Royal Spa of Dayton 937-361-7452
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Mike's Buying Tips
Tip #1
Make sure the tub is made in America. Royal Spas are proudly made in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tip #2
Avoid buying a hot tub whose cabinet area is foam filled or semi-foam filled.
Do not a salesman fool you into thinking they use foam for insulation. In most tubs, foam is a cheap way to strenghten weak spa shells. Also, how can the repair guy find what's leaking when it's buried in foam. Foam filled and semi-foam filled tubs are very expensive to repair. Royals cabinet area is stuffed with easily removable R-25 fiberglass insulation. The shell is constructed of very thick fiberglass. It needs no help to support the weight of the water.
Tip #3
Buy a tub that has a fiberglass shell.
Royal gives you a 40 year warranty on the very strong 1/4" thick fiberglass shell. Never buy a tub with a plastic shell - even if it has an acrylic overlay. The plastic shell is very weak and has a tendency to crack. Plastic shells also require the cabinet area to be filled with high density foam that is almost hard as a rock - making leak repair nearly impossible. That is why you typically only get a 4 or 5 year warranty on most tub shells.
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Ugly, time consuming, expensive repair on a plastic shell.
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Crack on a plastic shell.
Tip #4
Buy a tub with a removable cabinet.
Royal spas have completely removable cabinet that allows complete access to all plumbing and equipment. Regardless of who made your spa, there is a real chance that it will eventually develop a leak. How is the repair guy to find and repair a leak with a cabinet that can't come off? This problem is only compounded with a foam filled tub.
Tip #5
Do not buy a spa that has a computer controlled system.
Royal is one of the few manufacturers using non-computer controlled systems. The individual componets can be replaced as needed in a Royal control center. There is nothing on a spa that requires a computer to operate it. The only one who benefits from a spa computer is the repairman. Typically, a circuit board can't be repaired, only replaced - a very expensive repair bill.
Tip #6
Buy a tub with a fiberglass pan on the bottom.
The fiberglass pan gets all the wood off the ground so there is less chance of the frame work of your tub rotting apart. Also, rodents and insects cannot penetrate the fiberglass pan to nest in your tub, chew wires or chew plumbing. Pressure treated wood cannot stand up to the chemicals in hot tub water. If your tub has framework on the ground, there is a strong chance that your tub's framework will rot.
Strong fiberglass pan on the bottom of a Royal tub
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Bottom of foam filled tub
Rotted cabinet
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Rotted cabinet and foam filled
Tip #7
Don't buy a hot tub with a ventalated equipment area.
When the power goes off or your tub stops working for whatever reason in the winter you have days before you have to think about your Royal tub freezing. With R-25 insulation and no vents in the cabinet the Royal will hold the heat for a very long time. A vented cabinet tub gives you mere hours before freezing. All the foam in the world does not matter when a ventilated cabinet allows the cold wind to blow across exposed pumps, filter housings and plumbing. This all freezes very quickly and is very costly to repair.
The following pictures represent several examples of ventilated cabinets.
Tip #8
Buy a tub that filters and heats using a low wattage circulation pump.
Royal spas use a small low wattage circulation pump to heat and filter the water. Small circulation pumps are virtually silent when they're running. Two speed pumps running on low speed are loud and have a tendency to make the cabinet vibrate. This can get very loud.
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Rotted cabinet and foam filled
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Rotted cabinet and foam filled
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Rotted cabinet and foam filled
This damage can't happen to a tub properly built with a fiberglass pan as it's base.
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