Used hot tubs

I see them listed all over Craigslist, many for free. I assume the electronics on many are the issue? Some of these tubs sold new for thousands of dollars and within 5 or so years the owners can't give me away fast enough.

Anyone offer insight on which brands and age range may be worth picking up for free and making a semi easy repair?

I would think most of them are given away because owners can't afford the upkeep and utility bills. They are so hard to remove and relocate that the only way to get rid of it is for free.

You simply have no way of knowing what went on in there!

1988RedT2 wrote: You simply have no way of knowing what went on in there!

.. you don't want to know what went on on there...

bleach, lots of bleach....

Just be careful not to time travel.

Body fluids.... warm water.... it's a human stew.

Big increase to electric bills, Time & money on keeping the chemical balance right, and so on.

I gave mine away after it froze a pipe.

The Hoff wrote: I would think most of them are given away because owners can't afford the upkeep and utility bills.

Or they find they just don't use the things. Same deal with all the fancy 'bathroom suites' these days that have giant soaking tubs sitting unused.

I worked with a company that sold them years ago, and my advice is to run away. Unless it is a MAJOR and upscale name brand they typically aren't worth anything, especially used. Most of the less expensive ones don't have much in the way of insulation, and have poorly designed pump and filter systems. What this means to you are frequent break downs and very high utility bills.

Then there is the cost of upkeep. If you've had both one of these and the pool, the hot tub makes pool upkeep seem like nothing. It's also much easier to catch something and get sick from a hot tub due to the high temps being easier to breed germs.

On the flip side, they are great if you have issues with joints or arthritis. But there is a reason there are so many for sale.

To put this into perspective, I own a pool and have owned a good quality hot tub. I'd own another pool, but you couldn't pay me to take the hot tub.

I guess I'll have to be the voice of dissent here. I will agree that buying a used hot tub is probably risky. You don't know what upkeep has been done, what's needed, etc... As others said, they're heavy and bulky, so moving them is a b!tch. That probably factors into selling them used. You can't just put them on a dolly and throw them in the back of your SUV. When we searched for ours, I didn't have enough research time to say "A 2008 Jacuzzi model xyz is better than a 2011 Brand X model abc because...". So for all the reasons I listed, we did our research on new ones only and bought new.

We've had it about 8 or 9 months now and I absolutely love it. We went with Jacuzzi brand, seats 7. Our utility bill hasn't taken a huge hit. Best we can tell it's maybe $15-$20/month, maybe $25. Upkeep is easy. I honestly spend less than 5 minutes a week on it. I check the balance with a test strip weekly and adjust as needed. Not much else to do. I have a little floaty thing with bromine tablets in it. Once every 3-4 months, we bail the water and put new in. Including time to clean the tub once its' empty (warm water only...no detergents), it's about a 30 minute job. Once it's clean, it's about 90 minutes of just letting our hose run and refill it. It's got things that will require regular replacement...a black light filter thing that has to be changed yearly for example. I'm sure eventually it'll have a pump fail, or other part. But that's no different than a car needing a battery or axles or whatever. They told us to expect things like pumps to wear out because...well...they're wear items. We take good care of it, which is quite easy to do, and when it needs servicing, we'll have it done. Nothing better after a long day than chilling out in one. In fact, I anticipate being in mine just about 5 hours from now.

If you do get a used hot tub, you need to refer to it as either The Parts Washer or The Gene Pool.

I hear Will Smith is a Jacuzzi enthusiast.

I have a used tub that I picked up for free. The thermostat wasn't working properly. A bit of time with the schematic and a multimeter and all is good.

My advice. Fill it, add LOTS of bromine, run it for a few hours, drain it and refill it.

We bought new, several friends bought used. I don't know what all the fuss is about. Buy one with a local dealer for tech/parts support and clean it/flush it well if you buy used. No biggie.

Ours gets used at least 4-5 times/week. Upkeep is super easy. Power bill on average is about $15-20 in the summer, and maybe $40 in the winter. Love it.

Woody wrote: If you do get a used hot tub, you need to refer to it as either *The Parts Washer* or the *Gene Pool*.

Thanks, I've got a french fry in my nose.

I wouldn't own one. Some friends and I added Tide powder to one at a rented house after a long week of racing. It was the probably the cleanest we'd ever been but I figure if I buy one karma is lurking near by.

Not speaking for used units but I am sold on hot tubs after having one at a house in Texas for a few years. Utility bills aside I had literally no issues with really minimal upkeep on an older unit from viking hot spas. I changed the water once a year (of course you have to add water every month or so). I added a scoop of chlorine every other week. Other than that I would put fresh scum sponges in once a year. Almost no effort to enjoy soaking for 30min to an hour every other night.

