The Ultimate Guide to Spas and Hot Tubs: Installation, Troubleshooting, and Tricks of the Trade by Terry Tamminen (2005, Paperback)

I was looking for a relatively up to date book specifically about Spas, looking to upgrade my own (Saratoga 2001) to fix a few minor annoyances in the control circuit, re-seal the control panel, and install some plumbing 'improvements'. It was rather difficult to find a book to see what the advances in the industry had brought recently brought. This book was published in April 2005 and looked like the best hope for my needs.

After going through the book, I don't feel as if anything 'new' had been presented. Much of the text and pictures ( black and white ) seemed dated almost to the 70's. Any of the new and innovative advances I wanted to know about were not in this book and most of the repairs or hints could easily be found on the internet on manufacturer pages, comparison pages, consumers' reports type pages , and forums.

The overall information presented is EXCELLENT for a first time buyer to help learn the industry jargon, and point you to some potential problems or Gotch-yas when considering the installation of a spa or hot tub. The information is given in a some-what home-y manner, and it certainly easier and more reliable learning from this book than it is asking the manufacturer reps or salespeople.

From the repair side, well, I would NEVER recommend doing any of the electrical stuff yourself unless you are a licensed electrician. A seeming harmless connection or modification can mass up grounding features or GFI issues that have serious to deadly consequences. The plumbing issues can affect the electrical (water leaks on electrical components) system, and cause a big mess. So ANY of the self repairs in this book deserves caution and good judgement.

Overall, this book did not meet my expectations, but it is better than anything else in my Spa library and I will keep it there. It may come in handy someday if I have to work on an older unit. I guess if a Hot Tubs and Spas for Dummies doesn't come out soon, I may have to co-write it myself. Other books found in home stores may be better for Spa lite-reading. But for an in depth look from a potential or new spa or tub owner, this would be a good choice - gNorrie

Do not buy a hot tub from The Home Budget Houseware Inc. they are selling non CSA approved Tubs. Most do not work and The Homebudget Houseware has very,very poor service and will not help to resolve the problem.