Posted by Greg Butler on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 @ 12:16 PM
2011 provided an incredible year at Bubba's Tubs and Pools. We ended 2010 / started 2011 with a move to Topsail Road - which has been a fantastic move. At the apex of Mount Pearl, St. John's and Paradise, we quickly became more convenient and more accessable for the vast majority of our customers.
2011 saw us bring to market Highbury Pools which were an incredible success and we also brought in some specialty BBQ items including the BIG GREEN EGG. Add a series of patio heaters, swimming pool heat pumps, the Dazzle line of hot tub chemicals as well as a line of everlasting patio furniture and we rounded out the year as the #1 Hydropool Retailer in Canada for the 3rd Year in a Row*.
2012 is looking up to be a better year still. For hot tubs, we remain focussed on Hydropool Self-Cleaning hot tubs - a technically advanced product that offers convenience and features not found on competitive products, our Serenity hot tubs which from a value perspective offer a very attractive price point, and new this year we have introduced the La-Z-Boy Classic - a fantastic entry level hot tub!
As for swimming pools, perhaps our most exciting news since the introduction of our swim spa, Bubba's Tubs and Pools have now become the exclusive dealer of Radiant Pools. You will hear more on this soon, but in summary, these swimming pools are structurally insulated so that they extend your swimming season, reduce your heating costs, and have a fully transferable warranty - yes, you can give your pool to the grand kids. Even more exciting - Bubba's Tubs and Pools will soon be offering in-ground installations for as little as $15,000! Add to the fact that there are over 50,000 of these pools already on the market and we are confident in saying that with the exception of a swim spa, there could not be a better pool to install in Newfoundland's climate. We are thrilled to become Newfoundlands Exclusive Radiant Pool Dealer!
2012 will see us introducing new hot tub models, new swimming pools and new water care programs and services to Newfoundland and Labrador. We remain committed to being the #1 Backyard Leisure store in this province and with your support, we hope to do it again!
*Hydropool hot tubs are the #1 manufacturer of hot tubs in Canada and Bubba's Tubs has genuinely acheived this goal through outstanding sales and services and have trended this way for 3 years (2009,2010 and 2011). We are the top retailer of the top manufacturer. There are more people enjoying hot tubs supplied by Bubba's Tubs and Pools than any other brand of hot tub in Newfoundland and Labrador. Please email for a copy of the presidents letter.
Posted by Greg Butler on Tue, Jun 08, 2010 @ 08:33 AM
Sometimes it feels as if purchasing a hot tub is more confusing than purchasing any other item and sadly, that confusion is caused by the industry itself. The most blatent is jet count. Some consider a jet, a physical piece that you can grasp in your hand and insert into a pocket in your hot tub. Others consider a jet one of the little holes in that particular piece. Therefore, one company may say they have 50 jets in a hot tub whereas others would consider the same hot tub as having 150 or more jets depending on the number of holes through which water is passing....
Confused? The purpose here is to "un-confuse" you. To make it simple for you, when purchasing a hot tub, simply consider the following 5 items and give weight to what is important to you:
1. Ease of Maintenance - what system is in place for keeping your water safe, clean and clear. How frequently do you want to drain this and how difficult is it going to be for you to drain and refill your hot tub. Bubba's Tubs have hot tubs that do things "the old way" and they have their "Self-Cleaning" hot tubs. You have a choice here.
2. Energy Efficiency - This seems to be a big sticking point for many, but this point is well addressed in other blog articles.
3. Product Selection, Design and Comfort - Choice of lines, choice of features, choice of sizes and seating arrangements. Features, choice and customization - there is more at Bubba's Tubs than anywhere else.
4. Hydrotherapy and Massage - A single pump hot tub has less hydrotherapy than a two pump package. Plain and simple. The balance of hydrotherapy then rests on plumbing design, divertor control and actual jet package. Be sure to choose the one that best suits your needs.
5. Product Quality and Company Reputation - Does your retailer have a dedicated service team? If no, you are in line with everyone from Walmart, Costco, Home Depot and the internet. Are there service people dedicated to you and the hot tub you purchase. This is important. Also, how is your retailer doing. Bubba's was #1 in Canada in 2009 - that should at least say a little something about what we do.
