Round cedarwood hot tub, pergola, decking & paving 09 pr

[pantsmachine]

It's Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please excuse my excitement but guess what?

DHL delivered the tub package on Wednesday afternoon. Well packed,no damage and i am very happy. My son and i started yesterday morning, a few pictures below.

A garage full of bits, no timber as i'd already built it.

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
• 1

The Japanese chofu i have been banging on about on previous page, supplied by Andy at Rustic Tubs, cheapest i could find in the UK.It's a cool bit of kit in its own right. I'll get to it later.

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
• 1

In between bursts of rain, hence the tarpaulin. It does say on the build sheets that the tub cannot get wet before build is complete as it starts to swell. Tolerances between the staves are really tight even when dry. We were 3 hours to go from nothing to this stage and i didn't even have to swear once...

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
• 1

Support frame for bench going in and yes i am screwing into the tub wall to hold it up.

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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Bench comes in sections, up to individual how many sections they want at the order stage, well made and strong. Will be getting sanded down pre fill just to make sure no skelfs.

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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Screwing on the bench supports was nothing compared to the sheer terror of firing a holesaw through the side of my brand new virgin tub!
My hand was shaking so much i could barely make a pencil cross for the pilot hole!

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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Holesaw ran through from both sides to stop tearing of the timber

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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In the preorder stages i had to decide how many jets i wanted which led from what sort of visual finish i wanted. I.E how much of the tub did i want on show as the more jets you have the more piping so more of the tub is covered to hide the piping.....

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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Suctions fitted, the wee wooden brace is a assembly part and will be removed later.

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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Leaf skimmer to be connected to suction side

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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I noticed over the 3 years of dangerously obsessive but oh so enjoyable research that went before this that nobody shows the ugly side of their tubs in their pictures. I aim to change that, so here's mine! This will be the work area today, eventually all this side will be boxed in.

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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This picture pains me. If you screw your eyes up and look at it in a certain light it could be ready to use.......

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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More plumbing today and start to think about layout for pumps, heaters etc.
Now its here and all went well with the whole purchase/delivery process i'll post the company i bought from. Anybody out there reading this thread and thinking about doing a wood tub build, these are the guys to go with if you are wanting the best available. If a bit less spec is acceptable i'd be buying from Rustic tubs. *******s to Northern lights, Perry Perry, Terete and all the other low spec massive mark up onsellers in the UK.
http://www.almostheaven.net/aho/ahpsprcs.htm

Woke up at 5 this morning even though i went to bed at midnight, guess i want to crack on.....

Slater alligators.

 

[pantsmachine]

Had a good day. Plumbed the outside of the tub so i am ready to install the heaters pumps etc. This is still the ugly side of the tub!

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
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Once i had finished plumbing i decided to fill the tub to start the sealing process and leaching of tannins from the timber. Its pishing like a sieve at the moment but that's the way they are for a few days until the wood swells and completes the seal(alledgedly).

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• pantsmachine
• 11 Jul 2009
• 1

 

[PE]

Been following this thread with interest and looked at some of your links. The tubs look great and much preferable to the plastic spas IMO

If you have a wood fired tub presumably you have to heat the water up from cold each time so you cannot use it on a whim like an electric heated spa

Also do you have to use chemicals regularly still even though the water is not continuously heated?

Look forward to the updates and well done on a great project!

 

[pantsmachine]

Thanks PE. The wood fired side is 1 part of the heating system. The other half is a 5.5kw electric heater. I put the pack together a couple of days ago and mounted it on a length of beech block i had spare. The pack comprises of a 2hp pump, 5.5kw heater, a leaf trap for the pump and a 50sqft filter for the water

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• pantsmachine
• 14 Jul 2009
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• pantsmachine
• 14 Jul 2009
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• pantsmachine
• 14 Jul 2009
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The 2 systems working together should give me a fast heat up time from cold. I guess i'll see how much we use the tub and decide then if i let it cool down or keep it warm all the time.

