Replacing your Hot Tub Heater.
There becomes a time in every hot tub owners life when your spa pack and hot tub heater will eventually fail. The dilemma will then be whether you replace or repair your heater. This is a question that I guarantee all spa owners will eventually come across. No matter how well built your spa heater is, it will eventually fail. There are a few tips that I can share with you that will help you make this decision.
The first thing that has to be considered is the age of your existing spa pack and spa controller. If your hot tub heater is older than 5 years, I would suggest you look at replacing it with a new heater. As a heater ages, the internal parts become worn and also if your tub heater is past 5 years of age, chances are you will continue to experience multiple failures in the coming years.
If your older spa pack is analog, then you should really think of upgrading to a digital spa controller. A digital spa pack comes with a LED or LCD top side controller providing many advantages. You can change the temperature right at the hot tub without getting out of the tub. The digital controller is much more accurate meaning your water will stay at the temperature it is set for. The topside display will also give you the exact temperature of the water. Digital spa packs have solid state construction meaning there are no moving parts to break down.
Replacing a failed heating element is perhaps the least expensive spa repair. A heater element can be repaired by most spa owners without calling a service technician. If you are comfortable with this type of repair you may find the cost is around $100.
Operating cost savings! Most new spa packs manufacturer’s such as Balboa have programmable energy savings options built into their spa pack. This means you can set you tub temperature to economy modes when you are away. The programmable advantages of a digital pack could pay for itself just in operating cost savings.
Are you a handy man? Can you troubleshoot electronics? If not then you are looking at hiring a spa repair shop to fix your heater. This can quickly escalate the repair costs. On site visits can run $70-$100/hour. If they have to take your spa pack back to the shop then you are looking at most expenses. In the end you may pay more than a new spa pack to replace a $20 part.
Look at the cost to repair versus replacing your spa heater. Most brand new state of the art spa packs start in the range of about $500 and up. This means a new warranty and all new parts. The average repair bill for a hot tub heater is around $400 and up. Do the math, and in most cases you will find in the long term, you may be throwing away good money.
Spa packs are universal. Most dealers will not tell you this, as they want you to replace your spa pack with the same one you had. This is the same as a GM telling you, you need to use only their brakes? Shop around and don’t be scared, spa packs all do the same thing. When looking for a replacement pack always consider quality and the warranty.
I hope this article has provided you with the information needed to make a decision to replace or repair your spa pack.