Kind regards,
Greg
Posted by Greg Butler on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 @ 01:03 PM
The previous articles have addressed 3 primary methods of insulating a hot tub - full-foam, a perimeter lock and the double thermoshield method. Each are effective, but some have advantages over the others.
Overall, the goal is not more insulation, it is not to purchase a hot tub with either method really. The goal is to have an energy efficient hot tub and the truth is that either of the above are energy efficient.
Sales people and cheap hot tubs in this industry have created a fear for ongoing expenses in hot tub usage. Retail staff bicker with one another in attempts to say "mine is better than yours", but overall, the customer must realize that ZERO energy consumption is not possible. Likewise, energy usage / consumption will go up with increased size of hot tubs in both volume and surface area. More pumps require more energy, windy conditions require more energy and there is no way in the world that any hot tub will cost the same in January as it does in June! A given figure or statement of lets say "$20 per month guarenteed" is something to relax your mind and to get the sale - it is not realistic at all, and it does not address any of the above-mentioned items that affect energy consumption. The arguement is as accurate as the auto industry's arguement of 52mpg vs 53mpg - a very controlled drive on a very controlled course - not at all a run through Gros Mourn National Park on a windy day through the hills and valleys!
When you sum it up, just like the auto industry, there is a price to pay for the usage of the product and ANY of the previously described methods are effective. When this is understood, differentiating hot tubs then should focus on other items such as ongoing maintenance, dealer support, product selection and water chemistry options.
Posted by Greg Butler on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 @ 12:41 PM
Self-cleaning hot tubs, and their cousins, the Serenity line of hot tubs employ a method of insulation that simply attempts to address the limitations of other methods of insulating a hot tub by creating a DOUBLE THERMOSHEILD. Through the years, the manufacturer of these hot tubs, has tried the other methods and like other aspects of their hot tubs, they make every effort to improve each feature.
Essentially, instead of the millions of tiny dead air spaces as in full foam, and instead of ONE GIANT DEAD AIR SPACE, this method employs 2 dead air spaces - one around the piping and the shell/bowl and one between that and the cabintry. Vents can be installed to vent one cavity, but not affecting the second and thereby not adversely affecting the pumps due to overheating.
The limiations of full-foam are eliminated and the primary concerns of a simple perimeter lock are addressed. Dig-outs are gone, pipes are supported, pumps are vented, R-Values are maintained or improved, water is not absorbed and servicing is a piece of cake!
In this method, excess heat from the pumps is recycled and used to keep the hot tub warm - this is key in the perimeter lock method as well - but in this case, the pumps can be vented and because of the 2nd thermosheild, all heat is not lost.
Should a leak occur, the letter "H" is cut into the bubble-foil wrap on the perimeter. The same is cut on the interior wrap. A third is made in the polyfilm barrier which supports the plumbing. The leak is fixed and the letter "H" is sealed back up with reflective tape - the same stuff used on heating systems in homes - on each layer on the way out so that no integrity of the system is lost.
Comparatively speaking, a dig out in a full-foam hot tub can take hours. In just a few short minutes, a leak in a hot tub using this type of insulation can be fixed and forgotten!
Posted by Greg Butler on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 @ 12:40 PM
This second method of insulating a hot tub is a little smarter. In theory, this is a very good way to do things. Essentially, the goal here is to forget about the bowl and to forget about the box, and to simply create a dead air space between the two. If we compare to a full-foam hot tub, instead of insulation with thousands, maybe millions, of little tiny air spaces, the goal is to create ONE GIANT DEAD AIR SPACE.
This is accomplished simply by creating a design where the exterior cabinet is completely sealed off so that no air gets out and none gets in and the process is generally simply by insulating the box really well. This is what has happened in your house! In theory, this is not a bad idea at all.
Compared to full-foam hot tubs, this method is at least as effective, and one great advantage is servicability. Simply remove a side panel - fix what needs to be fixed and replace the panel. No more "dig outs".
Although effective, and argueable better than full-foam, there are two particular issues of concern:
1. To completely trap heat, you need to completely seal the box. This will trap excess heat from the pumps as your hot tub operates and this excess heat will prevent your hot tub heater from kicking in and drawing on more electricity. (Like I said, this is better than full foam - especially when pumps are kept outside of the cabinetry). The catch however, is too much heat trapped by your pumps will often cause them malfunction prematurely. To alleviate this, you can vent the cabinetry, but by doing so, you comprimise the entire integrity of this method of insulation. In short, its a double-edged sword.
