I’m familiar with more than one brand that starts to fall apart after two years, due to their low-quality materials. Cheap glues, gaskets, coatings, silicones, epoxies, resins, plastics, etc. can lose their structural integrity over time, and lead to things blowing apart prematurely. I also know some brands that can last well over 40 years, because the high-quality materials they use last for ages.

Mechanical components and electronics mentioned on the previous page (4-E) can be repaired or replaced as needed, but when the hot tub itself (shell, plumbing, frame, cabinet, etc.) starts to come apart, consider it “done”, even if it’s a newer model. Rusty fasteners, brittle plastics, weak acrylic, rotting wood, failed seals, gummy gaskets, loosening unions, and a slew of other factors can kill a hot tub sooner than equipment failure can.

A hot tub is made up of a lot of different parts, (such as hoses, clamps, cladding, manifolds, screws, staples, insulation, jets, pipes, flex lines, dials, washers, valves, weirs, cannisters, hinges, straps, etc.). The structure contains silicone, wood, polymers, metals, resins, rubber, paint, fiberglass, foam, and lots of other materials. There are cheap inferior versions and more expensive premium versions of each of the physical materials mentioned above.

More expensive brands use better (thus more expensive) materials. That’s significant, because the quality of the materials is mostly what determines the durability and longevity of the physical hot tub structure.

The reason why these things are never mentioned by salesmen or on promotional materials is because it’s boring as heck, and the average consumer’s eyes glaze over with disinterest. And it’s the same reason why I won’t expound any further on this dull-but-important topic. If you’ve bothered to read this entire page in spite of its boringness, cut/paste/print out this paragraph to use as a ten dollar in-store credit toward anything we sell as a reward for being a keener (some exclusions & restrictions may apply, see store for details).