The Hybrid Hot Tub: Wood Fired + Electric 2-in-1

A hybrid hot tub has two ways to heat the same water. The Hybrid carries a submerged wood burning firebox inside the tub, and a 4 kW electric heater with filtration in the cedar steps beside it. Run either one alone, or both together.

Light the fire when you want fast heat and the ritual of it. Let the electric side hold the temperature you set, filter the water and keep the tub ready between soaks, from the touchpad or the Wi-Fi app.

Anyone who wants the fire without depending on it. It suits a cabin you visit on weekends, where the electric side keeps the tub clean and ready while you are away; places with summer fire bans, where electric heat carries on when fires are not allowed; and properties where the power is not always reliable, where the fire still heats when the electricity cannot.

If you will only ever heat with wood, the Wood Fired is the simpler choice. If you never want a fire, the Electric is.

With the fire, from a cold fill: about 2 hours for the Small, 3 for the Standard and 5 for the Large. Running the heater at the same time shortens that a little. On electric heat alone it climbs about 3°F an hour, so allow up to 14 hours from a fresh fill. That only comes up when you change the water, three or four times a year; the rest of the time the electric side simply holds your temperature.

Once it is up to temperature, the electric side holds anything from 50 to 104°F, so the tub is ready whenever you are. Stop adding wood around 95°F; the water carries on climbing to 101 to 104°F. Keep the fire from taking the water past 106°F.

The wood fire needs no power at all. The electric heating and filtration need a dedicated 240V, 30 amp GFCI-protected circuit, hardwired by a certified electrician. The 4 kW heater draws 18 amps, and the run is typically #10-3 wire. Have it run before the tub arrives, and the electrician makes the final tie-in on delivery day.

For properties short of power, 120V is available by request on the Small and Standard, through a cable hatch on the side of the steps; it is not offered on the Large. A standard outlet cannot hold 104°F through a cold snap on its own, which is why it is offered on the Hybrid and not the Electric: the fire covers what the element cannot.

Yes. That is one of the main reasons it exists. During a fire ban, leave the firebox cold and heat with electricity alone; the tub holds its set temperature and keeps filtering as usual. When the ban lifts, the fire is there again.

Built-in filtration runs on a schedule, about 12 hours a day by default, drawing water through a 50 micron cartridge filter, past the heater and back through a single gentle 30 gpm jet. Bromine tablets sit in an in-line dispenser in the filter lid and hold 2 to 3 ppm.

Rinse the filter every two weeks, and soak it in The Filter Cleanser only when it no longer rinses clean or after heavy use. Replace the cartridge every three to four months. With filtration and balanced water, one fill lasts three to four months.

The Hybrid is designed to be cared for with Good Clean Living, our own six-month water care system. The Purifier filters fill water at the hose, The Balancers hold alkalinity, pH and calcium in range, The Stabilizer keeps the water clear, Filter Care looks after the cartridge, The Tub Cleanser handles the seasonal drain and refill, and The Aroma Therapist adds a eucalyptus ritual.

The ranges to hold: alkalinity 80 to 120 ppm, corrected first; pH 7.4 to 7.8; calcium hardness 150 to 250 ppm; bromine 2 to 3 ppm, never above 3. Chlorine in any form, salt systems, and copper or silver products are not compatible with an aluminum tub.

Yes. It has been tested heating in −44°C (−47°F). On electric heat it holds its set temperature through winter, and if the water drops to 44°F, freeze protection runs the pump so the water keeps circulating, for as long as there is power.

Freeze protection gives no protection in a power outage. That is where the Hybrid has an advantage: light the fire and keep it going, or drain the tub if the property will be empty.

Yes. The electric side holds anything from 50 to 104°F day and night, so the tub never starts from cold. Light the fire whenever you want to bring it up faster or take it hotter for a winter soak.

Insulation does most of the work: 360 degrees of it between the aluminum and the cedar, a floating layer on the water and the lid on top. With Wi-Fi control you can schedule it up on the drive in, light the fire when you arrive, and soak by the time you have unpacked.

If you are away for a while and the power stays on, leave the electric side running at a lower temperature. Freeze protection keeps the water circulating whenever it drops to 44°F.

If the power goes out while you are there, the fire carries it. For a long absence at an empty property, drain it: empty the tub and the equipment in the cedar steps as the manual sets out. Drained, an AlumiTub has nothing inside it to freeze.

