Hi, All! Any opinions out there on the ARCTIC spa model? I don't see any comments (good or bad) out there in cyberspace. Performance? Service problems? Pro's/Con's? Category: low,- medium,- high-end? Thanks in advance to all who reply! " title="Very Happy" />

If you're talking about the same Arctic spas that's out of Canada, I'd think they might be a pretty good hot tub from what I've seen online. Their owners manual is pretty good too. You'll find it at http://goarctic.com They're using the Gecko Mspa controller, and no manufacturer can exist for very long with shoddy construction methods or the lack of dealer support. That said, in the long run, all spa and hot tub manufacturer reputations live and die based on local support from the dealer they purchased it from.

Arctic has some good components however they haven't had a good history of being consistent with how they build any particular model. They also seem to put more emphasis on marketing and flash than actual long term engineering. I don’t care whether a spa has full foam or thermal pane type insulation as long as it is done right either way and I don’t think they do it right. Just the fact that the plumbing is left unsupported and all of the insulation is sprayed on the cabinet walls where it may have a tendency to collect moisture through all of the ledge type protrusions on that cabinet design and cause the weight of the foam to pull at the cabinet or come off bothers me. I also think that for the size and pump systems in most of their models they could update the filter system a bit. These are just a few things although I see many that they could improve on.

IMO, there are many other manufactures to consider before them.

Arctic is a very well made spa, you will get alot of negative feed back on these sites from people involved with other manufactures.
Where are you from? I am a dealer in Oh, if you have any questions or need help finding a dealer let me know. Try to find some Arctic owners, they are the best and most unbias way to find out how they like their tubs. Have a great day, and good luck finding a tub. Chad

they have a very short warranty leaving you some potentially high repair bills.Check out Cal Saps lifetime warranty heater.

First of all, I have wet tested two Arctic Spa models and have seen under the cabinet, sat in others dry and have given them serious consideration. I have no problems with any of the mechanical or design aspects of the spa except for two things. I am not terribly fond of the shell designs despite the fact that they have been supposedly designed by engineers. They are not particularly aesthetically pleasing though I love the look of the natural cedar skirt. My wet and dry sit-in the tub experiences have been mediocre at best. Second, for what you get, you pay top dollar. Alternatively, their warranties seem to be very good, and I find that the company is very responsive to questions and concerns before purchase. The local dealers seem okay but haven't been selling this product for very long. I would certainly wet test whatever you think you might like. If you find that after wet testing an arctic spa,you like the feel inside the tub, and want to pay what they ask, I see no really good reason (other than my own subjective dislikes) to not buy one. It looks like the company works hard at trying to manufacture a very decent hot tub. And the foam doesn't look sprayed on, is very thick, and so is the cover. I doubt if you will have problems with the insulation. It also looks very easy to work on underneath and a leak somewhere shouldn't be much of a problem to fix if you ever did get one. Their forever floor is supposed to be very rugged and is said to eliminate worries over using a poured concrete pad (just level, firm area). I wish I liked the shell designs because I would buy one in a heart beat if I did. May still do so but I will have to be able to wet test other models that I haven't tried yet to see if they feel better than they look (I like more open designs without a lounger taking up a lot of space). Have you looked at Hydropool, Marquis, Sundance, Master, Emerald, and LA? These have also been on my list of possible spas to purchase. Hydropool is the leading candidate right now.because it has everything I want (open design, air injectors, natural cedar siding, nice jet arrangement, comfortable dry seating (haven't test wet yet), nice models without loungers but an area where you can put your feet up like a lounger if you want, a flat area to get into tub, unique bottom cleaning/filtering in addition to conventional filtering, very well established company that also makes commercial spas, among other things). They don't have lots of dealers in USA, but have many in Canada and Europe, and have a very intelligently-written and informative website on their hot tubs (they are not afraid to explain the makings of their products). Good Luck in your search and I hope you enjoy whatever you buy!

i'm a service tech - unbiased opinion - these are actually far advanced spas with an insight into manufacture that others could learn from - warranty is exceptional, running cost also exceptional due to their unique insulation heatlock. service is relatively easy - all sides access - no foam on shell = easy leak repairs, quality equipment and jets - in the end it all comes down to personal preference once you're at this end of the market

