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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an in ground spa and an above
ground portable spa pool?
West Coast Spas offer both options. Some people prefer the look
of in ground spas because it is less visible and sits lower in
the ground, but the above ground spa pools are more accessible
from a servicing point of view; if there is a need to get to the
plumbing you don't have to dig up half the garden and if you are
moving home you have the choice of taking your spa with you.
These days 95% of spa sales are above ground portable. The advantage
of a portable spa is that they contain all the pumps, blowers,
filters, heating and electrical in the cabinet, so there is no
other equipment outside of the spa. Inground spas have a fair
bit of equipment that you will need to find a home for, filter,
heater, pump, control systems and blower; they must be within
6 meters,
How much maintenance is involved?
One of the benefits of an outdoor spa pool is that there is little
maintenance required. To maintain water quality you need to add
chemicals. The frequency will depend on how often you use your
spa. For more details, speak with one of our consultants or check
our chemicals page.
Clean your filter once per week and clean your jets once per year.
If you have a portable spa, apply a coat of wood oil to the cabinet
twice a year.
What about plumbing?
Above ground spas have all the plumbing contained in the cabinet,
no plumbing is required simply fill with your garden hose. An
inground spa will have a bit of plumbing going between the spa
and pumps and heaters etc.
Do I need regular servicing of my Spa pool?
Not really, but we do suggest; every fortnight; clean the filter,
every 3 to 4 months it is best to empty your spa. Once per year;
clean the acrylic, oil the cabinet, clean and put protectant on
the hard cover, spray for bugs, clean the jets, check cables and
power connections and check for ware and tare. This is to ensure
everything is working perfectly. Regular servicing can be arranged
give us a call if you would like this done for you.
What about fencing for a spa pool?
Local council regulations on fencing in pools, spas and water
features vary from shire to shire. The aim of course is to protect
young children from wandering into unprotected backyards and falling
in. We recommend that all backyards are secured at all times and
that clients contact their local council to ensure they are abiding
by the specific requirements for their area. Sometimes a self
sliding door may be used.
The spas come with a lockable hard cover that lock in 6 different
places with a key. Some people make a feature out of their spa
fence, we have seen them made out of, glass, wood ballastrading,
bamboo, limestone walls, rendered walls and even brush wood, this
is just to name a few, so be creative. We had one customer who
built a 500mm structure under his spa that made it a total 1.2m
height, this eliminated the need for fencing.
But be careful a 4 year old child can scale a pool fence, so
make sure you always keep your spa cover locked. A locked spa
cover will keep a child safe.
Our swim spas are over 1.2m height and do not need pool fencing,
however if you use steps you will need to fence the steps
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Can West Coast Spas assist with landscaping?
Whilst we're not landscaping experts, if you have a particular
theme in mind, we're happy to give you our opinion on what would
work well with your choice of spa, after all we have seen hundreds
of different ideas and can point you in the right direction. Come
and have a look at our store, we have many displays of decking,
gazebos and spa pools.
Why buy a West Coast Spa?
Our spas are made right here in Australia, this means that your
service and warranty is very local, your parts are mostly Australian
or West Australian. Every week we find people trying to source
parts for their imported spas, unfortunately they are usually
to hard to find and brands from non English speaking countries
are near on impossible to repair or find parts for. Most of the
companies that sold imported spas are no longer around, this leaves
their customers in a poor situation.
We have 100% happy customers, we have no complaints with Fair
Trading or Consumer protection; and unfortunately we are one of
the only spa companies that can say this. The difference is that
we actually care about people. Spas come with a manufacturers
warranty, so it is good to know that our spas are manufactured
in Australia. We have the option of getting our spa pools made
off shore, yes it will give us bigger profit margins, but at the
cost of customer service and poorer quality, so our decision is
to continue to sell a local product, this gives us a higher quality
build and superior levels of customer service, plus it keeps jobs
and your money in Australia.
How much does it cost to run a spa pool?
West Coast Spas are surprisingly energy efficient. Most of our
models run off a 2 hp pump or two speed 3hp pump and use hardly
any power at all. The average cost of heating and running a spa
is about a $1 to $1.50 per day and less for gas heated systems,
this includes having the spa set to your ideal temperature and
being used and filtered daily.
What sort of surface does the portable spa have to sit on?
