A SPA.....A HOT TUB.....AN OUTDOOR JACUZZI?

Now was the time to sit down and re-read all the information we had gathered and to consider a number of points. Among the many aspects to be taken into account were size, price, type of filtration system, number and capacity of pumps doing the work, inclusion of an ozonator, types and numbers of jets, efficiency of insulation, and sturdiness of framework and spa shell, number and shape of seats, depth, size of footwell, style of the cabinet, efficiency of the cover, whether steps were included, likely running costs, necessity for a dedicated power supply, delivery and installation arrangements, servicing, guarantees provided - and also what 'extras' we could expect.

SIZE. Spas come in a variety of shapes and sizes - from 2 seater to 'huge' and, although only two of us would be using it normally, we felt that provision should be made for visiting family or friends. Also there often seemed to be a wider choice of features available with a larger spa. For anyone less finnicky, or intending to keep their new toy strictly for personal use, there would be an obvious financial benefit in settling for a smaller model in a particular range. Garden space available might also be an issue.

PRICE. Price can vary considerably between apparently similar products, and often this appeared to depend on whether the spa was imported (from USA or Canada) or manufactured in Britain. At the lower end of the price scale there was a build-it-yourself plug-into-an-existing-socket affair at £1.5K (a one-season-wonder perhaps), or you could blow £15K or more on an all-singing, all-dancing job, with built-in TV/CD, and even DVD.

FILTERS. Number of filters, their siting, and their capacity varied with different models and we had no real means of determining their suitability for the job - but we felt it worth checking on how long these filters are expected to remain effective, and the cost of a second set. (It would make sense to hold a second set to allow ongoing usage of the spa while doing your regular soak/clean of the first set).

PUMPS. These circulate the water and work the jets, and while there may not be a great variation in power output between pumps from different manufacturers, the actual number of pumps you are getting can determine the number of features within the spa capable of being used at the same time.

OZONATOR. The inclusion of an ozonator will considerably reduce the quantity of chemicals necessary to keeep the spa water 'sweet'. There are two types available - the expensive Corona Discharge or the very much cheaper Ultra Violet - both of which, we were assured, do invaluable work in this respect.

JETS. Some literature stresses the large number of jets provided with their models, but the types, positioning, and adaptability of the jets are, to our mind, at least equally important if one has particular requirements. If 'air' is available, do check if this comes from outside, or if it uses already warm air from within the cabinet - you wouldn't want it to cool things down in the middle of winter.

We were specifically seeking a spa designed for hydrotherapy, hopefully giving therapeutic benefits, so our final choice would not necessarily be a prize-winner in the category for 'most jets', yet it still needed to fully retain the fun ingredient when having a 'dip'.

INSULATION. In our travels we had explained to us the virtues and drawbacks of the differing approaches to insulation - depending on which make of spa was being 'sold' to us at the time. The choice appeared to boil down to either leaving a cavity between outside wall and inner shell, or stuffing this space with insulating foam.

We did not come across any independent data showing whether there is a significant variation in running costs for one of these systems over the other, but the implication seemed to be 'the cheaper the spa the higher the running costs'. Will we ever know if that is true or just a sales pitch?

We chose a spa with solid insulation as our personal view was that this would be more efficient, and that the hidden pipework and the shell would be more firmly supported, while accepting this might cause difficulties in some aspects of servicing.

A word here about the base - with some spas the foam insulation is in direct contact with the ground. 'Materials fully treated so no problem', said a salesperson pushing this design, while another firm gave dire warning of creeping damp, death, and destruction if the base were not fully sealed! We chose one built on a 'pan', keeping the foam separated from water or insect life. Necessary? Who knows?