I've never had one but have been tempted.

My uncle used to have a wood fired hot tub. A literal wooden tub with a submerged firebox. Very Norwegian, eh? Anyway I thought it was pretty cool even considering you had to plan your soaking several hours in advance. One day I invited this cute Italian girl I was dating over for a soak and about two minutes in she whined in a Nanny-esque voice: "I can't believe I'm sittin' here in a BARREL". I knew she'd have to go.

Then a few years later I assembled one just like it for some friends on their horse-farm. Never seen one used though, I'm not sure it could be moved without complete disassembly.

Ooh, I have a hot tub story. The house we moved out of in TN had a screened in side patio/porch. The people who moved into it after we left put a hot tub in the right rear corner of it. The concrete was about 5' above grade at that point. The foundation was already broken and settling in that corner. I told the landlady that it wasn't a good idea to let them put it there. Sure enough, about two months later, with four adults and two children in it the foundation collapsed out from under it. Thankfully the children escaped unhurt but there was at least one broken wrist and some ribs for the adults.

I have a used tub sitting in my back yard. Tomorrow I go buy the last two deck boards and the electrical stuff (GFI and disconnect). I can't wait. I did buy one that was currently filled and hooked up, so I know it worked and wasn't leaking. I paid $1,500 and hired a hot tub mover for $300. I got the receipt from the PO and he paid almost $6k for it 5 years ago.

I had a used free tub in the past. I used it for 10 years but had little issues with leaks and pumps. We used it a lot. Some people are hot tub people, some people hate them. I love sitting in it during a heavy snow.

They have a tub, a bunch of pvc pipe, a pump, and a heater. I've never owned one but I ran a heated 180k gallon pool that had jumbo sized versions of all those parts. In my opinion none of those things are difficult to fix or maintain. If I wanted one I would definitely take advantage of the used market.

I have a used one, plenty of jets, LED lighting, I use it about 10 times a week, morning and night, I love it, especially later at night. I picked it up used from an older couple who had it cared for by the local agent regularly, the husband could no longer get into it so now its again being used.

I watch MCM or Roadkill while soaking usually. With a tasty beverage of course

I have one on my back deck and I haven't even opened the cover on it yet. It came with my house, along with the giant soaker tub and cedar lined sauna that I also have not used yet.

I've been thinking about getting a tiny round two person one but with the soaker tub it's hard to justify.

Do you have a means of relatively easy disposal? I'll explain in a minute.

Hot tubs are a relatively disposable thing. When they break, buying parts is expensive. Much like when your TV dies you can have someone repair it for $400 or just buy a new one for $400. I went through a few free hot tubs. Some weren't worth the gas to go pick them up and I ended up scavenging off the parts that worked and setting fire to the rest. The good part was that I had amassed enough replacement parts that I felt pretty confident getting another hot tub. So I grabbed a freebie 4-man, self-contained 120v hot tub. Everything worked except the circulation pump for the heater. I tried cobbling together another pump I had scavenged, but the self-contained types tend to have extremely proprietary parts specifically made to fit in tight spots. Fortunately I was able to pull the motor apart, clean it up, and make it work again.

Then the jet pump started to leak

Then the electronic controller died and the heater wouldn't work, so I hotwired it through a temp switch from an old water heater.

Long story short, if you like tinkering and hot rodding things, it will give you years of entertainment. If you are looking for a good hot tub, run away. They're free for a reason. Rarely you'll find one that is in good shape and they're just ditching it because their insurance rates were too high or they had their first kid and it was a perceived drowning risk, but for the most part they are worth exactly what you paid for them.

So, if you have a way of easily disposing of them, go the free route knowing that you might have to throw away three to get one that works.

I really don't get the hate. I've had a hot tub at my last two houses and helped move one for a friend. I personnaly find them to be less maintenance intensive than a pool.

The water gets gross....just empty it end fill it back up. Takes a few hours.

Mechanical problem???? just rebuilt a pump in my GF's hot tub. Took a whole hour including the trip to the local pool place to get the parts. Which were in stock. Total cost: about 70$ . The sensors can be more expensive, but it's usually not hard to diagnose. Honestly, if you can do basic work on a car, you're over-qualified.

One thing though: the cover. You will need a new one every few years, and these ARE expensive. It's a wear item. And don't even think of not having one.

Moving one is easy. Hire a tow truck with a platform and a winch. Zero effort and if it's not too far, not expensive. For my friend, it cost him 150$ to move a hot tub that was about 30 minutes away from his house.

Can't argue with the increased power bill. That's the only thing I don't like. But a good cover makes a big difference.