My opinion on the newer models of Arctic? here they are:

Pro's:

>better heat retention ability due to the thick foam sprayed on the cabinet
>better heat retention from a very well sealed and thick spa cover
>good looking spa cabinet
>good base design in that you don't need a solid surface for them
>ease in repairing leaks

Con's:

>The heat retention in the cabinets can lead to premature failure of electrical components, as heat kills electronics and motors.
>lack of support for plumbing (these things flex as it is, leaving them to hang can't be a great thing)
>seemingly cheap jet construction (they are more flmsy than competetion)
>styling. They have jumpseats that if you are more than 250 pounds, you aren't fitting in them!

Neutral's:
The better insulation and design uses the waste heat from the motor to help maintain the temperature of the spa. Yet, the motor is always in this heat as well.

So, in summary, if you are on the light average or skinny side, and live in the climate where it never hits 80's, these are probably good for you.

I think the savings verses the anticipated higher cost of maintaining worn out components isn't worth it. A well insulated shell will have good heat retention but will also allow the components outside air to breathe. That is my humble opinion.

We are seriously considering an Arctic.
Several of the larger tubs have a very therapeutic seat (inverted triangle) that has the best traps/shoulder massage we have found bar none. They place one 5" rotating jet for each trap and one three" rotating jet for each
outer shoulder (4 jets total). If you want to see what I mean go to
goarctic.com and look at the Tundra seat with inverted triangle design.
But on the forums, Arctic gets abused for aggressive marketing
techniques and also gets drug through the full foam/TP discussions with occasional rub because they don't do it the conventional way. The
tubs seem to be extremely well constructed overall. Full composite
floor, self supporting shell, 56 frame waterway pumps, 5.5kw titanium coated heater, thick cover, awesome power to their jets, a large number of jets that "do something" other than just shoot streams of water. The jets are shaft bearing designs that seem to spin much freer than other rotating jets. Can anyone speak to replacement costs of Arctic parts? Are they mostly "off the shelf" or proprietary?

We're also looking at a Sundance Optima and possbily a Jacuzzi J365.
The Sundance simply doesn't have the therapy level of the Arctic. Their
massage seat shoots streams, which to me does not provide for a true
massage feel. But Sundance has been around for some time. Am wet
testing Jacuzzi soon, but they probably will fall into the therapy
level of Sundance based on their jets. Didn't care for HS motomassage and D1 didn't really have a tub that fit us. Wife couldn't stand the Master
dealer and I didn't care for their layouts anyway.

Is there anything of substance that should warn us off of Arctic? I've asked about the heated environment in which the pumps operate, but if I recall, I was told their max operating temp is rated well above the max cabinet operating temp of about 120F. I think it was around 140F-150F.

a previous response addresses the heat of the motors causing premature failure - bullshit - pumps run hotter than the temperatures in a tub, so are therefore perfectly fine in these conditions - just setting the record straight

Hi Tubdawg,

Is there anything of substance that should warn us off of Arctic?


I have a Arctic Spa Cub and it's a really nice tub having two of the frame 56 motors. The jets are well positioned and the output from the jets is quite good. If it weren't for all of the problems with this tub, i'd recommend it.

The rubber hoses they use in place of PVC tubing with this tub have been nothing but problems for me. We've had the tub for almost 2 years and the longest it's gone without a hose failure is about 4-5 months. Those hoses are terrible, they continuously blow off the PVC connections and your tub is completely drained in a matter of minutes, even worse is that it happens frequently in the winter, so if it breaks and you're not around, the tub is gonna be toast due to freezing. I'm really surprised there hasn't been a recall on arctic spas, but the shop i bought it from assures me that i'm the only one with this problem..... for some reason i don't believe them.

Another issue is with the water intakes that are on the bottom wall of the tub that have these covers that never stay on, so you're left with four open water intake holes about 4 inches in diameter without them in place.

Well just my 2 cents on the problems i've experienced with the Arctic Spa Cub tub i have.




I've asked about the heated environment in which the pumps operate, but if I recall, I was told their max operating temp is rated well above the max cabinet operating temp of about 120F. I think it was around 140F-150F.

