You're absolutely right about that! We do build a good product and most of our customers have a good experience, so I apologize that you are experiencing these issues. Customer satisfaction is important to us. Please PM me with the serial number of your hot tub and the name of your dealer. I'll see what I can to to help.

I responded via PM as requested. Let me know how you progress this issue please. Thanks for your help.

Regards, Kevin

Thanks, Kevin.
Got your note, reported your original post to the dealer, will follow up with a phone call. Please keep in touch directly, tom at goarctic dot com.

We've had our Arctic Spa "Tundra" for about 4 years now. ....had a leak in the #1 pump/motor after about a year. Dealer fixed it quickly. Excellent service out of Peabody, MA.

I did the normal "engineer" review that the Dilbert types like me do before a large purchase. Dry and wet tested many models. Created spreadsheets and graphs (perhaps on more things that were needed).

Reasons that I selected Arctic Spas.....
01) comfort of seats (I'm not a light-weight)
02) Microban shell finish
03) The cedar cabinet doesn't warp each time that the hot summer sun hits it. Also, no worries about sticking to a frozen metal cabinet (remember the flag pole scene in "A Christmas Story"?)
04) wrap-around lip of the shell rests directly on the cedar cabinet. That may not seem like an important item, but my neighbors' spas have an opening under the lip between the shell and cabinet. They find, at least twice each year, that wasps like to build nests there. The first time, they didn't find out until they were in the tub and turned on the jets. ...the bees weren't pleased.
05) the open design inside the cabinet and insulation on the cabinet, not on the shell and plumbing. Knowing the normal operating temperature of these types of motors, I'm not concerned by the motors operating in that closed warm enviroment
06) The higher lip on the shell compared to other tubs helps the cold winter winds deflect over us
07) raised bumps on the floor seem to greatly reduce slipping
08) the powerful big jet is great against aching muscles
09) the heavy-duty cover easily holds a couple of feet of heavy snow
10) excellent warranty

Offhand, that's all that comes to mind. I threw away my charts years ago....

However, on the minus side...
01) the filter media is expensive. Although it lasts 3 or 4 months and does an incredible job of keeping the water clear, $30US seems too much
02) the small (3") jets seem to pop out and the plastic clips on the back of them are cracked. They are not at all abused, and seldom adjusted to vary water pressure. Interestingly, it almost always seems to be at the deep seat to the right of the control panel. Currently, five of them are out with cracked clips.
03) the display panel is not easy to read from an angle. A new design with colored images that can be viewed from the side would be a big asset
04) add the threaded screw lugs to all access panels, the wood screws will strip-out the cedar after a few times

Do I recommend Arctic Spas? Yup .... to anyone that will listen, and some that don't.
Would I buy anyother one? Probably. The "engineer" side of me will make me run through all of those charts and graphs again. But, in my mind, Arctic Spa sets the standard that all othes would be judged.

You WILL get what you pay for. Everyone that I know that purchased an inexpensive (cheap) spa from a lumber yard or warehouse club has regretted it.

Bottom line..... a hot tub/spa is like a spouse. Different people are looking for specific features that are important to them. Investgate carefully, and try them before buying. I did, and I think that I got the best! spa and wife!

Thank you for your comments. A couple of notes


The bumps on the floor have been removed (2005 and newer I think), but I will forward your comment to R&D for future consideration.


The jets are under warranty and will be replaced free of charge by your local dealer. Simply take them in for exchange. Ask about the new threaded jet upgrade (subject to availability) for that one seat.


Both of these issues have been addressed and may be available as upgrades (another benefit of the Arctic design is the ease of upgrades) .

Best wishes
Tom

Here's how I spend most of my time with my new Arctic Spa. Leaked ever since I got it. Service is useless, had many visits with zero results.

Now warranty people are telling me they are going to charge me for visits to fix their defective product.

I wouldn`t wish or recommend this frustration to anyone.

Here is the product of over a year of water leaking into the base. I lose 4 inches of water every 3-4 days. Mould, chemical residuals, and saturated cedar (the doors don`t even fit properly any more because cedar expands when it gets wet). Also the cedar wood panels gets so spongy where the wood is exposed the cheap construction staples used to hold them together pull out on the trim. These tubs were not made to be opened and closed continuously or be exposed to constant humidity.

I have spent a year of battling with Service Reps to fix this thing, expressing my concerns with water pooling in the base. Service guys have been here and never resolved the root leakage problems. It`s ALWAYS a pump union that needs tightened, but never anything else. I have also communicated and have gotten minimal support from the Head Office.

Arctic Spa claims they stand behind their tubs and the warranty,....but from what I`ve seen this is not true.

I`m sure they are great assets if they don`t leak,......but I wouldn`t know what that is like.

I'm sorry to hear that you feel you have received poor service and support. I've done what I can to help, which includes liaison with the store manager and our warranty department. Your concerns have been forwarded to the VP Sales (one of the owners) to see if anything more can be done.

kittfree wrote:
"I do not think anyone should spend $8-15K and get this kind of stress, poor quality and service. I did not buy a tub because I like to fix stuff or babysit water levels....it was supposed to be a stress-reducer not a stress-adder!"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Further to my previous posts regarding constant problems with our Arctic Spa.....

The topside controls that were replaced in the fall of 2008, are faulty (AGAIN)!!! I just called the store, and they said there is NO WARRANTY on replacement parts. WTHeck?!?!? She said that parts, and even replacement parts, are only under warranty while your original warranty is valid. Since our tub is now 5 1/2 years old, and the warranty ran out 6 months ago, there is no warranty on the brand new control panel that was purchased and installed a few months ago.
I cannot believe this. Now I have to spend over $200 again to get a new control panel, which also comes with no warranty?

To top this off, the tub has developed a slow leak (Yes, AGAIN). I have no idea how to tell where the leak is coming from. So I will have to spend copious amounts of money to have a service guy come out and figure it out. Then it will need to be drained, fixed, and re-filled. Our outdoor plumbing is shut down for the season, and cannot be used until probably March, when it's warm enough for the pipes to defrost. So we won't even have a way to re-fill the tub right now, except for carrying buckets of water from the house to the tub. This is what I've had to do for the past week, just to keep the water level up. Oh, my aching back. What I need is a nice soak in a hot tub...d'oh!

In the meantime, I really am at a loss. This unit has caused NOTHING but STRESS from the beginning. To have spent this kind of money, and get nothing but trouble, and nothing but excuses from the store....well that's just not right. Usually you get what you pay for. But in this case, I think something is seriously wrong. I would expect more from such a reputable Canadian company. Regardless of whether a warranty has run out or not, if you've had nothing but trouble from the first month, I would hope that a company would do everything they can to "make it right", and keep satisfied customers.

I am so upset right now.

For almost four years, I have been the corporate spokesman for Arctic Spas on this and other forums. It's been a pleasure and privilege working with other spa professionals here. I've enjoyed helping owners who encounter difficulties and I've appreciated hearing from satisfied customers -- regardless of brand.

I'm having to direct much of my time to another project for about a month and will not be available on the forum. This means that I will be

1. Unable to respond to spam notices
2. Very slow to respond to private messages
3. Unlikely to reply to posts

This is farewell but not good-bye. I hope to be back in February. If you wish to reply to this post, go ahead - it might make interesting reading when I get back next month.

In the meantime, please address warranty questions to warranty at goarctic dot com.

Send Onzen questions to the email address on page six of your Onzen owner manual.

Other questions may be addressed to info at goarctic dot com.

Wishing everybody a Happy New Year

Tom