Discussions

Hi, still considering a hot tub but still not 100% sure if I should get one because I may not use it as much.  
If I don't use it as often, do I still need to maintain the water temperature and cleanliness (will have a cover).  
I heard it is discouraging to use it in the winter if it is very cold out. I have a patio which is about 15 feet down the deck stairs. Possibly put the hot tub on my patio.  
Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have had a hot tub since I moved to Canada 21 years ago. I would not be without one.  
They are easy to maintain. I use Creaseys and have had wonderful customer service. They will talk you through what you need to do.  
In winter, I find that’s the best time to use it, it is great until the ambient temperature goes below -20. At that temperature you can just turn the Hot tub temperature down a little. But I doubt you would not notice a huge difference in your hydro bill with these modern hot tubs.  
I wish you well. There is nothing like a cup or tea or coffee in the early dawn whilst sitting in your hot tub.

Coming back to this. Any feedback on the local hot tub dealers in Brandon, such as, Artic Spa and Jacuzzi? Are they reliable and good customer service?

BELLBRAN gave you great advice...

I've had my Jacuzzi J-315 since I bought it new from Creasy's in 2017, and its still going pretty strong.  
 
There were a couple minor issues in the 2nd or 3rd year, all handled under warranty by Creasy's.  
 
On that front, I can't say enough good things about Creasy's, I highly recommend them.  
 
The only major issue was my own fault, moving houses when its early January and -40 and I didn't get all the trapped water out and it exploded the UV filter mechanism, but it was easily bypassed with a plumbing elbow.  
 
Regarding winter usage, like others have said that's the best time, my personal limit is about -25, granted mines about 6 feet from the house so quick in and out, longer distances may affect usage.  
 
Just make sure your patio can support the weight, my little 2-3 person J-315 weighs something like 400 pounds empty and closer to 2500 full I think, a bigger 8-10 person tub could double that.  
 
Maintenance is pretty easy, chemicals aren't cheap up front per say but when you factor them out over weeks or months I think mine costs me about $10/week plus a little hydro.  
 
One added bonus I've found is I can turn the heat down to like 92-94 in the summer months and it makes a really refreshing cool plunge, especially when its really hot out, really helps you sleep if you don't have A/C.  
 
Power availability is one other aspect, most of the medium to bigger tubs are 240v 40-50 amps, if you don't have that kind of power available there are smaller models that run on 110v 15amp, mine is one of them, it's a Jacuzzi J-315.  
 
The downsides to the smaller amperage units are 2 fold, they are much slower to heat up, I find after filling with fresh cool water it takes 2-3 days to reach 100+ degrees, the other is the jet pump and heater can't run at the same time, so in winter I find my tub loses 2-3 degrees after 20 minutes or so if I have the jets on, less so if jets are off and heater is running but it still won't keep up like a 40amp heater would

One other thing, you mentioned going up and down some steps, I highly recommend installing some kind of anti slip strips or paint to the steps or wear grippy shoes to and from the tub, I had some fairly slick painted steps and I wiped out on them just after getting the tub, I got lucky and only ended up with a back bruise about 15" diameter for a few weeks.  
 
Suffice to say once my back had healed i installed sticky strips with sandpaper like surface on every stair and the landing area.

We were just shopping at Arctic Spa last weekend. We aren't interested in doing much with chemicals and maintenance, so are considering their 'spa boy' salt water system.

You should check out the Bullfrog hot tubs. They've come out with some innovative improvements over the other brands.

We looked at a lot of dfferent tubs and settled on Artic Spa last Spring, due to the Spaboy and using the salt instead of chemicals. We love it. It has been hassle free. What a difference compared to the chlorine filled tubs at the hotels.

Be careful if looking at a slightly used tub. We almost got talked into buying a used hottub that was fairly new. Seller told us it was still under Warranty. When we checked with Creasy (Jacuzzi) we were informed that the warranty was only good for the original owner.

I heard good things about Creasy. What about the Artic Spa dealer in town? Are they good to deal with in terms of after service?