The best surface for a spa is a concrete pad, other types of surfaces
are also acceptable as long as they are level; brick paving is
only acceptable if a professional type of job has been done, for
example yellow sand was used, leveled and compacted before the
bricks were laid. Decking is acceptable as long as it is sturdy
and can hold the weight of spa, water and people. Uneven paving,
gravel, grass or dirt is not to be used as a base for the spa
to sit on.
What if I need to move my portable spa pool?
We have a list of spa removalists
they can do it all for you
What power is required for an outdoor spa?
Spas can come in a variety of models all using different power.
Our standard models run off of a normal household 10 amp power
point, our typhoon models run off of a 15 amp power point and
our deluxe cyclone models run off of a 32 amp hard wired system
(usually 2 pump versions)
What is the difference between a hot tub, an outdoor spa and
a portable spa?
There is no difference, they are all the same, in America and
Canada the climate can get quite cold, way below freezing, so
you will find many people in these countries call them hot tubs,
such as www.prestigehottubs.com
in Canada.
In Australia the climate is much hotter and we call them spa pools
as we not only use them to warm up in winter, we also use them
to cool down in our hot summers.
If I have spa with an ozone system, do I still need to use
chemicals?
Yes, you still need to add chemicals to a spa that is running
an ozone purification system, some people think that you do not,
but YES YOU DO, for more information on spa chemicals, go to our
chemicals page
I do not like chlorine, do you sell chlorine free systems
for spas?
Yes, we sell 3 types of chlorine free systems, however we recommend
the Nature 2 system, this uses a combination of sanitisers, it
does use some chlorine, but at very low levels, slightly higher
than your tap water. This system has lower maintenance, less problems
and is a lower cost solution.
I have a spa that I purchased elsewhere, The company that
I purchased it from are no longer around, can you help me repair
it?
While we do have a service department that services and repairs
most brands of spas, we do not service or repair imported spas,
and especially spas that come from China. Many of these spas are
not made to Australian standards, many are dangerous, and finding
spare parts for these spas is near impossible, you may find it
hard to find a service company to repair Chinese spas, as most
that we know of will not go near them.
But if you have an Australian manufactured spa that you purchased
elsewhere, YES, if you have any problems, we can service and repair
it for you, and we have most spa parts in stock.
What is the difference between running a spa on gas or electric?
Our spas can be run on gas or electric, the spas come with an
electric heater, this is at no extra cost, gas systems are more
expensive to purchase, a gas heating system will add around $1600
to $2,000 to the price. We also sell a range of high efficient
electric heaters that are as efficient as gas heaters, but these
will also add a similar amount to the initial purchase price of
your spa. All spas come with a 2 or 3 kw electric heater, all
our spas are insulated. One would question spending an additional
$1,500 to $2,000 on a spa heater when you could use that money
to put some solar electricity panels on the roof, this would off
set the running costs of the spa.
We have a new range of heat pumps that are as efficient as gas,
this uses similar technology to a split system reverse cycle air
conditioner, you can actually heat or cool your spa, the heater
is called a heat pump and sits next to your spa, it looks similar
to a split system air conditioner.
What about solar heating for a spa pool?
This is an option that is not currently viable, the problem with
this system is that you do not want the warm spa water going up
to the roof heating system if the water is not warm enough in
the roof, such as night time or cloudy days, the only time it
would work well is when it is really hot, and you do not really
want to have a hot spa when it is hot. The amount it would cost
to run this system would be more than the savings, as you would
need an extra pump, the solar heating pipes and an extra control
system with temp sensors, solenoids and timers. To our knowledge
there is no solar spa system on the Australian market that is
efficient in heating your spa and saving you money. Hopefully
this will change.
Why is there so much negativity and bad publicity about Chinese
made spas?
There are many reasons for this, mainly quality and warranty
issues. Chinese made spas have a poor reputation, this is not
made up or fantasy, it is a fact, any spa service technician will
tell you this. This is why most companies that sell Chinese spas
try and sugar coat it or not really tell you where they are made.
Some Spa shops will even tell you they are Australian made just
to get the sale.
Please note that over 60% of spa shops that sold imported spas
over the last 5 years are no longer around. So what looked like
a good deal at the time has turned in to a nightmare for some
spa owners. We get people knocking on our doors at least once
per week looking for parts for their imported spas, unfortunately,
we can not help them.
Many Chinese spas are not made to Australian standards and many
have been recalled by the government, the owners of these spas
have been told that they are not allowed to use them.
