Buying a spa or jacuzzi is a personal matter, just like choosing a car or a mobile phone. However, all spas still have a few things in common, and by knowing them, it will be much easier to choose a spa from a showroom.
Spa, essentially made up of a shell that retains water, a piece of furniture that surrounds the shell, some jets that provide hydrotherapy, a circulation system to filter the water, and some controls including temperature control.
Here is the breakdown of the crucial component of a spa:
the shell
The container that holds the spa water inside is the shell. Although some traditional spas are made of wood, most of today’s prefabricated spas are made of acrylic, thermoplastic, fiberglass, tile, etc.
Custom concrete spas are also popular and can be installed alone or in combination with a pool. By far the most popular material for prefab spas is acrylic, which comes in a variety of colors to choose from.
the jets
The jets in a spa are used for hydrotherapy purposes. It is as important as the shell. Spa without hydrotherapy is just a hot tub. Jets come in many styles and new ones continue to be introduced each year. Some popular jet types include neck jets, foot jets, stationary jets, group jets, directional jets, handheld jets, and whirlpool jets.
The bomb
The pump is the main heart of a spa. The pump is what pumps the water for circulation and also to create the effect of jets. Many people make the mistake of assuming that a bigger pump will be better. However, too large a pump will only waste energy and damage the spa’s plumbing system.
the heater
Spa heater function to heat the water inside the spa until it reaches the desired temperature and then maintain it at that particular temperature. The spa heater is a vulnerable component due to contact of the spa heating element with spa water, which can be corrosive. A more effective way to prevent this is to keep your spa water properly balanced.
Some other types of heaters do not allow water to come into physical contact with the heating element by encasing the heating element in stainless steel tubing. But this type of heater wastes more energy as only 60% of the generated heat is transferred to the water.
Filter
The spa’s filter feature filters fine particles and debris from the spa water. Prebuilt spas often use a cartridge filter to filter particles from the water. Not all cartridge filters are the same. Some contain more filter material than others. This cartridge filter should be cleaned every few months or whenever the water flow is interrupted.