For chemicals i bought a water ioniser which reduces some of the chem reqs but i still need to put in an oxidiser and check and maintain PH levels. Again i am brand new to this so i'll see how it goes.

I was pointed towards a pretty cool bluetooth remote control system by the supplier as the manufacturer had stopped making 50hz systems. The electrician will be coming in about a week or so to start the commision so i'm looking forward to seeing what we can make the system do! I should be able to set the tub to run from the house with the remote. I think i will be able to monitor temp as well so i can go out and jump in when its heated without checking. We'll see.....

Oh yeah and the tubs still not completely swell sealed yet. Worried, who me?

 

[PE]

Guesss the sealing process will vary depending on temperature etc

A quick ggogle turned this up - so could take a couple of weeks in theory

Why don’t cedar wood tubs leak?

Generally, they do – but only initially, after installation or if they have been allowed to dry out. During normal operation, when the wood is warm and saturated, the seal is made naturally (and without the use of any glue) as the wood swells by as much as 2% against the bands, making the tub watertight.
This process may take anything from a day to two or three weeks after commissioning, but we guarantee that they will always seal. The joints between each stave and the base are coopered to very fine tolerances by the manufacturers in Canada.

Thanks for the explanation of the heating system, must have missed that!

 

[pantsmachine]

Thanks for that. I can see a difference in the losses from the tub now so its getting there. Are you thinking of going for a tub yourself? 1 thing i can't get across on the web is the smell from the cedar when its wet. Its ace! Hell, my wifes even stopped complaining now that its a real thing instead of a huge financial hole/concept.

 

[pantsmachine]

A couple of shots from today. Hooked up the Chofu and did a test burn to make sure it works ok. It went well, just did a burn for an hour without fully loading the chofu, got a 7 deg rise which is pretty good for a trial. Had a bit of a fright when hooking the chofu thru wall conns up as they were not long enough to go throught the whole wall thickness! Flash of inspiration and got the router out and rebated 12mm depth out for both fitting and all ok. Almost all leaks gone now, one more which is still dripping a bit but expect it to seal in the next couple of day. Hoping for the sparky next week. We'll see.

Tub filling up

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• pantsmachine
• 18 Jul 2009
• 1

Blurred shot of chofu exhaust

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• pantsmachine
• 18 Jul 2009
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One of the thru wall fittings for the chofu that caused my heart to leap.

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• pantsmachine
• 18 Jul 2009
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Squint shot of the chofu itself. Fire burns, water inside firebox jacket gets warm, starts to rise and pass through top pipe into tub whcih causes cold water to be drawn from tub through bottom pipe into water jacket.

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• pantsmachine
• 18 Jul 2009
• 1

 

[pantsmachine]

I have carried out a real burn in the chofu today and temp went from 13 deg C to 38 deg C in 2 hours. Tubs still a soaking tub. I.E no jets so there is still a colder level at the bottom. Nonetheless we are continuing the burn, running out the 240 extension for the lights and firing up the candles for this evening. Bottle of Fleurie on stand by and first track will be shine on you crazy diamond. if you have to ask by who, well i feel sorry for you!

This seems like a good way to turn a 1 week sparky delay into a positive.

 

[Rosy]

We have an 8'x8' tub set at 37 degrees all year round with an insulated cover. Our electric bill is horrendous but the tub is most enjoyable in the winter.

The cedar tub looks really cool, all you need now is the waterproof TV.

 

[pantsmachine]

Thanks Rosy, Is your tub inside or outside?I like the w/p tv idea but i'm more a book guy, i'll ask Mrs P if she fancies one though!
My tub leaks have now sealed with the swelling of the tub. It only needed one real heat up of the tub to accomplish this. Still no sparky and we are off to Turkey on Thursday so i guess the final hook up and run in will have to wait till Sept/Oct when i get back onshore.

