My before-and-after smart meter figures from fitting an air source heat pump to my DIY hot tub: heat-up, use and weekday costs, what it would cost at today’s prices, and how quickly it paid for itself.
Cocktail & Plunge Pool Related, Design / Ideas Related
Pool and Hot Tub Plumbing: Why They Should Stay Separate (and What You Can Share)
16
May
May
Why you can’t just add jets to a pool pump, where sand filters and variable-speed pumps fit, and how to share a heater or build a spillover spa properly.
Air Source Heat Pump Related
Why I Fitted an Air Source Heat Pump to My DIY Hot Tub (and How I Plumbed It In)
15
May
May
Why I added an air source heat pump to my own slow, expensive DIY hot tub, and how I fitted it with a separate pump loop and relays without drilling any new holes in the shell.
Case Studies / Example Projects, DIY Hot Tub Building
Inspirational DIY Hot Tubs: Customer Build Updates (Video)
07
May
May
A video round-up of customer DIY hot tub builds in progress, plus the stages every build goes through and more case studies to inspire your own.
Air Source Heat Pump Related, Support & Maintenance
How I Added an Air Source Heat Pump to an Existing Hot Tub (Paul’s Acrylic Tub)
27
Apr
Apr
Step by step, how I fitted a 7kW air source heat pump to my friend Paul’s new acrylic hot tub: the location, electrics, plumbing, bypass, testing, and what it did to his heat-up times and running costs.
DIY Hot Tub Building, Support & Maintenance
Can You Control a Swimming Pool Light with a Hot Tub Spa Pack?
08
Apr
Apr
Spa pack light outputs are too small for a proper pool light. Here’s why, what Balboa and Gecko packs actually supply, and how my connection kit lets your topside switch a pool light on and off.
10
Mar
Mar
A general contractor can build you a great hot tub, but the plumbing is where it goes wrong. Here’s how to choose, contract, pay and check a builder in the UK and USA.
01
Mar
Mar
I had the pleasure of meeting the Gecko support a couple of weeks back week. The first thing that I said to them was that I don’t supply enough of their kit to my customers. I guess just as we all have a “go to” drink at the bar, I tend to have a “go to” set of kit for my specifications and hot tub designs.
25
Feb
Feb
How my custom hot tub design process works, step by step: from your rough sketch and site video to the 3D model, plumbing layout, CAD, build guide and parts quotation.
09
Feb
Feb
You can heat a hot tub from your home boiler using a heat exchanger on its own heating zone. Here’s how it works, how to size the exchanger properly, what it costs to run in 2026 and how it compares with a heat pump.