Hi Tubdawg,

Is there anything of substance that should warn us off of Arctic?


I have a Arctic Spa Cub and it's a really nice tub having two of the frame 56 motors. The jets are well positioned and the output from the jets is quite good. If it weren't for all of the problems with this tub, i'd recommend it.

The rubber hoses they use in place of PVC tubing with this tub have been nothing but problems for me. We've had the tub for almost 2 years and the longest it's gone without a hose failure is about 4-5 months. Those hoses are terrible, they continuously blow off the PVC connections and your tub is completely drained in a matter of minutes, even worse is that it happens frequently in the winter, so if it breaks and you're not around, the tub is gonna be toast due to freezing. I'm really surprised there hasn't been a recall on arctic spas, but the shop i bought it from assures me that i'm the only one with this problem..... for some reason i don't believe them.

Another issue is with the water intakes that are on the bottom wall of the tub that have these covers that never stay on, so you're left with four open water intake holes about 4 inches in diameter without them in place.

Well just my 2 cents on the problems i've experienced with the Arctic Spa Cub tub i have.




I've asked about the heated environment in which the pumps operate, but if I recall, I was told their max operating temp is rated well above the max cabinet operating temp of about 120F. I think it was around 140F-150F.

I live in an area where maximum summer temps shouldn't pose a problem with pump overheating.

Yeah Arctic Spas are Great if you want to burn your house down. They try to sell you on this so called "Heat Lock System". How hot do your pumps have to operate to heat 400 gallons of water through a thick acrylic shell. There is already 2 houses that have burnt down in my area because of that heat lock system. Think about it. Have a great day!

Cal saps???

The Arctic Warranty is 5 years on most models and 10 years for the Special Edition models. Lifetime warranty on shell. Our value-priced Coyote line has a different warranty. Full details available at http://www.arcticspas.com and http://www.coyotespas.com

Tom

PUMPS: We now use pumps from EMG (in Italy) with an Ingress Protection rating of 55, which means they are well sealed against dust and moisture. Commonly used spa pumps have an IP of 0. (See http://www.certifygroup.com/pages/ip.htm)

PROPRIETARY: IMO this is a red herring. Most automobile makers use proprietary parts, and getting parts is not a problem for major brands with a good distribution network. Where Arctic uses proprietary parts, they are designed to our specifications for greater strength, tighter tolerances, or improved design, but they still have to be cost effective and often are interchangeable with off-shelf parts.

OPERATING TEMP: Here is a quote from one of our engineers (internal memo, Dec. 5, 2005):
"The pumps in our spas are also in a very hot environment.... EMG has designed their motors to [use] forced air cooling. They use air flow over the aluminium finned housing to cool the motor. The use of aluminium and the large surface area of the outside of the motor make this design an improvement over [motors from our previous supplier, which] restrict the amount of air flow by running the air through the centre of the motor and use a steel housing which does not conduct the heat as well."

Arctic Spas were designed for cold climates, specifically engineered to retain heat. In warm climates such as Florida, Gran Canarias, and Cyprus, where there is danger of overheating, we ignore all that cold-weather engineering and replace the insulated doors with screened, louvred doors. Ironic, I know.

Tom

Charger has generally offered some fair comments, though what he has as "Cons" appear to be things he has heard from people unfamiliar with the product.

HEAT RETENTION: Addressed in another post.

UNSUPPORTED PLUMBING: It's common for an Arctic dealer to hand a shopper a piece of our Reflex Torsion Hose and say, "Some of our competitors tell you our plumbing flops around. Here, see how flimsy and flexible this stuff is." Most customers can't bend it without a great deal of effort. "Can you see that hose flopping around when the pump cuts in?" Well, no. All you have to do is to put your hand in and try to move that "unsupported plumbing" to recognize the myth for what it is.

FLIMSY JETS: First time I've heard this one! It certainly doesn't match my experience - but pop some jets out of different brands and decide for yourself!

TIGHT SEATS: Not all our models have moulded seats. If you are a larger person, try the contoured chairs (you may be surprised) but by all means examine our models with more open seating.

Tom

And what brand do you sell?

Tom

This member has been challenged to either support his statement with evidence, or remove it.

The Tubs That burnt down were in Alaska.. I guess you can consider it a cold climate. And I use to sell arctic spa and thats how i know. How about they have to wet test every tub a dealer gets because their fittings come loose when they are shiped. The pumps are running alot to keep the cabinet and the water warm. So about how much electricity are you really using? Think about that. Arctic Spas warrenty says, "Warrenty will be void if the tub is damaged by improper chemical balance, ice in the spa, overheating the spa." No person can ever get a perfect water balance. Arctic spa Warrent says, "The Light lenses, fuses, headrests, filters, and cabinets are warrantied to be free of defect in workmanship and materials at the time of delivery." So when its delivered your screwed. And like i said before 2 houses have burnt down because of these tubs.

A quote from James Keirstead, one of the owners of Arctic Spas: "This statement is categorically untrue."

Wow, I have never heard so much about a spa in one place-- glad to have found you all here

I posted a question already about the spa line im interested in - Infinity spas

My Arctic Fox spa has worked fine for about 1 year, then one day I opened the top and most of the water was gone. It took the dealer in Norther Virginia a month to get a repair man out to fix. He didn't. It took another month for him to come again. Still no fix, same leak same place. Again another month of calling. This time the man said it could not be fixed. Now the dealer nor Canada are returning my calls. The dealer says they are in conflict with Canada. So I have no spa, since July and a lot of run around.