How Much Does It REALLY Cost to Run A Hot Tub?

[Music] [Music] next hello and welcome to limited insight and today we're looking at the true costs of hot tub ownership so for a long time now when buying a hot tub you've always been sold on the idea of one pound a day running costs it's just not true anymore if it ever was so today we're going to look at the true cost of owning a hot tub and whether or not that should put you off right we get the big one out of the way first then the actual hot tub itself now this cost can vary wildly because they start in the region of 2,000 pounds and go right up to twenty thirty thousand pounds so buying at the bottom end of a market is rarely a good idea the same applies to hot tubs so something in the region of two thousand two and a half thousand pounds isn't going to be very good so probably give those a Miss if that's sort of what you're looking at maybe save yourself a few quid and look at an inflatable will touch more on those a little later this particular model is the Platinum sparse Santorini it's 2.1 meters wide has 52 jets and seat six people including one in a large position it cost five and a half thousand pounds it's versatile because it's great for two people but can accommodate a few friends if you want some over nobody ever turns down a dip in the tub this one I've had for two years now so that's the major cost out of the way the good news here is most retailers will do these things at naught percent finance so using mine as an example if you have say a thousand pound deposit you can pay the rest off over a three-year period for 125 pounds a month so this later can be factored into the cost of owning one if you like so you've ordered your tub now you need to think about delivery it's there easy access to where the tub will sit yes great it'll probably be included in the price then however if you don't have a straight 1 meter wide clear route to your garden the location you're gonna sit this thing then you are gonna need a crane so you'll need to factor that into your course as well although having one delivered by crane is exciting it is costly at around about 200 pounds so now you've got your tug in place and you're ready to rock but there was one more major cost involved before you even got to this point yes that's the power supply all decent tubes need their own supply you can't just plug them in a socket and go cops here varies depending on where your fuse box is and how far a cable has to go armored cable isn't cheap mine is roughly 20 meters long and cost four hundred pounds to be installed see the cost of stacking up when we've barely even started you'll probably receive all the chemicals you need in a starter pack along with the tub so you should be good to go right from delivery so this should keep you going for a few months but then you will need to buy some more fortunately these can be purchased in bulk and don't cost all that much so it's relatively small cost and keeping your tub running at this point I need to point out something very important that many people don't quite understand a hot tub is on 24/7 you don't just turn it on when you want to get in for a dip it's on all the time ready if and when you want to so that can be a common misconception think of how long it takes to boil a liter of water in your kettle so heating up 1500 liters of water outside to a temperature 37 to 40 degrees isn't going to be quick once up to temperature which on atop this size takes around 16 hours to get from 10 degrees to say 37 hot tubs keep the water at a constant temperature by topping up the heat constantly so it takes a lot less power to keep it to that temperature rather than heating from coal you will however need to keep the water conditioned good this is mainly by adding chlorine but there are also some other products that you'll require as part of your chemical routine and when I say routine I mean 2 to 3 times a week yes regardless of whether you're using it or not so there is a certain level of commitment when buying one of these things so the chemicals then 5 liters of chlorine will set you back 30 pounds and that will last you around 18 months you need pH increase it or decrease or two depending on your water this is around 9 pounds for your annual supply so we're not talking big figures here these are the important things and all I need to add to my water to have the levels right you can get tests of strips to measure the chemical content of the water but after a while of keeping on top of this you will just know the test strips are very cheap anyway at 15 pounds for 200 strips lastly you'll need foam away typically 5 pound per liter this you only need to add on occasions where you get foam build up under use usually when you add a stranger to the tub and they're covered in products it's always best to shower first detergent from freshly washed when wear can also add to this so it's not an important cost but does add to the total moving on the most important part and also the cheapest the water to fill the thing 1 pound 50 it costs to fill the entire hot tub and you only need to do that 3 or 4 times a year if you keep on top of the chemicals and don't overuse it so that's everything then I'll wait no I forgot the biggest expense in owning a hot tub power yes they use a lot when I say a lot they use more than the rest of your house combined and next doors as well they really do use a phenomenal amount of electricity so you've been forewarned I worked mine out at using 16 kilowatts of electricity every day that's like leaving on 160 in LED lights however you want to cut it it's a lot and will significantly increase your energy bill you need to account for this as it will be a nasty surprise if you're not ready for it so on electricity alone the hot tub costs 2 pounds a day to run that's double your salesman's estimate and that doesn't include the other costs as well but as we've discussed all those other costs really don't add that much over a year and only bumps it up to around 2 pound 10 to power 15 per day but still over a year that's an awful lot of money that's nearly seven hundred and sixty quid a year so if you factor in the cost of your hot tub with that and you're paying for it monthly or not sent finance like most people would it means you're forking out six pound 30 a day for the first three years and then obviously it drops down to poundtown after then happy days but in that three years it's a lot of money going towards one item I can't think of any other items that you would have in your household that would cost that much so now you know the true cost of owning a hot tub does that put you off after owning one for two years do you think I should hell no a hot tubs are great there is nothing better than having a nice long soak in the tub in an evening with a beer after a stressful day it relaxes you d stresses you it's great for your mental health it's also great for muscle relief and keeps you supple so it's great for physical health too we absolutely love ours maintenance is minimal so it takes around two minutes to sort the chemicals out every few days and cleaning is easy too they are no hassle and this always there to use at the drop of a hat incidentally most people believe that hot tubs are for summer no they're not couldn't be further from the truth these things you actually use a lot more in the winter when it's been a blisteringly hot day the last thing you want to do is sit in 40-degree water for an hour they're much better for winter use they warm up your core and make you feel nice and toasty for when you go back inside so you go to bed feeling nice and relaxed warm and cozy straight to sleep awesome you also get the steam as the hot water mixes with the cold air and it just adds to the experience really and there's nothing better than sitting in a hot tub in your garden when everything else is covered in snow which brings me onto inflatable hot tubs which are experience too many people are buying these because they're cheap less than three hundred quid which seems great only they are you don't really get the full hop to experience from them they're usually very very small you can get two people in them in comfort unless you like playing footsie then you can maybe get four they don't have many jets and here's the kicker you have to put them away when the weather starts to get colder because the rubbers will perish in cooler temperatures so if you want to use it again next year you're going to have to put it away which is completely pointless if you really really want a hot tub it's better just to save up or again use the naught percent finance and buy the real thing so I think that's about it I hope this video has been useful for you thank you very much for watching until the next one [Music]

Channel: Limited Insight

Views: 42,458

Rating: 4.8223801 out of 5

Keywords: hot tub, jacuzzi, spa, running costs, expense

Id: VkwPt1plIDQ

Length: 10min 42sec (642 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 23 2020