Want to swap out an old 60″ x 30″ cast iron tub with a jet style tub and was wondering which would be the best brand to purchase? Since they have the jetting are they noisy? Is it a problem with standard electric service to have one installed?
Basically what are the standard pitfalls in going from old to new may be when it comes to installing this puppy.
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Replies
I got the $4000 dollar top of line whirlpool jet tub with heater.
naw, just kidding mine is the $185 basic whirlpool brand jet pump. But I do get wet just as good. Down fall, no heater and it take alot of hot water to fill. so go for the heater model.
Great answer. Can you tell me if you have any trouble with vibration? When you put it on and the water is churning is it noisy? Do I have to add any extra insulation to dampen it?
Your idea of the heater is a good one since never thought about the hot water drawn being so much. Thanks.
Can you tell I've never had one??? A jet tub that is!
A better question might be: Does anyone ever use their jacuzzi? I have a big hot tub that we use all the time, but it is always full of hot water so it's ready all the time. I know lots of people with jet tubs, but none of them are ever used after the first week or so. The usual reason is that it takes too long to fill or that the water cools off too fast and most people take showers, not baths.
Edited 3/29/2007 8:27 am ET by smslaw
I totally agree. Bath spa's are more for resale than anything else. They are noisy and steamup the bath and then cool off. He have a 6' Pearl bath. Looks great but is used as a dirt clothes hamper more than anything.
We installed a Sundance Optima Spa on our patio. More expensive than a bath spa but it is used daily and does more than bubbles and a couple jets. It also stays at a constant 103 deg.
I put in a Jacuzzi-brand jetted bathtub about 5 years ago. I think the model was called "Niveo" or something like that. It's 42" wide, 66" long, and oval. We paid around $1k for it. It's pretty decent and we use it regularly (almost daily). I'm sure there are some people (or maybe many) that buy these things and don't use them but this is our main tub so it gets used a lot. I'm not too crazy about the Jacuzzi brand after buying this one because one of the jets leaked from day one and it took about 5 visits from a factory-authorized repair tech to fix it. Great quality control- especially when they claim they water-test every one. I can't imagine how that kind of leak could have been overlooked when it was factory tested. Since the intiial leak though it has been trouble free.
Whichever brand you go with, the general downsides to these types of tubs are:
1) They hold a lot of water and you may need to upgrade your water heater. We used to have a 40 gal gas hot water heater and I literally had the temp dial up all the way and it was cold by the time the tub was full. When we replaced the boiler in the house, I put in a 50 gal indirect tank that runs off the boiler. I keep the tank temp around 130 now and it is capable of filling the tub but still not as much reserve as I would have wanted.
2) Because of the amount of water, they put a lot more weight on the floor so you may need to do some reinforcing.
3) You'll need a dedicated GFCI for the pump motor (probably a GFCI breaker because the receptacle is under the tub deck and not easily accessible). If you go with a heater model, I think they actually need another dedicated circuit just for the heater.
4) Depending on your supply piping, it could take quite a while to fill the tub. When we put ours in, I ran dedicated 3/4" lines to the faucet and bought a Kohler faucet made specifically for larger tubs and ordered it with 3/4" innards. The faucet alone was about $700 but it must flow a good 15 gpm so the tub is full in about 5 minutes.
Edit: As to vibration, there is some in the downstairs when the pump runs (glasses in the kitchen cabinets directly beneath the unit) but not bad. I doubt that insulation will help on the vibration- what you need to cut that down is mass. Because our bath is tiled, I ran cement board under the tub and the board is mortared to the subfloor and screwed down. Still though we do get some minor vibrations in objects in the kitchen.
With all that said though, we enjoy ours and I'd put one in again. And don't forget to build in a place to hold your beer (or wine) and wire the room for TV!
Edited 3/29/2007 12:05 pm ET by Caulk
bigbossman,
You should own one before you buy one..
I can't tell you how many whirlpool tubs I see that have been used a couple of times and then just treated like a big bath tub..
I had one in a place I stayed for a few weeks and after the new wore off so did the fun. Eventually I was glad to get back to a tradtional tub.
MY dream house doesn't have one.
Does it even matter what you get? Studies have shown that the average Jacuzzi-type tub is used 3 times. (Note that's not 3 times/year, but 3 times period.)
my $.02-We've remodeled three baths recently, and installed American Standard Williamsburg elite 32x60 spa tubs. Around $750. at HD or Expo with the 'mold resistant' piping (special order). What's nice about these is that they're DEEP (around 22"), so you get a good soak in a small space. They have 8 jets, 2 of which are 'super jets' that are aimed right at your feet. Nice. Wife and I both use the whirlpool feature ALL THE TIME. We also installed good, quiet 110cfm fans at the same time, so steam not an issue. Although we didn't get them, a user-installable inline heater is available. We don't find in necessary- water stays hot for at least 45 minutes without it, and you can easily install it later. (we have a 50 gal WH)Noise from the pump is not too bad, but I insulate the area around the tub (leaving plenty of room around the motor!), which may help with pump noise, but definitely seems to give a more 'solid' sound to the acrylic tub. Also put some 'dibiten' (rubber roofing membrane) between the tub and wooden subfloor to help isolate the one that's on an upper floor. You can hear it's on from the room below, but it's not bad- less than a vacuum cleaner.Each tub needs a dedicated 20a circuit with a CFCI outlet, and an additionial circuit if you get the heater.Regarding any 'pitfalls' of replacing your existing tub- I couldn't find a 30" whirlpool tub. In two small bathrooms, I notched the studs on the long side (alcove installation) to set the tub in to the 30" space- had to move the drain, and it just made it where there was no 'ledge' on that side. Worked fine. Other than that, installation very straightforward. Had a problem with the switch on one of 'em, A.S. sent out a guy right away, easy fix, very satisfied.Go for it.Edited 3/29/2007 3:32 pm ET by PGproject
Edited 3/29/2007 3:34 pm ET by PGproject