Anyone here have a swim spa. Looks like the best of both worlds of a pool and a hot tub. You can relax in the jets, cool off in the summer, exercise, use it year around.
Anyone here have a swim spa. Looks like the best of both worlds of a pool and a hot tub. You can relax in the jets, cool off in the summer, exercise, use it year around.
I have casually looked into them. My concern is the same as a pool: Expensive and you may not get near as much use out of it as you think you will.
One thing I can suggest. They (at least around me) seem to have "Spa Shows" occasionally where they advertise huge discounts. If you plan on buying one, try to visit one of these shows, or at least get an idea of what prices they offer. Then you can either get one at a show, or have leverage to get the price down at a store.
I like the concept, but like a swimming pool; is all the work & expense worth the use you get?
I live in a four season climate so part of the appeal over a pool is year around use. I also like the fully self contained aspect, and as I have been told way cheaper to operate than a pool. Less chemicals, less power, ect.
Easier to put a cover over and easier to put under a roof. Big pluses.
Never messed with one, but have cared for a hot tub and had an above ground pool.
I would imagine maintenance would be closer to the hot tub, possibly even lighter due to lower temps. I would consider one if I had the time to use one enough to justify expense and maintenance time. Use a cover, but also having it under a roof (think screened porch) will make everything last longer. The hot tub we had wasnt in shade and got beaten up by the sun something awful.
My friend had one for a few years. It is basically a giant hot tub that is really big and deep. Here in PA, a 4-season pool seems like a good idea. The reality is that for 3 seasons, you are heating A LOT more water than a normal hot tub. That can hit the electric bill pretty hard.
His kids would want it cool to swim during the day, so they would turn it way down. The adults would want it hot for the evenings, and would have to crank it up. It takes a while to swing a few hundred gallons 20 degrees, so it never seemed to be the temp anyone wanted it to be. The constant heating (instead of maintaining) got costly as well.
I don't recall anyone ever using the swim function either, but YMMV.
My mother loves swimming and has thought about one as an addition to her sunroom. Enclosed to keep away yard debris and winter weather. Her Quaker roots have kept her from spending the money on such a luxury. Personally, I think she should since it doesn't look like she has any intention to move from her house within the next decade or so (72 this year).
The initial heating up will be energy intensive. But water is a reasonably good insulator and will hold temperature pretty well. There are other factors as well. How well the assembly is insulated. How quickly you want the temperature to increase.
How big are we talking here? Do you already have a pool?
The ones I'm looking at are 8' wide and 15'-18' long depending on brand.
I do not already have a pool, but was seriously considering putting one in. This seems like a much better compromise for more and longer use, and much less cost.
I've looked at a specific brand, but don't remember which. Not a spa, only for swimming.
We just got one of those 10 foot wide 2 foot deep pools for the kids to use. It was 125 bucks on Amazon. I was surprised to find that maintenance is the same - only on a smaller scale - with a small or a big pool. Ours is 1,000 gallons and it worked out that the basic stuff you need for it costs the same as the pool did for about a summer’s supply.
- three-way liquid test kit ( two tubes, one that does chlorine the other does pH)
- chlorine tablets and dispenser
- ph increaser
- ph decreaser
- hand held wand spa manual vacuum
we lucked out and the neighbors all pitched in all of these things, but I priced it out once just to know.
My BIL has one and loves it. He and his wife are avid swimmers and use it pretty much every day. They built a big deck to surround it which makes it much more useful "area" in their backyard than just having the unit sitting there. They used to belong to the Y but this has allowed them to keep swimming during the lockdowns.
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