I live in an area where maximum summer temps shouldn't pose a problem with pump overheating.

Yeah Arctic Spas are Great if you want to burn your house down. They try to sell you on this so called "Heat Lock System". How hot do your pumps have to operate to heat 400 gallons of water through a thick acrylic shell. There is already 2 houses that have burnt down in my area because of that heat lock system. Think about it. Have a great day!

Cal saps??? The Arctic Warranty is 5 years on most models and 10 years for the Special Edition models. Lifetime warranty on shell. Our value-priced Coyote line has a different warranty. Full details available at http://www.arcticspas.com and http://www.coyotespas.com Tom

PUMPS: We now use pumps from EMG (in Italy) with an Ingress Protection rating of 55, which means they are well sealed against dust and moisture. Commonly used spa pumps have an IP of 0. (See http://www.certifygroup.com/pages/ip.htm) PROPRIETARY: IMO this is a red herring. Most automobile makers use proprietary parts, and getting parts is not a problem for major brands with a good distribution network. Where Arctic uses proprietary parts, they are designed to our specifications for greater strength, tighter tolerances, or improved design, but they still have to be cost effective and often are interchangeable with off-shelf parts. OPERATING TEMP: Here is a quote from one of our engineers (internal memo, Dec. 5, 2005): "The pumps in our spas are also in a very hot environment.... EMG has designed their motors to forced air cooling. They use air flow over the aluminium finned housing to cool the motor. The use of aluminium and the large surface area of the outside of the motor make this design an improvement over restrict the amount of air flow by running the air through the centre of the motor and use a steel housing which does not conduct the heat as well." Arctic Spas were designed for cold climates, specifically engineered to retain heat. In warm climates such as Florida, Gran Canarias, and Cyprus, where there is danger of overheating, we ignore all that cold-weather engineering and replace the insulated doors with screened, louvred doors. Ironic, I know. " title="Confused" /> Tom

Charger has generally offered some fair comments, though what he has as "Cons" appear to be things he has heard from people unfamiliar with the product.

HEAT RETENTION: Addressed in another post.

UNSUPPORTED PLUMBING: It's common for an Arctic dealer to hand a shopper a piece of our Reflex Torsion Hose and say, "Some of our competitors tell you our plumbing flops around. Here, see how flimsy and flexible this stuff is." Most customers can't bend it without a great deal of effort. "Can you see that hose flopping around when the pump cuts in?" Well, no. All you have to do is to put your hand in and try to move that "unsupported plumbing" to recognize the myth for what it is.

FLIMSY JETS: First time I've heard this one! It certainly doesn't match my experience - but pop some jets out of different brands and decide for yourself!

TIGHT SEATS: Not all our models have moulded seats. If you are a larger person, try the contoured chairs (you may be surprised) but by all means examine our models with more open seating.

Tom

And what brand do you sell?

Tom

This member has been challenged to either support his statement with evidence, or remove it.

The Tubs That burnt down were in Alaska.. I guess you can consider it a cold climate. And I use to sell arctic spa and thats how i know. How about they have to wet test every tub a dealer gets because their fittings come loose when they are shiped. The pumps are running alot to keep the cabinet and the water warm. So about how much electricity are you really using? Think about that. Arctic Spas warrenty says, "Warrenty will be void if the tub is damaged by improper chemical balance, ice in the spa, overheating the spa." No person can ever get a perfect water balance. Arctic spa Warrent says, "The Light lenses, fuses, headrests, filters, and cabinets are warrantied to be free of defect in workmanship and materials at the time of delivery." So when its delivered your screwed. And like i said before 2 houses have burnt down because of these tubs.

A quote from James Keirstead, one of the owners of Arctic Spas: "This statement is categorically untrue."

Wow, I have never heard so much about a spa in one place-- glad to have found you all here

I posted a question already about the spa line im interested in - Infinity spas

My Arctic Fox spa has worked fine for about 1 year, then one day I opened the top and most of the water was gone. It took the dealer in Norther Virginia a month to get a repair man out to fix. He didn't. It took another month for him to come again. Still no fix, same leak same place. Again another month of calling. This time the man said it could not be fixed. Now the dealer nor Canada are returning my calls. The dealer says they are in conflict with Canada. So I have no spa, since July and a lot of run around.

