Hot Tub Journal

Ten thousand acres of open range, a Condé Nast listing and a National Geographic write-up. Why a Star Gazing Camp chose a wood fired tub over a conventional spa, and what siting one at a remote camp actually involves.

An honest comparison of the four hot tub shell materials, including the tradeoffs we would want stated if we were the ones buying, and where an aluminum tub is not the right choice.

How sacrificial anodes protect an aluminum hot tub, why magnesium rather than zinc, how often to replace them, where to source them, and the four things anodes cannot fix.

The four numbers that matter in an aluminum hot tub, why calcium hardness is the one most owners miss, what order to balance in, and which common spa products are not compatible.

Aluminum doesn't rust the way steel does, but it is a metal and it reacts under specific conditions. What those conditions are, why soft water is the one most owners don't expect, and how the tub is built to handle them.

Three different things get called pitting, and they have different causes. What the deposits actually are, why soft water is the one most owners don't expect, and how a tub already showing them gets put right.

Clean, safe, long-lasting tub water comes from preventing problems before they start, not from correcting them after. Balanced water chemistry reduces the amount of sanitizer needed. A simple preventative routine, guided by regular test strip readings, keeps water comfortable for bathers and easier on the materials. The result is water you change quarterly rather than weekly, using far less chemical input at every stage.

This guide covers the parameters, the treatment sequence, the products, how to care for the materials, and how to use and conserve water responsibly.

The first year with a cedar hot tub involves a genuine learning curve. The tub goes through a break-in period as the cedar settles and releases tannins, the water care routine takes a few cycles to become instinctive, and the first winter asks for attention new owners often do not anticipate. Month by month, what is normal and what needs action.

Filling and emptying a hot tub at a property with no tap. Lake, river, rainwater and hauled water, what each means for water care, and how filtration changes the calculation.

Dimensions, filled weights, clearances and service access for architects and designers specifying an AlumiTub. Everything needed at drawing stage, in one place.