Jetted Tub Opinions

[Dr. Hardcrab]

Just my opinion (and I am trying to convince the boss, er, wife):

Skip the Jacuzzi type tub and get a hot tub instead......

[Brad Bruce]

"Dr. Hardcrab" wrote in news:mYT6f.5264$iH6.2635@trnddc01:

So. Regular tub in the bathroom, and a hot tub on the patio....

We'll see.......

[Rich Greenberg]

Whats a SWMBO?

Tell him that he is free to upgrade the bathroom after he buys the house.

[Brad Bruce]

[e-mail] (Rich Greenberg) wrote in news:djh2i2$ike$1 @reader2.panix.com:

Sorry; Abbreviation from another news-group She Who Must Be Obeyed (AKA the wife)

Brad

[Dr. Hardcrab]

That's what I want. I know, I know. She wants to "soak" in a tub and you can't do that in a hot tub (that's what she says).

Maybe it's the way that I was brought up: You take a SHOWER to get clean, not a bath. My pappy always said if you sit in a tub to get clean, while you are washing up, you're just soaking in the "dirty" water.....

[Brad Bruce]

"Dr. Hardcrab" wrote in news:28U6f.5461$iH6.3018@trnddc01:

Sounds like "Lewis Grizzard".

For those who don't know, he was a newspaper columnist in the south who told it like it was. Very much along the tub-vs-shower comment above.

[SQLit]

I installed one for my bathroom remodel. I like the deeper water level and the fact that it really fit the opening of the other tub. I removed part of the wall to get the rust piece of junk out and the new AS in. I have no complaints it works as a soaker/reading lounge for me. It does put a hurt on the water heater, since I live alone there is no worries about that.

I might consider paying for a porcelain tub the next time. I am not planning on keeping this home much more than a year.

The pump location is opposite the drain, and needs a separate GFCI circuit and access door.

[Brad Bruce]

"SQLit" wrote in news:4QV6f.60$d [e-mail]:

Well that stinks. Does the apron come off to access the motor? It would be placed against an outside wall (no access panel).

Then again there's the bedroom closet next to the bathroom....

Brad

[Wes Stewart]

I second that. I'm redoing a bathroom (currently w/o a tub) and wouldn't consider a jetted tub. We did buy an outdoor hot tub/spa, however.

My only experience with jetted tubs is the time we rented an upscale hotel room and decided to try one out. When I saw the crap coming out of the jets that was left over from the previous users, I decided to take a shower instead.

With the spa, the water is repeatedly circulated and filtered with a sanitizer added. With the jetted tub, the pump/piping is full of water left over from the last bather.

[Brad Bruce]

Wes Stewart wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I thought they drained when the water level went below the jets.

Brad

[Brad Bruce]

The SWMBO wants the bathroom in a house we are buying updated.

It was built in 1978 and has HIDEOUS blue tile in the tub/shower area. If I'm redoing the tile, I might as well replace the tub.

We're interested in the American Standard "Plebe" jetted tub, but haven't been able to find any comments about it. Has anyone here installed/used one?

Thanks Brad

[Wes Stewart]

Maybe some do, or they're all supposed to... my experience was limited but distasteful.

[No]

I'm not sure which exact AS model I installed abd I couldn't find 'Plebe' via the search on their website. I got mine at Home Cheapo several years ago. It was deep, had jets. The motor was loud. Like another poster said, the motor will need an access pannel if you install it as a drop in. There is an optional skirt if you do not install as a drop in. My access pannel is a tiled area in the front. To get to the motor you would need to cut the grout to remove the pannel. The GFI requirement was met my using a GFI breaker. This is a fibergalss tub. I set mine in a mortar bed for additional support. Build a form/dam out of cardboard to keep it contained. The kids loved it for bubble baths! Only annoyance, beside the loud motor, was that if the water level was below the back rest jets it would shoot water out and against the opposite wall! The jets could be adjusted but we liked them full strength.

[wkearney99]

Amen to that idea. Filling that jetted tub puts a real dent in both your water and your heating bill. As opposed to filling a hot tub once a quarter and keeping it at a steady temperature. Sure, it'll cost you "something" to keep that tub warm but it'd undoubtedly be less than filling a bathtub more than once a week. Besides, it's MUCH more relaxing to be able to come home and get right into the tub without having to fill it first. Ease of access like that makes it a lot more likely it'll get used. Most folks I know with jetted tubs all say they really never get around to using them.

[wkearney99]

And why's that? My wife seems to get a lot more use out of the hot tub than she'd expected. I probably only use it about once or twice a week but she's in there almost every other night. You can use a tub without having all the jets on, or even with none of them running, and just sit there soaking. Heck, someone even makes a 'hammock' of sorts that'll let you rest in a prone position if you tub doesn't already have that sort of seating arrangement. Set the tub up in a way that offers a bit of privacy, being sure to allow for overhead viewing of the night sky, and ledge close by for candles. We're moving ours to be flush-mounted into a new deck but right now it's just a few steps from a door and is shielded from view with nearby fencing and shrubbery.

Well, that all depends on how dirty you are to begin with. That and hot tubs generally take less maintenance if you use them au naturel. Laundry detergents don't come completely out of garments and that can end up making the tub cleaning a little more frequent or you can just add anti-foaming agents.

Run the numbers, see how many gallons it takes to fill that jetted tub. Factor in how much it costs to heat that much water, and also consider how much that'll drain the tank (you may need a larger HW heater). There's also the added the cost of a jetted tub. Then factor in never using it. A dedicated hot tub is almost always a better deal all around. If you've got the room it's really something you should consider.

When we re-did our bathroom I did put in a larger (wider) tub. This more for the added standing room for dual shower heads than actual tub soaking use. I could've put a jetted tub in there but I just didn't want the potential hassles of having to fix it when it eventually broke down from lack of use.

But if you must I'd probably look into an air bubble tub instead of a jetted one. It's nice ot have the bubbling effect in a tub and it's got a lot less to break down or get moldy than a fully jetted tub. Most jetted tubs I've seen don't really compare to the versatility of a hot tub.

The jet flow in most tubs doesn't really end up doing much besides just pusing the water around. A decent, mid-range hot tub will have at the minumum a nice set of specific seating patterns. Areas geared for just the back, calves or even just the soles of the feet. If anything the only reason I'd upgrade our current tub would be to get one that has setups specifically for lower calves and feet. Otherwise I just sit up on the lip and use the back setup for them.

Make the argument this way, will she /really/ use the inside tub on a regular basis? Then hit her with the added water/heating costs. Then focus on what it'd take to make the idea of an outside tub acceptable. Privacy is usually the main issue so factor the costs of rearranging the patio area a bit. That and some NICE fluffy robes along with a rack or hooks for them. You really can't go wrong with a hot tub. The maintenance on them is trivial these days and they're soooo much nicer than a tub stuck in the bathroom sitting right next to the toilet.

-Bill Kearney

[Wes Stewart]

On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 10:10:33 -0400, "wkearney99" wrote some good stuff:

[snip]

Instead of looking at the toilet, we look at a full-grown Saguaro cactus next to the tub and the night sky over the desert west of Tucson. Nothing beats soaking in the tub while sipping Champagne and watching a meteor shower.