 

[Rosy]

Ours is outside. Our property is L shaped at the back so we have it in the L so it is sheltered by two walls. We put the tub in first then decked around it only as high as the decking joists, then round the far side of the decking we put railings with wooden posts. Looks neat and like I say in the winter more especially if it is snowing its brilliant. We were advised to keep the temp at 37 as it is normal body temperature whatever the weather and in our case it is cheaper to keep it running than keep turning it off and heating up again. We chlorinate every day (1 teaspoon) and clean the filter once a week. Also when you fill up dont forget the descaler, we have very hard water, if you dont, scale will start building immediately on the inside, this only needs doing again each time you empty and refill.

We had a BBQ a few weeks ago, hubby works in Plasma TVs and borrowed an outdoor one from work, had it on a stand next to the tub and the lads all watched the rugby, drinking beer, in the tub.

Great for lounging watching the soaps.

 

[pantsmachine]

That sounds fantastic, beer rugby, tubbing and screened from the wind! We have used ours three times as a soaking tub only and its absolutely brilliant. Totally chilled and fantastic sleep afterwards. I am still getting used to the fact that its there and useable(although not complete) and not the idea in my head that it was for years. Also since the chofu is currently my only means of heating it i am learning how long to full burn before letting the embers do the heating. Turns out the chofu is the equivalent of a 34kw heater so once the theromsiphon gets going it REALLY heats the tub.

I see what you mean about keeping it at temp all the time, i'll see how it goes over the next year and work out a plan, thanks for the heads up on water treatment, again its something i will learn about. Also noticed that we would say 'okay, we'll go in the tub for a half hour and that will do'. Next thing 2 hours have passed and its 'okay light the candles, the stars will be out soon'. Then its midnight.....

 

[pantsmachine]

Had sparkies round yesterday to hook up the pump/heater etc. Turns out the control set supplied from the states can take a max of 17A. The heater i am using runs at 22A max. So we are going an alternative control route through contactors to keep everything being operated via the remote control. Turns out that achieving simplicity(1 touch control on a remote) is not so simple!

Also did a bit of work on the tub surround to house the pump etc.

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• pantsmachine
• 25 Sep 2009
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• pantsmachine
• 25 Sep 2009
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[pantsmachine]

Oh no , pump no workie. Sparkies in touch with suppliers in the states. Sparkies may have blown the electric motor or the control circuitry for the whole shebang. I'm sure i got sparkies in to avoid this sort of self inflicted scenario. Still on the upside this is the 1st speed wobble in the build. So fingers crossed a rewiring of the work done will get the system running next week.

 

[pantsmachine]

Final post for me on this project i think. All up and running now. Only issue and its a minor one is the tub internal light supplied was a 110V to 24V transformer. Its now a dead thing since we put 240 through it! No biggy will buy another next month. Maybe Almost heaven will send me a replacement?

A few shots of the tub in action. Might post a couple of night shots as its nice with the candles and lights on.
Pump running at high speed, doesn't look much in the photo but it is!

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• pantsmachine
• 6 Oct 2009
• 1

Supercharged jets with air blower running

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• pantsmachine
• 6 Oct 2009
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Couple of overall shots. Note the remote control. Huge range, controls the low and high speed of the pump and also the air blower. As i said previously we had to add some contactors to the system to enable the heater to be controlled from the remote. The heater now comes on automatically when the pump is running at low or high speed instead of being on a manual switch. The ionizer comes on when the pump is running at low speed. I have set the time to cycle the water for 20 minutes in the morning. Will be using it this weekend and then will start getting my head round water treatment. Don't think its going to be a biggy.

Thanks to all who have read or contributed to this build. Your help and advice has been very much appreciated.

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• pantsmachine
• 6 Oct 2009
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• pantsmachine
• 6 Oct 2009
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• pantsmachine
• 6 Oct 2009
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Glad i did it in the end. Its been a blast.

Anybody else looking to do a cedar tub get in touch with the company below. Fantastic after sales support, what you would hope to get and a whole load more when distance buying.
http://www.almostheaven.net/
Ask for Art and tell him Joe sent you.