The electricity draw is a very important point and can the tub be programmed, for example, so as to only draw 16 Amp?
With the above goes the question of the cost of running the Hot Tub which is not just the cost of electricity but also the costs of filters and chemicals etc. Does the Spa or Hot Tub have an air system where air can be diverted into the water jets via the venturi effect and thereby increasing the pressure of the water jets.
In addition does it also have its own independent air blower in addition to the above?
Does the Hot Tub have an aromatherapy system and is it straight forward to use.
The composition and construction of the shell has to be taken into account. Has a proper acrylic been used together with the required strengthening in production? The weight and thickness of the acrylic needs to be carefully considered and assessed as must the quality of production. How experienced is the manufacturer and do the designs allow for the inherent stress and strains that any Hot Tub filled with water together with say four adults will encounter. If a Hot Tub Jacuzzi style Spa, is not formed correctly then in time it may develop stress cracks and possibly blistering or deep cracking if not made correctly.
Most American or shall I say Western Hot Tub manufacturers provide a ?Life Time? guarantee and whilst this is usually interpreted as 10 years there are many cheap imports where the guarantee is only 5 years. There lies a clue in the build quality when the manufacturer gives only a 5 year guarantee!!
Does the Hot Tub Jacuzzi style spa that you are considering have Ozone as standard? Ozone can substantially reduce the chemical usage by a very large degree some times by as much as 85%.
What is Ozone?
Ozone is a word we have all heard of but we do not know what it is.
Ozone is a form of ?active oxygen" and is nature's very own special molecule and interestingly enough the composition of one ozone molecule contains three oxygen atoms.
Ozone is created in nature automatically by the simple process of mixing together, oxygen from the air with ultraviolet rays from the sun or by the very tremendous power generated by an electrical discharge during a lightning storm.
Ozone is by its very nature a natural purifier which creates no harmful chemical by-products during this natural purification process. One of the beneficial effects of Ozone is that very clean, fresh smell which most people sense or smell after a rainstorm often thought as negative Ions.
The same effect is felt near fast flowing streams in mountain areas and that old saying springs to mind as "fresh as a mountain stream". Ozone is the most powerful oxidizer that can be safely used in a swimming pool or Hot Tub ? Jacuzzi Style spa. Ozone is a great alternative water purifier to traditional pool/spa chemicals such as chlorine and bromine.
What Does Ozone Do?
Ozone is an unstable compound generated by the exposure of oxygen molecules to a high energy electrical discharge. The weak bond holding ozone's third oxygen atom is what causes the molecule to be unstable and thus, very effective. An oxidation reaction occurs upon any collision between a molecule of ozone and a molecule of an oxidizable substance (i.e. bacteria, fungi (mold & yeast), viruses, forms of iron & manganese). The weak bond splits or breaks off leaving oxygen as a by-product. During an oxidation reaction, organic molecules are changed and dissolved metals are made no longer soluble. It is very interesting that these processes were used back in the days of old on North American wagon trains where silver and copper coins were tossed into the drinking water barrels to help purify the water. Even Lord Nelsons British Royal Navy ships of the line also used to put coins into water barrels to keep drinking water fresh. There is a theory that this fresh water greatly contributed to the success at the Battle of Trafalgar where both the French and Spanish naval fleets were well and truly trounced.
Also one will need to know what is included with the Hot Tub Jacuzzi Spa as standard.
Obviously a Hot Tub has to have a cover but I am not surprised time and time again to see that a cover is an extra. Usually these are with the products that are cheap imports.
Quite often many of these cheap imports include cheap DVD screens and stereos f dubious quality and more often than not they fail very quickly. When using your own Hot Tub Jacuzzi style spa the last thing you will want to do is be watching a DVD. In fact an importer of this kind of product told me that in view of the substantial failures he had on the DVD he was pleading with the Chinese manufacturer to drop them.
So I would summarize by simply saying that you should look for long established Western manufacturers who have been making this kind of luxury product for in excess of 20 years and there you will find the best value.