To Jeffmocha and jscott One of the reasons why I am on the forums is because it gives us another chance to help our customers who report problems. Please email me directly (info@goarctic.com) and I will see what I can do to assist you. In your email, please give me the serial number of your spa (you will find it on your sales invoice and also on the ETL plate at the bottom of the front side). Thanks in advance. Tom G

Yes, we do expect our dealers to wet test every unit before it goes out to the customer. It's called a pre-delivery inspection, or PDI, and it protects the consumer.

Cars, RVs, new houses, yachts, hot tubs -- all get a PDI before being turned over to the customer. Anything that has worked loose is tightened; anything missing is replaced. Everything that should be working is checked. In the case of a boat or RV, all systems are tested for leaks -- propane, fresh water, grey water, waste water. All fittings are checked, all functions are tested, any deficit is corrected.

Deucehero, disgruntled ex-employee, seems to want you to think that doing a PDI is a bad thing, that doing a PDI means that our product (and your car, your RV, your new house, your boat) is junk.

Do you believe that?

Tom

I've heard from jscott and it appears that he and the dealer have worked things out. Despite the issues, he wrote, "We love the tub."

Interesting opening to a list of complaints. I have not heard from this individual and I suggest that this was a spurious post from a competing dealer or salesperson.

Dude, the HEATER heats the water...got it?!

The residual heat from the pump only adds to the thermostatic efficiency of the tub. It's a feature. Are you lying or just ignorant?!

Neither. Are you always this discourteous?

Indeed, I don't disagree with you. The Alberta Research Council's Thermal Performance Test of Spas (http://www.arcticspas.com/downloads/performance/Thermal%20Performance%20Test%20of%20Spas.pdf ) concluded that "It is beneficial to the overall thermal efficiency of the system if some of the heat generated by the pump/motor can be retained in the system. In this case the heat will not be wasted energy but will contribute to the heating efficiency." (p. 6). You might as well be quoting from the study!

We claim that in consequence of the efficiency of the product, an Arctic Spa will maintain its temperature (indoors at 20 C) indefinitely with the heater disconnected and the pumps running. That is easy to demonstrate. Your belief or disbelief will have no effect on the facts.


PS In another post, formulaben is looking for parts for an Arctic Spa. Curious. http://spaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=11294&highlight=#11294

grayed, you need to go back and look at who I am referring my quote to. My comments were to duecehero, not you. The guy is saying that Arctic Spas are responsible for houses burning down...and yet you jump on me? I think Acrtic could do with a better communications officer...yikes.

Yes, I see that now--and should have seen it then. You're right, and I apologize.
Tom

I bought an Arctic Spa in September 2002. Kodiak Signature Series, 33 jets, 2 pump, Northern Lights package and forever floor. Did lots of comparison shopping and was very pleased with this purchase. In 2004 the 6" Northern Light lense cracked and it began to leak. Dealer replaced lense under warranty and tub seemed fine. Since then I've had the lense replaced 3 more times because of leaking and now it is leaking again. As far as I can tell this large light fixture is no longer available and I'm wondering if this is a chronic problem. My warranty claim has been rejected because it's been more than 5 years. As far as I'm concerned this is still the original problem. Has anyone else had any problems with this large light fixture and a leaky tub?

Problems with the large light lens have been traced largely to the use of biguanide/hydrogen peroxide sanitizers, which are known to be unkind to the polycarbonate lenses. An alternative lens made of xylene has proven to be more compatible, and this is readily available through your dealer. The older polycarbonate lens and a coated lens are also available. Ask your dealer to check with his customer service rep at the factory to determine which of these will work best for you.

