Why I will never ever buy another CAL SPA hot tub again.

I bought my Cal Spa hot tub brand new in 2005 for 8500 bucks. This came with a Genessis Bromine Generator. I want everyone to know that this bromine generator literally turned my crystal clear water so dark that it looked like a tub of coca cola. This ruined nearly all of my jets. Amazingly the jets on the floor are still ok. All other jets were discolored. They had a film on them that wouldnt wash clean. They looked horrible and I had to pull them out. This in turn caused damage to my motor causing it to go bad. I contacted Cal Spa each time and Cal Spa would only say that the problem was my fault because my chemicals were off. That is crap since they never tested my water. Each time the tub broke I admit I let it sit for a while because I get ticked off at Cal Spa and refuse to immediately put money in to it. Eventually I keep putting more money in to it and then a new problem arises. My last issue was with my heat exchange. My heat exchange came with a lifetiem warranty however Cal Spa refused to cover it. If I had to buy a new hot tub over again... I guarantee it would not be a Cal Spa.

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[IH8CalSpa]

also in response to hottubsplus, since you are so familiar with water chemistry you will know that if you have a band of bromine and with the lid on, it can take a couple days for the water to start slightly changing color. the water never turns black over night. the carbon rods in the bromine generator are black. the water travels over those black rods. that material complete turned the water black. im not talking a little green from algie. im talking pepsi cola black. calspa warrantys suck.

[IH8CalSpa]

in reference to hottubsplus.... of course you wont bad moth them. youve sole hundreds so it is in your best interest to defend them. i know cal spa did not make the bromine generator or the jets. the problem is, that the wouldnt cover crap. i even have a crackin the tub and they dont want to do squat about it. If they are going to package something and sell it then they need to stick to warranty their product. as for my water, i know it was balanced.

[MrDevinWiles]

@Tronblue007 yea im sure they are they've been around for decades

[mikiej321]

You made a referance to Great Lakes spas so im guessing you may live in Mi. If that is the case that is your first problem... absolutly nothing to do with you but alot of the tub brought in during this time period came with the dually wich is the worst idea ever (sales gimmic) just a cheap way of getting out of using 2 pumps and they were brought in without full foam both ways to cut cost and make it cheaper on the dealers end. If your in Mi I will get a good quality product at a good price!

[hottubsplus]

I have sold hundreds of cal spas and I provide chem maint on many. I have seen several spas with similar problems as yours ( several diferent manufacturers) but based on how many spas have no problems I know for a fact the problems lay in the water chemistry. I also have some customer with the bromine generator who swear by it and would use nothing else.

[hottubsplus]

There is one common that is associated with all of your broken parts...the water. You obviously had a problem with your water. High bromine is corrosive as well as low ph and low hardness levels and the combination of these are even worse. Maybe your brominator was set to run too long...its tied in with your filter cycles. Either way you shouldnt blame the manufacturer for not giving you any free parts when the water is the problem not the part. Would ford give you a new motor because of bad gas

[hottubsplus]

What a shame for you to trash the manufacturer. If you did some research you would know that cal spas did not make the brominator you have and you would also know that many manufacturers have used that bromine generator. A little more research and you will find that cal spas did not make your jets either ( most manufacturers dont make jets but have them molded with thier names on them) . That cal spa xl heat exchanger is way better than your aftermarket heater which is a standard heating element

[johneastmond]

Pressure switch is actually a "true blue safety suction" vacuum switch. Failure results from plugging with solids. The heat exchanger looked clean and unharmed by chems. Pump appears to have flecks of white deposits. Did the motor fail, the pumps leak?

Too much bromine will eat plastic and rubber seals! White fleck might be plastic plumbing. Were fumes bad? We never recommend bromine generators for hot tubs! They are never to stay balanced. John Eastmond Service Manager for Clear Water Spas

[Tronblue007]

Don't think they are here in Australia. But I'll will remember the name. Hope you have better luck with your next spa.

All the best.

[MARKAFN]

I live in the uk and have just brought a cal spa looks very much like this one , Maybe slight different model but looks the same , The spa works fine but the blower has seized as the check valve seems to of failed and I have to say although I have not had any where nere the prboblems that you have the quality of the workmanship looks poor , bent screws , bits loose , I got mine cheap so not to bothered but if was buying a new one would probably not buy a cal spa .