One of my One of the biggest disappointments of adulthood is discovering how complicated leisure time is. Everyone loves lounging on the deck of their friend’s boat on a sunny summer day, but the poor schmuck who owns that boat is lubing the battery terminals and waxing the gel coat. Everyone loves the family cabin until the gutters need cleaning. And everyone loves relaxing in an inflatable hot tub in the backyard until the electric bill comes or a windstorm knocks down a large branch from the tree above.
I enjoyed some blissful hours in the bubbles of the Intex PureSpa inflatable hot tub during my test period, which began last December and lasted five months until the heat of the Missouri summer arrived. If you’re someone considering an inflatable hot tub for the backyard, I can promise you some great hours gazing up at the night sky while the steam lifts your spirits on a chilly Tuesday night. But I should also warn you that it’s a commitment: Hot tubs, even inflatable ones, require some care and maintenance, and you’ll pay for the privilege in your electric bills and the occasional wash.
Slow combustion
PureSpa is made by Intex, best known for its inflatable pool floats and camping mattresses, as well as its above-ground pools, inflatable kayaks, and a host of similar products.
An inflatable hot tub is exactly what it sounds like: it’s a tub that you inflate with an air pump that’s part of the same unit that heats and filters. The tub shell is a three-layer laminate material that’s very sturdy and you won’t worry about it collapsing while you’re sitting on the edge. Unroll the bubble wrap cover, place the tub on top, and inflate it. I have a automatic air pump This did the job in about 20 minutes. You then (carefully!) screwed the inlet and outlet tubes from the heating unit into their counterparts in the tub. From there, it took another 20 minutes to fill the tub using a garden hose. (Note that Intex recommends plugging the hot tub directly into an outlet and does not recommend using an extension cord—something to keep in mind when deciding on placement.)
Photography: Martin Cizmar
The manufacturer says that to reach the maximum temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the ambient temperature outside must be at least 50 degrees. I didn’t find that to be true—I was able to get the tub water to reach maximum temperature even when it was in the upper 20s. However, the water temperature dropped once the insulating cover was removed, and my electric bill reflected the challenge.
If you use water from the hose, expect to fill the tub and turn on the heat at least a day before relaxing in it. Even when the temperature outside was 60°F, I saw the temperature rise only a degree or two per hour. When I refilled it in colder weather (colder than the temperature the company advertises it should operate at), it took two full days to get above 100 degrees. The tub holds over 200 gallons of water, which weighs 1,668 pounds on its own before adding people, so make sure the hot tub is placed on a surface that can support that weight.
However, that was before the insulation cover broke. This was not the result of any manufacturing defect. Rather, it was my poor decision to leave the tub installed but not turned on during a particularly cold period of winter. A storm came through and knocked a sharp tree branch onto my deck, which punctured the insulation cover that had become brittle from the cold. Water seeped through the hole and was absorbed by the insulation, turning into a soggy, heavy lump that I struggled to put on and take off. As I said, a hot tub is a compromise: if you’re going to use the Intex in the winter, be prepared to take it down or leave the heater on continuously so the cover doesn’t become brittle from the cold. (The insulation cover can now be replaced.) It can be obtained for $80(but instead I bought a cheap, unknown brand replacement and paid the difference to the power company over several months).
Video: Martin Cizmar
The other big issue I was dealing with was a slow, steady leak from the heat pump seals. This started before I brought the tub into sub-zero temperatures and continues to this day. A tiny drop of water every second builds up over the course of several days, so I had to fill the tub with cooler water from the hose, which meant waiting hours for it to heat up again. I’m worried that I was too hasty in screwing the heater tubes into the tub when I first received the tub – take your time and connect them as carefully as possible.
I didn’t have any problems with the chemicals, because I only used one. 1 inch chlorine tablet Every week (the hot tub comes with a ball-shaped dispenser) and I drained the hot tub to clean it with dish soap and a sponge at most once a month (that’s another small chore, of course). Refilling the hot tub only costs a couple of dollars where I live, but if you live somewhere where water is a precious and expensive commodity, you may want to spend some time learning more about treatment regimens.
Bath time
Once you get comfortable in the PureSpa, though, you’ll love it. With the cover removed for soaking, it will slowly cool down, but always stay above 95 degrees during the 30-minute bubble timer. The bubbles come out of 120 tiny holes that run in a circle around the bottom of the tub. They’re much less powerful than the jets in a hot tub, but they’re easy on sore muscles and provide a pleasant environment.
There’s plenty of room for four people, and two people can spread out over the tub and stretch their legs and arms. You won’t worry about the tub collapsing if you lean over the edge to grab a drink or change the music. After a couple of months, it became a reliable way to relax on a cold night. And once the summer heat set in, it was easy enough to deflate, clean, and store in the garage for the summer. (I was able to shrink the pool down to the size of a very large duffel bag.)
It won’t be many cool nights before I’m pulling out the Intex tub again. Then, a few days later, I’ll be watching the water level and filling it up. A few weeks after that, I’ll be emptying it, scrubbing it, and filling it up. Again and again, little tasks rising from the tub like bubbles.
