Buy a hot tub in safety?

The hot tub industry is very much a powder keg of dealers and distributors, knowing who to ask for advice and who to buy from without experiencing problems or worse post sale is hard at best.

For a start I would recommend reading an earlier post of mine Hot Tub Buying - Other Considerations? if you haven't already, this is a great starting point in weighing up dealers.

Moving forward from this there appears to be confusion around safety and what questions should people be asking when looking into a purchase.

Whats CE and why should I care?

CE approval is a legal requirement for any product that wishes to be sold in the EU these days and you will find it on products from any industry be it toys to spas to televisions. What this mark means is that it has been tested as safe to be used in the EU and safe to be used on 240v mains if the product requires it, for true CE approval the fully assembled product should be tested as this then covers all workings not just a few components.

This means that the dealer has a leg to stand on should something go a miss but more importantly the consumer has the confidence the product meets EU standards and is safe to be used in our country. CE ratings are expensive to obtain for manufacturers and need to be done on each product they make so don't feel that CE doesn't mean a lot as manufacturers can spend many thousands of £$Y on having an approved product.

Bishta, who are they and why should I care?

Bishta membership does not mean a dealer is financially sound or they sell a good, bad or ugly product, what it does mean is that you as a consumer will receive correct information on looking after your spa to prevent illness from contaminated water post sale. Added to this should you receive bad service or after sales care and the dealer in question is a Bishta dealer and still in business you have a direct mediation service that will resolve the dispute for you and get the best service possible, so in a way it is after sales piece of mind.

Electrical who cares who wires a spa up?

Any electrical connection these days to your home should be undertaken by a registered electrical installer who can issue you with a certificate that you would need if you were to sell the house at a later date or to prove under insurance that the installation was competent. All spas requiring over 13amps should be run directly from the fuse board on its own RCD/MCB breaker for a clean supply to avoid brown outs.

In summary always ask these three questions when viewing spas.....

1. Are your spas CE approved (ask for proof!)

2. Are you a Bishta member (FYI there are dealers out there who are solid and not bishta approved but do your homework first)

3. Do you offer electrical installation, are they NIC registered and what paperwork will I receive on installation.

Simple but effective to weed out fly by night dealers!