2. Secondly, water weight becomes a concern. As you turn the jets on and off in your hot tub, water will move at varying speeds. From stop to slow, to fast, stop, to fast, there is movement of very heavy water. With lines simply "hanging" from the jet bodies in the hot tubs, leaks are more prevelant over time. Easily fixed leaks mind you, but leaks nonetheless.
In summary:
A perimeter lock is a good method of insulating a hot tub. In theory, it is a good way to do things.
It has less limitations over full foam, but has a couple of issues that make it not ideal.
Posted by Greg Butler on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 @ 11:21 AM
If you are doing your homework and researching a hot tub, you realize that in its most simply form, a free-standing / portable hot tub can be described as a "bowl-in-a-box". When we look at a hot tub this way, we will realize for the purposes of keeping our bowl of water warm without significantly increasing our power bill each month, there truely are only so many ways to insulate the bowl, the box or the space between the two. I will address each in turn:
1. Full Foam
One way is to use what is commonly referred to as "full foam". In this case, the cavity between the bowl and the box is sprayed completely full of foam. This is an effective way to insulate a hot tub. Many manufacturers choose this route because it is easy, cheap and effective. More importantly for these manufacturers, it is very easy for sales staff to communicate and subsequently for customers to understand.
However, it should be noted, that it is NOT the foam that does the majority insulating - it is the space or air trapped in the little bubbles or pockets in the foam that does most of the insulating. Just like your fiberglass pink insulation in your house, the fiberglass batting does not insulate, but the air trapped within. This is why your contractor will fit this snuggly between the walls in your home, but they will not pack it tightly in there.
As mentioned, this is an effective way to insulate a hot tub, but there are limitations to this type of insulation:
The notion that MORE INSULATION MEANS BETTER energy efficiency is COMPLETELY FALSE. The idea is not to get more insulation - if it were, we would build bigger boxes. The idea is for your hot tub to be more energy efficient. To use the home analogy, if more foam was better, the exterior walls in our homes would be several feet thick instead of simply 6 inches. Therefore, we must agree, that stopping the cold and keeping the heat requires just a certain amount of insulation, and more is not always better.
The second limitation of this type of insulation is THE TYPE OF FOAM USED. There is open-cell foam and there is closed-cell foam. Quite simply, the open cell foam soaks up water - the closed cell does not. If you install a hot tub with open cell foam in a damp, rainy environment where fog and drizzle are common - the foam will soak up water and will decrease the overall energy efficiency of the hot tub over time.
The third limitation of the full-foam method is that of rodents and animals that would be attracted to heat and that can burrow. This is not a big issue in Newfoundland, but in provinces where field mice and snakes are prevelant, these full foam cabinets attract so many rodents that service techicians commonly kick the hot tub prior to servicing to drive animals out!
With servicing in mind, the fourth and most important limitation of full foam hot tubs is servicing. This is primarily reason why most hot tub manufacturers which no longer implement this method insulation have ceased the practice. In the event that there is a leak in your hot tub - this does happen - servicing a full-foam hot tub is a nightmare! The process is as follows:
1. Tip the hot tub on its side
2. Begin a "dig-out" - us a hand shovel or spoon type of instrument to begin digging the mushy wet open cell foam out of the space between the "bowl and the box".
3. Stop digging when there is no more "mush"
4. Because your hot tub is empty, you should guess where the leak came from (you may have several pipes, unions, fittings, suctions now available.
5. If it is obvious (a line slipped off a jet body for example). Re-clamp, re-glue the fitting.
6. Re-spray the entire hot tub with a field kit of insulating foam
7. Tip hot tub back in place, refill and restart.
Some manufacturers will tell you that they put the equipment on the outside of their hot tub to facilitate servicing and to allow you to put more foam inside. Never is there a mention of the type of foam, the fact that more is not better, and there is never any explanation of how one fixes a leak in one of these hot tubs.
In summary,
1. Dead Air Spaces in the insulation do the the insulating - not the foam itself
2. More is not better
3. Open Cell foam will soak up water decreasing the energy efficieny of your hot tub
4. Rodents commonly burrow into hot tubs using this sort of insulation
5. Servicing requires a "dig-out"