One of the biggest issues we see with imported spas from China
is delamitation, this is where the acrylic separates from the
fiberglass, this happens because the manufacturers cut corners
and use cheap product or no product before adding the fiberglass.This
is the most important part of manufacturing a spa, if you get
this wrong, your spa will delaminate.
If you want to buy Australian and you are passionate about this
country and keeping jobs here, maybe watch out for the following.
Many companies that sell spas from China, do not like to admit
they are Chinese made spas, some try and confuse the customer
with statements like:
Our spa company is Australian Owned and our spas are Australian
designed, this just misleads this consumer as they will think
it is Australian. No where do they make the statement MADE IN
CHINA.
Another trick that some spa companies use is that they say, "our
spas are assembled in China but use Australian parts", but
actually the Australian parts are also made in China, so they
are selling Chinese made spas with Chinese made parts, but trying
to sell them off as Australian.
We have the below logo on our web site, we also fly the Australian
flag in our store. We are passionate about Australia, we are not
saying this so that you buy one of our spas, there are a few Australian
manufacturers out there, buy one from anywhere but do yourself
and your country a favour and buy Australian.
The thing you have to ask yourself is why would a spa company
get their spas made in China? They DO NOT do it for quality or
to improve customer service, they do it to make more profit, and
this is at the cost of quality and customer service.
There are also a couple of Spa companies out there that make spas
overseas as they have burnt all their Australian suppliers, and
can no longer make spas in Australia as no one will supply them
with parts. These companies are not very ethical, some of them
even change their names to avoid warranty claims and law suits
from previous suppliers.
What is the difference between cedar cabinets
and the fake wood cabinets?
We do both so we can give you an unbiased point of view.
Wood looks better and can be oiled and sanded back if there are
any scratches
Plastic is hard to repair, if it gets scratched or marked the
marks are there for life
Wood needs to be oiled at least once per year (10
to 20 minute job)
Plastic will need to be washed (5 to 10 minute job)
Wood has better insulation properties making it slightly cheaper
to run your spa
Plastic has been known to fade, wood can also fade
but if you oil it it will come up like new, a faded plastic cabinet
can not be painted, sanded or oiled, so if it does fade, you are
stuck with it.
Most plastic cabinets are trying to look like wood, where as wood
is already beautiful.
Many imported spas use plastic, it is easier to bring in to the
country, as there is no fumigation needed, where many of the Australian
made spas do not have this issue, this is why most Australian
spas use cedar wood.
We find around 99% of customers are choosing cedar wood, it looks
better and is in Vogue, it goes well with decking, paving, limestone,
slate and looks great with any spa colour.
What is the difference between a circulation pump and a 2
speed pump for filtering and what is the difference in running
costs?
We use both so we can give you an unbiased point of view. There
are a two main ways of filtering your spa; one is with a 24 hour
circulation pump and one is with a 1 or 2 speed pump; the low
speed on a 2 speed pump is used for filtering and the high speed
is used for massage, this is a good way of filtering your spa
as the low speed still has plenty of flow so the filter works
efficiently and you only need the pump on for 2 to 4 hours per
day.
A circulation pump has a very low flow rate, so the pump needs
to be on for 12 to 24 hours per day. Hour for Hour a circulation
pump uses less energy than a 2 speed pump, but it needs to be
on for 10 to 20 hours longer per day, so there is no saving in
energy use, in fact if you do your sums and work out how much
it costs to flow the same amount of litres, a 2 speed pump works
out slightly cheaper.
It is a similar story for 1 speed pumps, if you only have a 1
speed pump, then you won't need to have it on very long each day
to filter the water. There has been many issues over the years
as the 24 hour circulation pumps seem to pack up within 2 to 3
years.
Some times spas will come with a 1 speed pump and a circulation
pump, when building a spa this is actually slightly cheaper than
buying a 2 speed pump, a 2 speed pump is preferred by most people
as you have an option of having very light massage on the low
speed.
If you really want to save some money on running costs, we have
a 80 speed Veridrive pump, this eliminates the need for 2 speed
pumps and circulation pumps, as it is the lowest running cost
spa pump on the market, use speed 1 to 10 for filtering and heating
and the other speeds for massage, this pump also comes with wave
massage, this is where the pump starts at speed 1 and goes through
all speeds right up to 80 and then comes back down again, there
is no massage better that a variable 80 speed pump. There is exclusivity
on this pump so it is not available at all spa shops.
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