geenooo, I am convinced the problem you have described with the leaky lamp is a design flaw for that model and year. I have the exact same tub and have had the exact same problem. First lamp started leaking after a couple of years. Then a year later the 2nd one failed, then the 3rd, and I can't remember if there was a 4th, but the latest one was installed in the fall of 2005. It is the new plastic material. The person that installed it was a friend of the local dealer who was not from the area, but what I found interesting is that he had mentioned that he has seen this problem with this tub several times in the past. His theory was that there is not enough support under the lounge chair where the lamp is located. He wedged a 2X4 between the floor and the bottom of the acrylic shell where the lamp is to help support it and we have been careful not to sit above the lamp or put much weight there when getting in and out of the lounger. I think the problem is still with the lamp itself as the Arctic shells are pretty thick. I have been using chlorine or bromine the whole time except for year 1 (2002). At this point my spa is out of warranty also, but Blue Falls should do something about this because it is definitely a problem. I would just as soon have some kind of a plug installed to fill the hole rather than continue having to replace lamps.

Thanks Tahoejoe!! I received a new and improved (?) lenses (3rd one) from Blue Falls this spring and I am waiting for a local hot tub dealer to install it. I'm going to try the 2x4 and cross my fingers. I'm sure we're not the only ones with this problem! Question. Have you tried different types and/or brands of silicon for your repairs?

Gentlemen

I'm sorry to hear of your lens problems. I have combed our technical forum to see if I could find something that would help.

First, here is a post from one of our R&D staff:

I believe there are a couple of different (but related) issues:
[*:2wcs7mw2]When the outer flange is cracked this is partly due to over-tightening the nut[/*:m:2wcs7mw2]
[*:2wcs7mw2]When the lens is cracking at the seam I believe this is related to the water chemistry. I have inspected many different lenses and typically these were baqua-spa related...I have also seen this on abused chlorine and bromine spas. [/*:m:2wcs7mw2]
[*:2wcs7mw2]We have since improved the chemical make-up of the plastic used .[/*:m:2wcs7mw2]
[*:2wcs7mw2]This issue is not related to any particular model [/*:m:2wcs7mw2]

...This is not a problem with the shell but rather the lens itself.... In the meantime remember to not over-tighten the nut when replacing it (hand tight plus 1/4 turn is fine)

The 2x4 prop is apparently a common fix on Hot Springs spas with a similar issue--don't think this stuff happens to Arctic alone--but in the HS spas there were also shell cracks reported, and we have not observed this in our product. Two dealers reporting multiple lens replacements had tried either a 2x4 prop or fiberglass reinforcement under the light area, neither of which had any great success. The lack of improvement with a brace and the absence of shell cracks indicated that shell flex was not the most likely cause of the lens problems. The extra support should do no harm, but take care that the 2x4 is the proper length and does not force the shell up at that point.

Another dealer reported finding that repeated leaks were the result of his technician not installing the lens properly. The incidence of lens leaks went down after the tech was retrained.

Speaking of proper installation, our Warranty Manager posted these instructions for replacing a lens:

The common reason for a light lens failure is cracking. Spas produced before April 2004 would have been manufactured with an early style light housing. Since then, the lens has changed in thickness and materials used to manufacture and has proved a much lower failure rate.

If you have a light lens that requires replacement, please ensure that the replacement was issued to you after April 2004. To remove the lens, cut the back nut off. (A Dremel tool with cutting disc is fast and easy.) Then remove the nut and push the lens through the shell into the drained spa. Do not remove lens by smashing or chiseling, as this can result in unwanted damage to the spa shell.

Once the area has been cleaned, silicone the front flange of the new lens and position it in the hole. Silicone the back around the threads and hand tighten the nut. Clean off excess silicone.

Note: It is possible that the leaking lens is not cracked, but rather the nut has skipped a thread. In this case, replacing the lens is not necessary, but rather remove the assembly and apply Teflon tape to the threads. Before removing the nut, mark its position on the threads and then apply the tape at that point so that it is positioned under the nut when replaced. Be sure to apply the tape in the opposite direction that the nut spins or it will get caught in the nut and move out of place. If no tape is available, an adequate amount of silicone would produce the same result if it was applied to the surface of the threads.

A few individual spas with repeated issues but no chemistry damage were found to have an unevenly ground lens seat; tightening warped and stressed the lens, causing premature failure. This was corrected in either of two ways: shimming the low side or using extra silicone and hand-tightening the nut only until it touched the high side. Both methods produced good results with no further leaks.

