Spa Salesman to Spa Shopper:
" Energy efficient, low operating costs and proven performance etc. etc....there is no better way to build a spa than this. We sell more spas than any other company. 600,000 customers can't be wrong." "$7 to $18 per month energy bill increases are what most people experience." "Leaks? What leaks? You don't need to worry about leaks because we build our tubs properly so they won't leak ." "This is real quality!" **Click Here Please"

Reality:
You are going to be dealing with a salesman who strongly insists that "full foam" design is absolutely the finest. "Full foam insulation" as a "feature" is an example of taking a product weakness and turning it into a positive. It is marketing genius at its best. Below is the real story on "full foam" design issues.

Full foam design is also known as "structural foam design". It came into being as hot tub manufacturers were looking for cheaper alternatives to the industry standard fiberglass shells. As cheaper/weaker materials were used, it was found that the shell could not support the weight of the water. In looking for a solution to this problem, it was found that when the entire cabinet of the spa was filled with dense structural foam, the shell could be supported and would not collapse. The hot tub marketing experts have successfully diverted your attention away from the fact that the weak shells need the extra support from the foam. Your attention is directed to the "full foam insulation feature".

While "full foam" is certainly better than no insulation, it is clearly not the most energy efficient hot tub design. This is why. In a full foam design, the pumps and electrical equipment are enclosed in a very small cabinet under the skirt of the spa. Waste heat, from the motors and heater, builds up quickly in this small space. Because of the foam surrounding it, the heat in this small space must be vented into the atmosphere to prevent the control box and motors from overheating. Additionally, as you can imagine, the larger the motor the more the heat buildup. Full foam designs almost always use small pump motors for this reason. As a result of this design, all the heat in the spa water comes from the electric heater. 5,500 watts! See the Illustration of a Full Foam Design.The claim of $18 month cost for heating the spa is very misleading. $$Read this to estimate energy cost.$$

Other "Full Foam" Design Consequences. Click Here...

Leak repair in Full Foam Spas: Read below...or Click here for photos!!

Full foam insulation, also, makes it extremely difficult, and in some cases nearly impossible, to correct mechanical problems that may occur. This is because the insulation completely fills the spa's understructure and covers the plumbing and fixtures. The process of detecting problems, such as leaks becomes very difficult, time consuming, and costly. Read the next paragraph below.

TYPICAL METHOD OF LEAK CORRECTION IN FULL FOAM SPAS: Full foam spas go through a long diagnostic process of elimination in order to correct leaks, resulting in very high repair bills. First, the spa is drained and lifted onto concrete blocks. The spa is then re-filled with colored water. The waiting process then begins, taking anywhere from one hour to one week to detect the colored water dripping through the foam. The spa is then drained of the colored water, tipped on its side, and a serviceman will begin the long and laborious process of digging through the foam until the leak is found. A serviceman has to be careful during this process to make sure that he does not hit other pipes or fixtures, causing additional damage. Once the leak is fixed, the spa is refilled with dyed water in order to ensure that there are no additional leaks. If the problem is corrected, the spa is then refilled with foam insulation. This refilling of foam can create future problems in itself, as the new foam does not always adhere properly to the old foam insulation. Typically, the cost of repairing even a minor leak in a full foam spa can cost excessive amounts of money.
Thermally Sealed Insulation System:
 The "thermally closed insulation system" was designed to capture and utilize waste heat from the pump motors. The waste heat from the motors heats the air in the sealed/insulated air space below the fiberglass hot tub shell. As long as the air chamber temperature is the same as or higher than the spa water temp, there is an extremely high R value or insulation factor. Plus, any excess waste heat is used to actually heat the spa water. The waste heat from the pump motors is the primary source of heat in the spa water. The 5,500 watt heater is a backup heat source. That is why a thermally sealed spa's insulation system is inherently energy efficient.