Hot Tub advice

[alifo]

I have been asked to put in a bit tub at a high end rental house I am doing up. I know nothing about hot tubs!!! Any recommendations?? We need something that fits at lease 8 people and is easy to empty, clean and maintain.

And any thoughts on electric versus wood fired? Providing logs is not a problem.

Any advice very welcome.

Asked by whom? Future tenants?
Are you the landlord?

Best advice: Don't do it! It will always be breaking down/costing a fortune to repair and you will get complaints from neighbours about the noise.

I’m managing the property for the owners. They have been told by several holiday let agencies that they need to install one.

Neighbour aren’t a problem, it’s nowhere near any other houses. Also aware of the potential issues but given I have been instructed to do this, need to find the best option in terms of cleaning, maintenance etc.

Electric. You need to contact a hot tub place that both installs & maintains holiday home hot tubs. It's different to domestic ones as they need refilling far more frequently. Very lucrative tho, sed people request them on groups all the time.

Wood is a pita. Romantic but hard to get to the right temp & need a lot of firing. They use a lot of logs.

Wood fired look cute, but are either freezing or boiling. Electric is better.
I always look for a hot tub for holiday let's, and they all seem to have a weekly service and a daily check.

@alifo

I’m managing the property for the owners. They have been told by several holiday let agencies that they need to install one.

Neighbour aren’t a problem, it’s nowhere near any other houses. Also aware of the potential issues but given I have been instructed to do this, need to find the best option in terms of cleaning, maintenance etc.

If you are managing the property you might want to renegotiate your contract. You will need to visit regularly and check chemical levels. You can just set them up and leave them, DH is always fiddling with ours

Depending on use they need regular chemical balancing and testing, not just a bit of chlorine once in a while. Also filter changes and cleans, and the filters can be very expensive for some makes which I didn't find out until doing comparisons and looking for the ones that fit.

Dellonda filters seem to be some of the reasonable filter types out there. These fit some hot tub models but they look to offer only an inflatable range.

In terms of cleaning, you need a proper hot tub (biofilm) preventer/cleaner for it to be safe. Most tubs benefit from a clean with some water to get through the pipes before you fill them properly for use if they have been tested with water before delivery (something else I did not do, and needed a water change after about 5 weeks). The main problem would be any kind of glass breakage (eg from drinks) getting into the water, whatever the hot tub type.

Hot tubs need constant attention or they can turn into a putrid germ bath. If you can't manage it you will have to contract with a service. I think hot tubs are disgusting, honestly.

We have a hot tub (electric) but it needs constant maintainable. Water needs to be refilled regularly and chlorine / chemical levels checked all the time and balanced. I never go in without checking the levels. It would be a lot of work if you're the one expected to maintain it?

We have a jacuzzi hot tub which has been great so far. It's not much effort at all. You have to put chemicals in it once a week and drain and refill it once every 3 months. I guess you might need to change the water more with so many different people going in it

We like a hot tub with our holiday rentals. The places we regularly use check the water daily and empty, clean and refill after each letting.

It’s not an “easy” thing to do but we pay a premium for a tub.

American style over European - cost of repairs is cheaper as parts are standard and they are really well insulated due to snowy winters. Minimal impact on our electric bill despite being on all year round.