I just bought a small 3 person Tropical Spas Body Lounger. It has the 110/220 option on it. It is currently set at 110. Should I invest in switching to 220? I filled it last night and it is now at 96 degrees and slowly rising. Is the monthly savings on the electric worth the extra 220 costs? Will the pump and heater run stronger? I have heard that some spas will not heat and run the pump on the high setting at the same time on 110 and the tub will cool off. I ran the tub this morning for an hour staight and it stayed at 96 degrees, so is it safe to say that my tub heats as it runs? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

All 110v spas that have a heater (not all do) will not heat and run the pump on high speed simeltaneousley. There simply isn't enough amperage in a 20 amp 110v circuit (The pump on high generally pulls between 12-17 amps, and if you have an air blower, add another 4-7 amps, and the heater alone pulls bteween 9-11 amps depending on the equip)

There is no cost benefit to running the heater 220v (all your equip will still run 110v if you decide to go 220, with the heater being the exception). The heater will consume 4x as much electricity, but will heat 4x quicker as well.

The benfit to running 220v instead of 110v is genrally convenience, as you heat faster, and have enough amperage available to run the heater on at the same time as the high speed jet pump as well as the air blower (if you have one)

You could argue that 220v is more "efficient" than 110v only in running the wires, since 220v amperage is divided among (2) hot wires, you can pull substanially more amperage with a smaller wire than you could running 110v.

But as far as you electric bill goes, there is no benefit to 220v.

If you live in a cold climate, like to soak for a while, or have several people using the hot tub,I'd consider 220v, but if you're in a warm climate, I wouldn't think twice about going 220v, stay with 110v.