A common question we are asked is whether a 13amp spa doesn’t heat well. This is a frequent misunderstanding unfortunately fielded by unscrupulous hot tub sales staff trying to upsell you to a higher priced 32amp model. So what are these dodgy staff saying?
With a 13amp hot tub the heater is set to switch off when the main massage pump is running. If both the heater and the massage pump were activated together the spa would need to draw more than 13amps. Thus these staff are implying that a 13amp spa won’t maintain it’s heat when you are using it.
Well let’s go through that situation in reality.
In the warmer spring, summer and autumn this will make no difference at all. However in the colder winter with cold air whipping around when you remove the cover and activate the massage pump the heat will start to drop. But realistically you will still get an hour or so before you think it’s too cold so let’s get out and an hour seems to be fine for almost all customers!! So most users would say an hour is plenty of time in the winter so not an issue.
If it was an issue to you and you wanted to bathe for longer in the winter you could get an electrician to provide a larger 20amp supply, ask your hot tub supplier to flick a switch inside the tub so it could heat at all times in the winter. Simple! The spa would then allow both heating and massage at the same time. This option is available on around 95% of 13amp hot tubs. But let me state this important note. The writer of this blog has been in the industry for 20 years and offered this option thousands of times to customers in the past and guess what…..A big fat ZERO of customers have requested this or complained of colder spa in the winter. Thus I am 100% confident this problem is not a REAL problem.
So if a salesperson tells you not to buy a 13amp hot tub because of heating issues I’d suggest you leave the showroom immediately as they are either liars or idiots.
If a 13amp model suits you then buy one. If you want a more powerful 32amp spa then great but don’t be persuaded to buy a 32amp spa based on this industry lie!!!!