The silicone we recommend is Boss 801.

It is my hope that something in this lengthy post will be of assistance to you.

Happy hot tubbing
Tom

Tom, are your dealers aware of these installation instructions? geenooo, I have not paid attention to the silicone that was used. I assume the dealer service guys know what they are doing. Anyway I got the cavity of my tub all dried up now and am waiting to hear back on a replacement lamp. Going back to original question posed in this thread, I have had two other parts failures (both of these were during the warranty period).
1) The seal in the #1 pump started leaking.
2) The heater failed at about year 3 and had to be replaced.
Other complaint that I have is the fit and finish of the cabinet panels It seems the insulation could be tighter around them. Also, why not put the threaded inserts for the cabinet panels like the motor/cpu cabinet panels have all the way around? You only have to remove those other panels a couple of times before the deck screws start to strip out in the cabinet. Maybe the newer powder coated aluminum cabinet is the way to go. Despite all this I am happy with the tub, the heatlock concept is clever and makes repairs much easier. Interesting that my friend that has a different model Arctic (I think a 2003), has had no problems with the lamp leaking but has had one or more jets leak.

Joe, we do our best to ensure that dealers are aware -- we send the instructions to the dealers as Information Bulletins, we cover this in the Factory Technical Training, we review it periodically in our dealer newsletter, we have the information posted on our technical forum (any dealer who looks can find it, just as I did).

I think I saw a Production Revision for 2008 on this but I'll pass this along just in case. Thanks for the suggestion.

This product was removed from production in 2007 and is no longer available.

That's good to hear.

We purchased our Arctic, and was promised by our dealer that they would NEVER quit selling them. They belived in them 100%, blah blah blah. Needless to say, less than a year later, they quit selling them. We have NO dealerships in our state. Our display has started flashing "FLO" and we are waiting for a local spa dealership to find time to come out and replace our motor. (Arctic has sent us a replacement motor).

Yesterday, we discovered water leaking under our deck, from directly under the center of our tub. Since there are no water lines, hoses, etc running under our deck....the water could only be coming from one place: our Arctic. You know, the one with the "forever floor" that will stand up to bugs, rodents, etc., and will never leak! Oh yeah, and the jets keep popping out.

We opened the cabinet, and found some standing water inside the unit.

We feel like we have been thrown to the wolves. Our dealer no longer sells or works on them, our local pool/spa place has his own units he sells to work on, and we aren't 'handy' people. We have an incredibly expensive tub that has problems.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what we should do, or why the dang thing is leaking? My husband really wants to believe in this tub, and this company. I just feel like we made a HUGE mistake.

Hi, Tommy and Chris I'm sorry to hear of your problems and I will do what I can to help. We stand behind our product and will do our best to ensure your complete satisfaction. Here's what to do: 1. Note the serial number of your spa (which you will find on the small metal ETL plate at the bottom of one side of the cabinets). The S/N will look something like A04FX99999-TH 2. Send an email to warranty@goarctic.com with a cc to me (tom@goarctic.com). In your email, give all of the following information: your name, address, phone number, and the spa serial number. A customer service rep will phone and will walk you through diagnosis and, if possible, repair of your problem (with professional guidance, many owners are handier than they think!). If necessary, we will arrange for an independent service agency to come and work on your spa. A note in advance: your warranty covers parts and labor, but not travel fees. If your spa is no longer in warranty, you may contact any local service person to handle your repair work, or you may contact us to see if we have an authorized repair center in your area. Just as a point of interest, the Forever Floor does contain a vermin-proof valve to allow water inside the spa to drain. Prior to 2006, that valve was in the center of the floor, but in later years the valve was moved to the side of the floor. Looking forward to getting you back into hot water, Tom Note: Cross-post at http://spaforums.com/Spa-Repair/Plumbing/Arctic-Leaking-Thru-4everfloor-Water-Inside_4723.html#p14312

We've had our Arctic Spa since 2003.

From the get-go it has been problematic. First the jets kept disintegrating and falling out. The store would supply us with new jets, but they would eventually disintegrate, too. I think every jets in our tub has been replaced at least 5 times so far.

Then there was a problem with the electronic control panel, so they came and repaired that.

