Whirlpool bath's, educate me a little.

[jkski]

I am looking for a 60x36 rectangular drop-in whirlpool bath for the new house and I need some advice. I am trying not to break the bank as truthfully, if this gets used once a week I would be surprised, so think cost effective. I want it to have 8 jets and I do not need top of the line.

That being said, we have looked at several models and of all places, Lowes had a nice Jacuzzi brand that was $748 with a 1hp motor and 8 jets but the guy in plumbing warned us against any brand other than WaterTech, pointing out that it is the only brand that is plumbed with schedule 40 pipe and that they come with a larger pump, generally 2hp. Obviously the price is reflective of the product and more than I care to spend on something that will rarely be used.

So, bring on the advice and keep me well under $1k while not having to rip the thing out in 2-3 years to replace it!

[j.mccreight@hotmail.com]

I have one in my bath it's a whirlpool 6 jet and about 7 yrs old and its used a couple times a week (kids) has never missed a beat, unsure of the hp rating though...

[SkiDog]

Originally Posted by j.mccreight@hotmail.com

I have one in my bath it's a whirlpool 6 jet and about 7 yrs old and its used a couple times a week (kids) has never missed a beat, unsure of the hp rating though...

We've got one. Livied in this house I built 10 years. probably used the jets MAYBE 10 times!

[milkmania]

last house I was in I had a Kohler..... used it 3+ times a week (back & leg problems)
wishing I had it now, torn calf muscle

[TxsRiverRat]

Save your money and get an outdoor jacuzzi.

The indoor ones aren't worth the money.

[Skyskiguy]

Forget the jacuzzi bath - if you want bubbles buy a hot tub. I'm a production home builder and I can tell you that we do very few jetted tubs anymore.

[Thrall]

I'll echo the same sentiment. Cool idea, but for us anyway, hardly ever used.
If you do get one, make sure you run it periodically. Unless you want to see the nasty cr@p that comes out of it after the water has sat in the jet/hoses for a year!
Also install adequate access to the pump/plmbg. Nothing like having to tear apart your tub surround or cut a hole in the ceiling below to fix it.

[SkiDog]

Originally Posted by Thrall

I'll echo the same sentiment. Cool idea, but for us anyway, hardly ever used.
If you do get one, make sure you run it periodically. Unless you want to see the nasty cr@p that comes out of it after the water has sat in the jet/hoses for a year!
Also install adequate access to the pump/plmbg. Nothing like having to tear apart your tub surround or cut a hole in the ceiling below to fix it.

Around here, it is part of the building code to have EASY access thru an access panel NEAR the motor.
It also helps to fill the tub with water just above the jets and put some bleach in it to get rid of all the crappy buildup in the lines. Do this about once a month at least!

[snork]

indoor jetted tubs are a pita to keep hoses/lines clean of bacteria, dirty bath water sits in the lines and can become a huge problem
but then outdoors tubs are nasty too

[Ski-me]

Originally Posted by snork

indoor jetted tubs are a pita to keep hoses/lines clean of bacteria, dirty bath water sits in the lines and can become a huge problem
but then outdoors tubs are nasty too

Same here. I put a unit in our rental and have not heard of any problems since then. However, my wife is nervious about nasty lines, bacteria, etc so this time, we opted to just install a deep tub and exclude the jetted stuff. Cleaner, cheaper and lower maintenance.

With that said, if you do go jetted, you may need two separate power supplies brought to the tub. One for the jet motor and a second one for an in-line heater. For our rental, I ran 2-20A dedicated lines. For large volumes of water, you'll need a great water heater that can fill the whole thing up without running out. The in-line heater helps maintain that heat while the jets are going. Worth considering if you go this direction.

Also, look on Amazon too. It's just crazy some of the prices.... I got a cast iron Kohler tub with free shipping at a very good price. Try finding any name brand, cast iron tub at HD or Lowes....

I did get our two larger master tubs off of HD's website. Saved probably $500 per tub that way for some strange reason.