Author Topic: What would you do if in my shoes? A, B, or C (Read 1461 times)

Silvertp · « **on:** October 29, 2011, 01:03:16 PM »

My hot tub has been eating money like a spring bear in a field of clover. Over the past two years I have not been able to use the tub, only trouble shoot and replaced the failing parts: "mother board", heat sensor, new pump, ozonator, new insulated lid and lid cover. I finally crawled into the tub only to notice the water level is dropping rapidly. The underside of the tub is spray insulated several inches deep and now I have extreme leaks shooting all over. I took off the side of the tub and started digging away at the insulation to find the leak. Haven't found it yet but leak is more like water falls at this time.

I have decided on 3 options:

A. Flip the tub upside down and meticulously remove all the insulation (great stuff). Find the leak(s), fix them. Reinsulate. Now I can use the tub cause Ive fixed everything that can possibly go wrong

B. Cut my losses. This thing is a black-hole getting into my fixed income. Sell my new parts if I can and haul the rest to the land fill.

C. Throw a tow strap around the tub, hook the strap to my Dodge Cummings and see how far I can tow that sucker out through the sage brush before it is reduced to nothing?

Well...what would you do? Have you got a better option?

Silvertp

Old Syko · « **Reply #1 on:** October 29, 2011, 01:40:44 PM »

You may have already spent more on it than I might have. Check Craigslist and see what you can pick one up for. My son picked up a huge one for free. Looks like new and works great. Haul it off and it's yours kind of deal. Just looked in my area and found them ranging anywhere from free and needing work to a few hundred bucks and only a year or two old. I'm replacing some jets in mine right now. Found that proper chemical control really extends component life. In my case it helps to have access to cheap parts.

hillbill · « **Reply #2 on:** October 29, 2011, 01:57:54 PM »

it may be that if it has multiple cracks in it now, that even if you fix it, it will develop new ones in the future.have you figured what its costing you in electric and supplys per month even when your not buying parts?a freind of mine had one and she thought is cost around 75 to 100 buks a month in electric and chemicals per month.if you need one for health reasons thats cool id fix it then.

bilmac · « **Reply #3 on:** October 29, 2011, 02:26:11 PM »

Next summer I'm going to buy a stock tank. It will catch overflow water from my pump and I will be drawing water out , so the water will be changing regularly. Going to be sitting in the hot sun. Low tech hot tub, right.

Old Syko · « **Reply #4 on:** October 29, 2011, 03:24:32 PM »

Quote from: hillbill on October 29, 2011, 01:57:54 PM

.have you figured what its costing you in electric and supplys per month even when your not buying parts?a freind of mine had one and she thought is cost around 75 to 100 buks a month in electric and chemicals per month.

If she was spending 75 to a hundred a month she had some real problems. I've had mine 8 years and had only one repair and it was free. We run it year round and it costs me less than $20 a month to power and maintain. BTW mine is Jacuzzi brand and came with a very good warranty that was needed only once when one of the pumps went bad after the second day of use. Been trouble free since then although I now need to replace a couple jets at $18ea. Small price to pay for the benefit it delivers.

briarpatch · « **Reply #5 on:** October 29, 2011, 04:09:13 PM »

Old syko, is right about getting them at garage sales and such. My brother got a good one just to move it also.
They are like exercise equipment. Pay big bucks, use one time, give away.
Sounds like you are just throwing money away on the one you have.

tacklebury · « **Reply #6 on:** October 29, 2011, 07:46:01 PM »

Twere it me it'd be gone... If I were making one, I'd probably go for the steel cow tank with a fire under neath style.

Pretty low maintenance.

dpe.ahoy · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2011, 07:21:43 AM »

Any thought on trying the white rubberized roof treatment on the inside or outside of the tub? Paint the whole darn thing to insure no future leaks. I never saw the need of them, only tryed them a very few times when momma and I were feelin frisky

. Many people really like em, just not for me. I would prefer the stock tank idea myself.

DP

Silvertp · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2011, 02:00:49 PM »

Im 60 % sure Im gonna try and sell some of the "new Parts" on Craigs list. If not Ive got a couple neighbors that have the same tub and I'll check to see if they would like some spare parts. The rest is headed to the landfill and the slab its siting on is gonna become my new fire ring. I can enjoy a lot of fires without causing a leak in my wallet.

Thanks for your thoughts and advice.

Silvertp

bilmac · « **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2011, 04:25:22 PM »

To answer which option, I would throw a loop around it and tow it through the sagebrush to the dealers door and leave it there.

Silvertp · « **Reply #10 on:** October 31, 2011, 07:07:23 AM »

Bilmac

Good idea, don't believe that I haven't thought about it. Unfortunately the dealer ship has changed ownership at least twice and is now vacant. The nearest outfit that services is now over 150 miles away.

I know my dodge would make it, and Ive got tough enough tow equipment, but figure the police would have me pulled over before I could make it all the way there.

Silvertp

Alan R McDaniel Jr · « **Reply #11 on:** February 11, 2012, 04:32:42 PM »

Fill it full of soil and plant tomatoes in it. It evidently has pretty good drainage.

Alan

geezerbiker · « **Reply #12 on:** February 11, 2012, 09:11:25 PM »

Once the shell is bad, it's time to haul it off. I'm in the other boat. Mine has a good shell but the rest is trash. I'm thinking of hauling it off and looking for a better used one to continue on with...

One thing I've been thinking about is using a gas swimming pool heater to heat it. It should be way cheaper since gas is cheaper than electricity and heats quicker. I'm thinking I could let it go cold when I'm not using it and power it up a few hours before I plan to use it.

With my aches and pains I really need to get it back in service...

Tony

bilmac · « **Reply #13 on:** February 12, 2012, 04:54:46 AM »

Think that really helps geezer?? We have hot springs 30 miles up the road, but I've never noticed they did much in the times we've been there before.

Silvertp · « **Reply #14 on:** February 12, 2012, 09:19:59 AM »

My wife drew a December Elk tag along the Continental Divide and every night we returned home frozen from a day of hunting I was thinking how good it would feel to soak in a hot tub.

Too late though as I already sold off the tub covers and gave away a bunch of the jets. Seeing as how I survived this long without it I doubt there will ever be another tub in our future.

Thinking about it when all is said and done I will still have a tub carcass that I can tow behind the Dodge. Wish me luck in getting to the dealer without getting pulled over by the police.

Silvertp

tallyho · « **Reply #15 on:** February 12, 2012, 11:36:44 AM »

Whenever something that was once useful, or desirable gets looked at by my wife with that quizzical "What shall we do with this?" look in her eye, there is only one word that naturally pops to the surface of my consciousness. The word is TARGET!

Scibaer · « **Reply #16 on:** March 15, 2012, 10:46:05 AM »

my ex wife called hot tubs 'people noodle soup" ..nuff said