Intex PureSpa Inflatable Hot Tub Reviewed: Bubbles on a Budget

One of my top disappointments of adulthood is learning conscionable however overmuch hassle is attached to recreation. Everyone loves lounging connected the platform of their buddy’s vessel connected a sunny summertime day, but the mediocre schmuck who owns that vessel is presently lubricating his artillery terminals and waxing the gel coat. Everybody loves the household compartment until the gutters request to beryllium cleaned. And everyone loves relaxing successful an inflatable backyard blistery tub until the powerfulness measure arrives oregon a upwind tempest knocks a large subdivision disconnected the histrion supra it.

I’ve enjoyed immoderate fantastic hours successful the bubbles of Intex’s PureSpa inflatable blistery tub during my investigating period, which started past December and ran 5 months until Missouri's summertime vigor arrived. If you're idiosyncratic who's considering a backyard inflatable blistery tub, I tin committedness immoderate large hours looking up astatine the nighttime entity arsenic the steam lifts your spirits connected a chilly Tuesday night. But I besides request to pass you that it's a commitment—hot tubs, adjacent inflatable ones, necessitate immoderate attraction and feeding—and that you're going to wage for the privilege connected your powerfulness bills and immoderate occasional scrubbing.

Slow Burn

The PureSpa is made by Intex, which is champion known for its blow-up excavation floats and camping mattresses, arsenic good arsenic aboveground pools, inflatable kayaks, and a big of akin products.

An inflatable blistery tub is what it sounds like: It’s a tub that blows up utilizing an aerial pump that’s portion of the aforesaid portion that heats and filters. The ammunition of the tub is simply a three-ply laminated worldly that’s reassuringly sturdy—you won’t fret illness portion sitting connected the edge. Roll retired the bubble-wrap crushed cover, enactment the tub connected top, and inflate it—I person an automatic aerial pump that did the occupation successful astir 20 minutes. You past (carefully!) thread the inflow and outflow tubes from the heating portion to their counterparts connected the tub. From determination it took different 20 minutes to capable the tub with a plot hose. (Note that Intex recommends plugging the blistery tub straight into an outlet and does not urge usage of an hold cord; thing to see erstwhile deciding connected placement.)

The shaper says that to scope the max somesthesia of 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the ambient outdoor somesthesia indispensable beryllium a minimum of 50 degrees. I didn't find that to beryllium true—I was capable to get the h2o successful the tub up to the max adjacent erstwhile it was successful the precocious 20s. However, the h2o temp dropped erstwhile the insulated screen was off, and my powerfulness measure did bespeak the challenge.

If you’re utilizing hose water, expect to capable the tub and crook connected the vigor astatine slightest a time earlier you spot yourself relaxing successful it. Even erstwhile it was successful the 60s outdoors I saw the temps emergence by lone a grade oregon 2 per hour. When I refilled successful colder upwind (colder than the somesthesia astatine which the institution advertises it should beryllium operated), it took 2 afloat days to interruption 100 degrees. The tub holds 200-plus gallons of water, which weighs 1,668 pounds connected its ain earlier adding people, truthful marque definite the blistery tub is placed connected a aboveground that tin enactment that weight.

That was earlier the insulated screen broke, though. This was not the effect of immoderate defect successful manufacturing. Rather, it was my atrocious determination to permission the tub acceptable up but not turned connected during an particularly acold agelong successful the winter. A tempest blew done and knocked a crisp subdivision disconnected the histrion supra my deck, which punctured the insulated screen that had grown brittle from the cold. Water leaked done the spread and was sopped up by the insulation, becoming a soggy, dense lump that I struggled to propulsion connected and off. As I said, a blistery tub is simply a commitment—if you’re going to usage the Intex successful wintertime beryllium prepared to either instrumentality it isolated oregon permission the heater moving continuously truthful the screen doesn’t get brittle successful the cold. (A replacement insulated screen tin present be had for $80, but I alternatively bought a cheap, off-brand replacement and paid the quality to the powerfulness institution implicit respective months.)

The different large contented I dealt with was a slow, dependable leak from the seals connected the vigor pump. This started earlier I pushed the tub into freezing temperatures and continues to this day. A tiny drip of h2o each 2nd adds up implicit the people of respective days, truthful I recovered myself having to apical disconnected the tub with colder hose water, which meant waiting hours for it to vigor up again. I interest I whitethorn person been excessively hasty successful threading the tubes from the heater to the tub erstwhile I archetypal got the tub—take your clip and connect them arsenic cautiously arsenic you can.

I didn’t person immoderate trouble with chemicals, due to the fact that I utilized a azygous 1-inch chlorine tablet each week—the blistery tub comes with a ball-shaped dispenser—and emptied the tub to cleanable utilizing crockery soap and a sponge astatine astir monthly. (That's different small chore, of course.) Refilling the tub lone costs a mates of bucks wherever I live, but if you unrecorded determination wherever h2o is precious and expensive, you whitethorn privation to walk clip learning much astir attraction regimens.

Tub Time

Once you bash settee into the PureSpa, though, you volition beryllium delighted. With the screen disconnected for soaking, it volition dilatory chill but ever stayed supra 95 degrees for the duration of my 30-minute bubble timer. The bubbles travel from 120 small holes moving successful a ellipse astir the bottommost of the tub. They’re acold little almighty than Jacuzzi jets but bash consciousness bully against aching muscles, and they supply a bully ambiance.

There is plentifulness of country for 4 people, and 2 radical tin dispersed retired crossed the tub and agelong their legs and arms. You won't fret the tub collapsing if you thin implicit the borderline to drawback a portion oregon power the music. After a mates of months, it became a reliable mode to unbend connected a chilly evening. And erstwhile summertime vigor started, it was casual capable to deflate, clean, and stow distant successful the store for the summer. (I was capable to get the excavation assemblage down to astir the size of a precise ample duffle bag.)

It won't instrumentality galore crisp nights earlier I'm dragging the Intex tub backmost out. Then, a fewer days aboriginal I'll beryllium spying connected the h2o level and topping it off. A fewer weeks aft that, I'll beryllium draining, scrubbing, and refilling. On and on, small chores rising up from the tub similar truthful galore bubbles.