Then the bulb in the underwater light burnt out, so they replaced that. The new bulb burnt out about 4 months afterwards, so they had to replace it again.

Then one of the pumps stopped working. They replaced it.

Then one day the tub was completely empty. Turns out the lamp cover cracked and the water drained out. They replaced the lamp cover. Also due to the water leaking through the lamp cover onto the motors, the motors burnt out and both had to be replaced.

Then the silicone around the electronic control panel began to deteriorate, and moisture got under the panel and the display did not work. They replaced that, AGAIN.

All the original "pillows", as well as the filter cover thing that doubles as a drink holder, have completely fallen apart due to moisture and chemicals. As these items are not covered under warranty, we did not pay the high price of buying new ones. Obviously they're made of an inferior material that cannot withstand being in contact with the hot-tub environment. So we have had to do without these items for the past 4 years. BTW we have had the water tested regularly, and our dealer confirms that our water chemicals are well maintained, so it's not that we were over-using chemicals or causing the breakdown by what we were doing.

I am really torn. On one hand their service has been great, and they've always been prompt and courteous to fix the problems. They were all (most) under warranty (thankfully). However, I was beginning to think that we'd received somewhat of a "lemon" because a high-quality tub such as the one we bought should not have all these continual problems. We paid over $10G for this.

Well, the 5-year warranty has just run out, and we just got a whole whack of other problems:
We needed a new cover because the original one was completely water-logged and too heavy to lift. I kind of expected to have to buy a new cover after 5 years anyway, so that was not so bad. However, the cover-lift was completely rusted, and also needed to be replaced (NOT cheap!). IMO this should never have rusted in the first place. I also could no longer get the cover off the bromine basket and filter -- it was completely jammed due to deterioration, so that had to be replaced. The display panel was acting up again, due to poor silicone seal, and had to be replaced yet again. On top of all that, the water was full of a black oily substance that would not go away, even after draining and cleaning. It turns out that some of the hoses and an o-ring were deteriorating, thus emitting the black residue into the water. That had to be fixed as well. We ended up with a very hefty bill of over one thousand dollars.

Well here we go again.....only 3 weeks after the expensive major repairs that we had to pay for, the heater will not come on, and the display is showing FLO. I was told it must be a dirty filter, so I bought a new one, but it made no difference. Tried all kinds of other things that the store suggested, including re-setting breaker, draining and refilling tub, etc. Still doesn't work! So, now we have to wait for a service technician to come out AGAIN to see what the problem is.

The silicone around the lamp lens is starting to come off, as I see pieces of it hanging and flailing in the water. I have to wonder when this seal will eventually be compromised, causing another major leak/drain/repair.

The cover panels that access the equipment are not secured, because the receptacle thingy's that the screws go into, are all broken -- probably from the many many times that this tub has been serviced. So now the panels are just sitting there, propped closed by the steps. I guess I'll have to permanently screw the covers on myself somehow before winter comes, so small critters don't get in there and make a nice warm home under the tub!

And now I'm also wondering when the remainder of the original hoses will start to melt down and ooze black goo into the water.


I will be flippin' mad if I have to pay another expensive service call, when I just had somebody here 3 weeks ago!

And to top it off, the serviceman suggested that I just trade in my current tub for a new one, to avoid future problems. He said I could probably get $2000 to $2500 credit on the trade-in. Well, HELLOOOOOO, I don't have an extra $8,000 sitting around to pay for a brand new hot tub! Sounds like they're just trying to make another sale.

YES, I THINK I HAVE AN ARCTIC LEMON! I could just cry.

Tom from Blue Falls Manufacturing....do you have any suggestions for me? Anybody at Blue Falls I can contact about this? I really feel that we were sold a Lemon from day one. This should not be happening. We cannot afford to buy a new spa, even with the trade-in credit. The store in Whitby is no help. They just want to make another sale. This particular spa obviously has a record of being problematic from the get-go. I really need help!

Sorry to hear of all your difficulties, as that is not at all typical of our product. It sounds like the Whitby store had honored your warranty throughout. Now that the warranty has expired, I'm not sure what recourse you have, but I will look into it for you.