Hot Tub Installation

What if you are thinking of adding a hot tub or hot tub to your home? What about out improving the appearance of an older hot tub? What if your hot tub or hit tub develops a leak? This chapter will provide a practical guide to the choice of do it yourself or hire a pro for each of these questions.

Installing a Hot Tub

In this section I will deal with the installation of a shell-type hot tub fiberglass or acrylic. Jetted baths are installed like any other home bath for you bathroom, with the addition of the jet pump, plumbing, and wiring. This section assumes that you have chosen a style of hot tub and a location. If that is not the case, some guidelines that might help in this process include the following.

The Hot Tub Shell

How many people will use the hot tub at any time? Hot tubs are sold as two person, four-person, etc, indicating the number of bodies the shell can comfortably accommodate. The molded-in seating or lounges will make that determination fairly obvious. It is important to consider your priorities as well. For example, you might have one or two parties each summer when 8 or 10 people will use the hot tub, but the remainder of the year it will be used by only two people.

The amount of space the 10-person hot tub requires on the deck or in the yard and the annual costs of maintenance, heating, and electricity might not make sense if it is used by only two people. Consider the manner in which the hot tub will be used. You will want straight bench seating if it is used mostly for socializing with several people, but will prefer lounges if it is used for therapeutic bathing.

Note also the size of the most frequent users. I was once asked to install a hot tub for a very famous actor/musician in southern California who is very short. His builder had already purchased the shell, pre plumbed with skimmer, drains, and jets. When the project was complete, this person sat in his new hot tub and found the water level up to hi eyeballs. All the hot tub seating had been designed for a taller person whos upper body length would leave the shoulders at the waterline. Most hot tubs have seats of varying depth to accommodate a variety of human proportions, but this one hadn't counted on its only occupant being so short. The solution was to lower the skimmer so the waterline would be lower, something we should have thought about first.

The Plumbing

Similar considerations need to be taken into account when plumbing the shell. Depending on the intended users, you might be able to install a shell that has been preplumbed to accommodate the average bather. Typically two jets per person are included in a hot tub, set in the walls at varying heights. An air bubble ring is also provided to create general turbulence in the water for a massaging effect.

If the users have specific preferences about number, type, and location of jets, it makes more sense to buy the shell and plumb it to their specifications. By inquiring at your supply house, you can make a list of options available, such as small pinpoint jets, larger standard massage jets, rotating jets, and those that can be turned on and off to put more or less pressure in one specific area of the hot tub. Some people only care about the general turbulence of the hot water and require one or more air bubble rings, while others are only interested in the massage jets and don't want to invest the extra money in the air bubble ring and electric blower required to power it. A blower can also be plumbed to turbocharge the jets. In short, familiarize yourself with your actual preferences and design the hot tub accordingly.

Finally, price makes a difference to almost every consumer. The self-contained hot tub, built with the same shell and plumbing you might provide for a custom design, will cost anywhere from £3000 to £4800. By the time you factor in the installation of the shell, plumbing, equipment, and subcontractors, you can easily spend up to 10 times that for a built-in hot tub. Before investing a great deal of time talking about custom options, consider your budget for the job.

The Equipment

At the same time as you are choosing the number and styles of plumbing options, you need to review the equipment requirements of each choice. The pump needs to be of sufficient strength to provide adequate power to tie jets. The general rule of thumb is that each jet needs 1/4 horsepower, so a 2-horsepower pump could theoretically give adequate performance top eight jets. Remember also that the turnover rate must be satisfied and that most jets, to operate as designed, require about 15 gallons per minute (57 liters per minute) of flow each.

Using those general guidelines, decide on the size of the pump nneded and whether more than one pump is required. In larger installations, you might want to divide the hot tub into two halves and operate ench side from a separate pump. When making pump selections, consult Tour electrical subcontractor to determine that adequate electricity is
available for your choices and understand the costs of any upgrading might be required of the electrical breaker panel.

Cartridge filters are the preferred choice for hot tubs, following the snlection and sizing criteria outlined previously. Consider the volume of use when choosing a filter for a hot tub. If the customers will use it frequently (many people jump in the hot tub when they get home from a list work before greeting the rest of the family), choose a filter size larger ;sage tnan actually needed to reduce the frequency of required teardown rnore and cleaning. If you are using a regular cleaning service, you might be less concerned about the frequency of teardown than if you plan more tc perform your own routine maintenance.

The most important consideration in choosing a heater is the and intended use. If the use is unpredictable, you will need a larger heater )d to tc raise the temperature quickly. If you know the hot tub needs to be heated daily at 6 p.m., you can choose a smaller heater and set the system to turn on with a time clock early enough to reach the desired temperature The h re by the desired time.

Consult with your plumbing contractor about the availability of gas supply, and consider the cost of upgrading lines and meters and adding the supply line to the equipment location. If there is no gas available in for your area, consult with your electrician about adequate electrical supply for an electric heater. Since even the largest electric heaters take a time to heat a hot tub, choose the largest one your electrical supply can afford.

Decide if you want one or more blower rings, which force bubbles into the water for a general massage. Rings are often located in the floor and/or seats of the hot tub. You might add a second blower to turbocharge the jets, or install a three-port valve to divert the air flow of a single blower to the air ring and jets. Again, consult with an electrician about available electrical supply and the cost of wiring to the equipment location.

To provide a true overall estimate of the job, make a list of additional equipment you might want to consider.

■ Cover
■ Chlorinator
■ Lighting
■ Mist spray
■ Fill line (automatic or manual)
■ Control system (electronic, manual, or air buttons)
■ Time clock (might be included in the control system)
■ Handrails, built-in drink holders, and padded neck rests

The supply house in your area or the Web can provide catalogs of available products to help you make these choices.

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