It arrives pre-assembled and weighs 200 to 300 lbs empty, so two people roll it into place on its side, through a gap as narrow as 38 inches. No crane and no plumbing. It sits on a level, fully supported base with rigid insulation beneath it, which we walk you through after you order, and setup takes 1 hour, plus an electrician for the connection.

Leave at least 10 feet of clearance above the chimney cap, with nothing flammable nearby. The heating and filtration system lives in the cedar steps against the tub: 35 inches wide, 27 deep and 25 high, in two 12.5 inch steps shaped to the curve of the tub. If your setting doesn't allow for steps, such as when the tub is completely recessed in a deck, the equipment can sit up to 10 feet away with no elevation change, in a weatherproof enclosure you build.

Yes, on a deck, against a deck cutout, or flush or partly sunk into it. The structure must carry the filled weight: 3,200 lbs for the Small, 5,000 for the Standard and 7,000 for the Large, plus roughly 1,000 lbs on a 44 inch build. Keep the chimney clearance in mind under eaves, pergolas and trees. The two plumbing ports sit behind the steps, 4 and 17 inches from the base and 16 inches apart, so send us the deck elevations early and we will confirm them and the drain against your framing.

Small: 60 inches (5 ft) across, seats 2, 315 US gallons, $14,495 CAD (about $10,400 USD). Standard: 72 inches (6 ft), seats 5, 420 US gallons, $14,995 CAD (about $10,800 USD). Large: 84 inches (7 ft), seats 8, 650 US gallons, $15,995 CAD (about $11,500 USD).

Every size is 38 inches deep as standard, with a 44 inch build available. Prices are in Canadian dollars. A $500 CAD deposit reserves your production slot, and the balance is due 30 days before your tub ships.

Yes. The heating system is modular rather than built in. Order a Wood Fired with compatibility ports, and electric heating and filtration can be added later with the same equipment the Hybrid uses. If you already know you want both, the Hybrid arrives ready from day one.

A traditional cedar tub depends on the wood swelling to seal, so it leaks when drained and has to stay full. The Hybrid is built on a riveted 5052 marine-grade aluminum structure that is watertight on its own, clad in Canadian Western Red Cedar held by stainless bands. Its firebox is welded from the same aluminum and submerged in the water, so the heat goes straight into it. It can be drained, moved and left empty without consequence.

Yes. Marine-grade aluminum takes sea water; tell us when you order if you plan to fill from the ocean, and change ocean fills every five to seven days. Lake and well water work too, balanced to the ranges above. Do not fill through a water softener: it strips the calcium that keeps water from drawing minerals out of the surfaces it touches.

The Hybrid heats; it does not chill. The range starts at 50°F, so it can be brought down for a cooler summer soak, but it is not a cold plunge. Hot and cold contrast works best when you can move between two tubs. A tub can also be built with ports for your own external chiller; email hi@alumitubs.com to order one that way.

About 1 to 2 bundles of dry hardwood to bring a Standard up from cold, then an armful of wood a day to hold it. Or let the electric side hold the temperature and save the fire for the evenings you want it.

Yes. Rather than banks of jets and several pumps, it moves water through one gentle 30 gpm jet off a single circulation pump, and the pump, heater and filter sit inside the cedar steps. What you hear is the fire.

Every tub comes with 360 degrees of insulation between the aluminum and the cedar, and a floating insulation blanket for the water surface. A lid is needed and sold separately: the Cedar Lid or the Fabric Lid. Rigid insulation beneath the base is laid during site prep and is not included.

Yes. Drained, it is back to 200 to 300 lbs, so it rolls on its side to a new spot or onto a truck or trailer. The electric side is hardwired, so an electrician disconnects it, and the circuit needs to be run to the new location.

The structure carries a 25 year structural warranty. Every component is replaceable rather than disposable, and we still supply parts for tubs built two decades ago. Full terms are on the warranty page.

The Hybrid has both heating systems, for a cabin you visit on weekends, anywhere with summer fire bans, or a property where the power is not always there. The Wood Fired heats with nothing but wood and suits off-grid properties. The Electric holds a set temperature with no fire to tend, which suits a home you use most weeks. All three share the same aluminum structure, cedar and warranty, and you can change system at no charge up to 30 days before your tub ships.