs bromine tablets added every now and then, that's it, piece of cake to run and maintain. I've used it for filming as the pic shows, but also have to share it with the occasional frog as the other pic shows

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Dude what about BOTH?

The guy with the porn shoot/frogs tub didn’t sway you?

Maybe it did ? Doing the nasty with frogs might have been the deciding factor. Filming it a plus.

LTG : )

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This post pretty much made my prior post irrelevant.

https://www.news24.com/Green/News/the-kamasutra-froggy-style-20160614

Will you spend the difference on a La-Z-Boy?

If you do get a tub style ....... just remember every time you use most are about 100 gallons of water wasted each time. Also many are not heated so your hot water heater needs to be large enough that the tub gets hot., If not, how hot does it get and how long does it stay hot.

My best friend has one because they wanted an alternative and they hardly use it for some of those reasons

Like I said in previous threads , hot tub use is all about ease of use. To me waiting for a whirlpool tub to fill with luke warm water does not sound appealing.

Just something to think about.

https://www.calderaspas.com/shop/utopia/geneva?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=3D-Search-B-Caldera-Models-US&utm_content=evaluating&utm_term=&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvZrWxoD95QIVSZyzCh1JOwOZEAAYASAAEgJ9zPD_BwE

We have both an indoor whirlpool tub and exterior hot tub. We've never used the whirlpool tub. The kids have a couple times this year but the hot tub is much more convenient and relaxing.

Hot tub all the way if you can afford a tub and some pins. I have a Sundance and maintenance is incredibly easy. I use it a few times a week in the winter and about once a week in the summer. My kids use it almost every day in the summer after being in the pool.

I also have to agree with many posters in this thread, some of my favorite nights are when my wife joins me in the tub. I love playing pinball with her, but would easily trade that for a hot tub night with her.

I love hot tubs and always will. In the cold winter it’s nice, after a hard days or night of work, just chilling with a cocktail and cigar. The list goes on and on and you can think of pins you want in the future while resting in the steam.

Sitting in our 2 person hot tub with my wife is a great way to spend an hour and unwind. We chat about the days events, our future dreams and best of all, she's in a bikini.

QSS

Hot tubs are disgusting and not a healthy option. They do help increase blood flow and help with aches and pains but are often not safe and cause other problems. Illnesses from parasites, hot tub rash, Legionnaires disease, Shigelloses, E Coli, the list goes on. Some of these parasites and contaminants are resistant to chlorine/bromine and can flourish even with high levels of chlorine/bromine. Also chlorine/bromine are not good for your health and may cause other long term illnesses. Even with a salt generation system that produces 'natural' chlorine, it is still toxic. Unless you are in your 20's and looking to get laid, I would recommend another pinball machine instead of a hot tub. I recommend a nice bathtub in your home for helping with aches and pains. Fill up the tub, enjoy the soak in clean non toxic water, then when you are done-drain it. I also do not recommend Jacuzzi home tubs because they tend to grow bacteria, etc. inside jet ports and require routine cleaning.

Kohler tub.png

https://www.d1spas.com/hot-tubs/reflections/californian/

Bought one of these used 2004 model in 2007 and it lasted for over 5 years without needing any repairs. Had it for over 10 years when my hard water finally left to much scale in it and we got rid of it.

Was that supposed to stop in my 20's?