Terrific Tub
Written: Dec 29 '02 (Updated Dec 31 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Perfect size, power and a pleasure to use
Cons: Pretty Pricy. Everyone ALWAYS wants to meet at your place!!!
The Bottom Line: The Best Tub on the market!!!
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| vahrmeyer's Full Review: Beachcomber 550x Hot Tub |
As a teenager we had a hot tub in our backyard (roughly 12 years ago). It was great for friends to hang-out in but my parents spent more on hydro and repairs than anything else. Now that I’m in my 30's I suffer from herniated discs and general muscle fatigue due to my profession. For close to two years now we have looked at three brands of hot tubs and concluded that Beachcomber has mastered their products and is truly the leader in the industry. Beachcomber has taken the failures of past companies and tubs and developed a superior hot tub. The Beachcomber 550x is the best selling tub and now I know why. Some of the features it offers is:
• Dimensions: 80 x 88 x 36" (203 x 224 x 91 cm)
• Water capacity: 360 US gallons (1363 liters)
• 19 therapeutic jets (removable to other
configurations in the tub)
• Electrical hookup: 240 V, 40 amp service
• Massaging 3.5 hp pump
• lift and store cover storage makes removing the
cover quick and so easy.
• easy to read display and keypad shows the
temperature and controls all features
• the motor is located on the exterior of the tub to
allow for maximum room in the tub and a fully
insulated tub against heat loss.
• The motor is encased on the exterior of the tub in
insulation which also uses the heat from the motor
when blowing air into the tub during use. This
translates into less heat loss.
The tub seats 5 – 6 comfortably and has a lounger (which allows you to lay down in the tub). We’ve had our tub for roughly a month now and the difference in my energy level and youthfulness is like night and day. We use the tub everyday and sometimes in the morning and evening. The beachcomber tubs are portable and are built with Red Cedar. We live in Ontario Canada and we had a concrete pad poured close to freezing temperatures. The tub was simply delivered, set on the pad, wired into our fuse panel and filled with water. The next morning I used it before I headed to work. The jets are positioned in such a way that moving from seat to seat massages every part of my back. With the optional reflexology foot jets, the most important muscles are all massaged and ready for the day or evening. After a short 20 minute soak, my body is so relaxed I can sleep the night away without any sleep aides as previously needed. The warrantee this tub comes with will also help you sleep at night. It has a lifetime warrantee on cracking or sagging of the tub, 2 years on the equipment and 5 years on the finish of the tub.
Who Should buy a tub:
• anyone who suffers from sore, achy muscles
• anyone who suffers from poor sleep at night
• anyone who entertains
• anyone who can't seem to find the time to relax and get to know your spouse better
• anyone who doesn't mind spending roughly 1/2 hour
per week on maintenance.
• anyone who doesn’t suffer from high blood pressure
and diabetes
What's involved in Hot Tub Installation?
Installing a tub can be done in the following areas:
Interior:
• You need the space to physically move the tub
inside and the proper ventilation to remove the moisture after use.
• he tub installation would be best and only suited
on a concrete floor or an architecturally engineered designed and supported floor.
• A benefit to interior use is weather free tubbing
and total privacy.
Exterior:
• you need to properly place your tub. A tub can't just be added to your standard deck. You need to find someone who knows and has the experience to support a deck for roughly 5000 pounds when full.
• Exterior use is great. We just had our turkey
dinner this past Christmas, used the tub, rolled in the snow and got back in.
• The stars are a true pleasure to view also while
soaking away.
• We plan in the spring to make the tub a real focal
point in our backyard with a privacy/windscreen, low voltage lighting, adding a small amount of decking by the tub and a small trellis over one end. We also plan some gardening around the area as well. I think in total we’ll spend close to $1000 to help make it that focal point.
We chose the route of installing our tub on a concrete pad for a cost of roughly $850 CDN which included a full 8x10 concrete pad 4" thick by a contractor. Wiring needed was a 40amp GFI breaker at a cost of $150.00 CDN, 75 feet of 6/3 wire at a cost of $120.00 CDN. I drilled the holes in my rafters and ran the wire from the fuse panel to the exterior location of my tub. I am lucky enough to have a friend who actually did the installation of the breaker into the box as this is only recommended due to the high voltage. I paid the dealer $300.00 CDN to deliver and install the tub on the pad. This also included set-up, $130.00 worth of chemicals needed for long term use, and full demonstration of how to operate and maintain the tub. Well worth the money in my opinion!!! To do the math on the after tub purchase, I spent an additional $1600 CDN to actually put the tub in place and have it fully working. They were right two years ago when I started my investigation to find that when all is said and done, it costs roughly $10,000 CDN dollars (roughly $6300 US) to purchase, install and dress up the area where the tub will be located on the exterior.
What's involved in Owing a Hot Tub?
• daily chemical checks and adjustments of levels
based on the amount of use and by how many people. The temperature recommended for use is anywhere between 102 and 104. Obviously for this reason use should not exceed much more than 20-30 minutes and use by adults only at those temperatures. I have told my children that come
the summer, we will lower the temperature to around the 87 degree mark so they can enjoy it
• every three months the tub should be drained,
polished and refilled and then retreated with chemicals. The Beachcomber dealer around the corner from us tests your water at no cost and whenever you wish with a printout of any adjustments that need to be made. I chose the typical tester kit for a pool where you take a sample and add drips to two cylinders and compare where the levels are at and where they should be. A little more accurate than the test strips you dunk in the tub.
This may be too much work for the lazier crowd but let's face it, anything that brings us great joy and satisfaction in life whether it be kids, pets, automobiles, homes etc. all come at some cost. Let’s face it though, do you really want to soak in water that’s been treated at high temperatures with chemicals time and time again for much longer than three months? I think the effort in maintaining a tub is so minimal for the relief and relaxation the tub brings.
Bad purchase experience turned excellent:
We had a bad experience with the dealer we purchased from as we were sold a 6 month old "floor model" that turned out to be 3 years old. After a couple of calls to Beachcomber Inc., the problem was quickly resolved to our complete satisfaction. Within a month of resolving the problem, a new tub was installed and the used one taken away. I couldn’t believe the amount of dedication the Beachcomber people had in helping to resolve a problem that was the result of a franchise dealer not telling the truth. The Beachcomber people really do know how to treat their customers (the golden rule). They build a superior product with a superior transferable warrantee!!!!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
vahrmeyer
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Member: Mark Douglas
Location: Georgetown, Ontario
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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