INTEX 28431EP PureSpa Plus Bubble Massage Spa Set: Includes Energy Efficient Spa Cover – 2 Contoured Headrest – LED Light – 6 Person Capacity – 85" x 28"

This is my review of the Intex 28431EP PureSpa Plus 85 Inch.First off, the 28431EP at $678 appears to be identical to the 28431E at $1024. I contacted Intex asking the difference and their reply "They are almost the same but the little difference lies in color. And the pool kind is the same but they are different pool sets and would come with different pumps and other maintainence kit. Have a good day."If true, I can't see the colour difference. The pump it came with is labeled 2843100B, and appears and functions the same as the higher priced model. All of the extras, cover, controls, tool kit, appear exactly the same as the model without the P. If there is $300 in less value here, I can't find it.So, about the spa itself. So far so good. Everything was well designed and very easy to set up. The quality appears top notch. Filled water started at 57°f and in 24 hours, was 100°f (my initial setting). The pump/heater is extremely quiet, something I was very surprised and pleased to discover. I have had the small Intex pools before and, as I recall, the filter was rather loud.Of course the air pump is louder but not too bad, about the same level as the bubble noise itself. As for those bubbles, the strength of the massage was completely unexpected. I thought the bubbles were more for appearance, but come to find out, they work exceptionally well. Feels great on the old back.Really glad I got the 85" model, 6 person is a bit of a stretch, but 4 close friends would be doable. For my wife and I, it's perfect.The cover is very well thought out, and looks to do a great job of insulation. The inflatable bladder, give the cover a bit of a dome and should prevent excessive water pooling with rain.My take so far, is save $300 and get the Intex 28431EP PureSpa Plus 85 Inch for $678. Very happy with this purchase. If anything changes, I'll update this review.--MarkEdit:Three weeks of steady, daily, use and the spa is working perfectly. Using the La Crosse Wireless Pool Thermometer, I can see the spa cycles 102° to 104° without any problem. The heating, actually runs less than expected. Consumers tracks my monthly power, so I'll report back with details.I'm old and my back hurts so the biggest problem so far is lifting off the insulated (very effective), cover. The cover that comes with this model, extends to the ground, and is quite heavy. When lifting, the fit is snug, so you're fighting a vacuum to get it off! Easy solution though. When you go to remove the cover, undo the encircling strap, start the air pump, and the cover domes and easily lifts off! 😎 This also allows any rain water to drain off the top. Super easy.I generally take the insulated cover off for a morning soak, leaveing it off all day, using only the inflatable bladder. This seals well and keeps leaves and junk out of the water. Easy on and off makes it simple for a quick soak. I put the cover back on at the end of the day, or if we go away.When I originally fill the tub, I used a garden hose that was a couple years old, and the water was nasty. The hose must have deteriorated. Anyway, took several days and a couple of filter changes, and the pump/filter cleaned the water gin clear. Testing also showed are water was extremely hard. This unit supposedly had some method of softening water, well 8 days in, it tested perfect. With a few other standard pool chemicals, everything balanced out nicely. I check and clean/replace the filters every few days. They clean off well, especially with a bit of compressed air. You should get a fair amount of use before replacement is necessary.I also purchased the Intex 28620EP Handheld Rechargeable Spa Pool Vacuum. Maybe not completely necessary, but makes cleaning extremely easy.I think I read somewhere that the filter/heater timed out after 72 hour, or so. Not the case so far, but I use the spa daily.All said, very pleased with this spa. Stay tuned.Edit: END OF THE SEASONSo, it's only mid October, but took advantage of one of the last nice days to store the spa. Read the instructions for storage, and it's pretty simple. Drained with the a hose a instructed and finished up with a wet vac, wiped down and deflated with the air pump. This work really well and collapsed the pool enough that it actually FIT into the provided storage bag! Other parts stored in the original box.Season summary: I used this spa almost daily for just shy of 6 months and enjoyed every minute. One E-90 filter error, when first installed with nasty water from an old hose. New filters and the water cleared up quickly and everything ran perfect all season. At first I was cleaning the filters, to extent there use, but found one one of them really doesn't do anything so just changed them weekly, swapping one with the other at that time. I am guessing the dual filters are a legal requirement, but for a spa this size, not really necessary.My only disappointment is the 104° temperature limit. I understand this is also a legal (or at least industry) requirement, but wish it was just a degree higher. I have a recording temperature gage and the spa consistently cycles between 102° and 104° which is good, but 102° is just a bit low for my taste. My friend has a $44,000 dollar spa and his does the same, so, I guess I can live with it.My electric usage was slightly higher than last year, but not by much. I am sure the spa accounted for some, but too little to put a number on it.As I was storing the spa and components, I had an opportunity to inspect everything. My original hope was to get a couple years out of this. I now suspect I can do much better as everything appears to be in excellent shape. Only a small amount a fading on the dark blue inner wall, otherwise all looks good.It's too bad that Amazon no longer allows replies on product reviews. Would love to compare notes with other spa owners.Summary: Absolutely an excellent value. See you next year, stay warm.Edit: Beginning year three, still good with one problem.At the end of year two, the insulated cover was finished. Started ripping at the seems. Intex does not seem to offer a replacement, so I irer the non-insulated "shorty". Actually, while not as efficient, it sure is easier to deal with. So, as a compromise, I'm happy, (see photo with shorty cover). Otherwise the spa has performed perfectly.Incredibly good deal and a pleasure for daily three (mostly) season use. Recommended.

This tub is GREAT for the price! I set it up all by myself in an hour or less, the most time consuming part was just waiting for the hose to fill it up and being impatient waiting for it to heat up to 104 because we were so excited to use it! We live in New Mexico and bought it in September so it’s pretty warm up until November-December. I have not noticed a significant change to our electric bill in terms of energy. We decided to keep it under our covered patio because the cover and tub would stay cleaner that way out of the elements and our outlet is under the patio. The jets are more like tiny holes that are in a ring around the bottom of the tub (so not like the powerful jets that blast your back in a traditional hot tub).The set up is self explanatory if you follow the instructions it’s not very complicated! We bought a second pack of pH strips to test all the water levels and an enhanced shock powder that we sprinkle about a tablespoon in after each soak. We are using bromine tablets instead of chlorine as I read it’s easier on the skin however the little floaty tablet dispenser they give you only holds one small tablet and you need more than that to maintain a healthy level of bromine/chlorine. We use the tub at least 1-2x a week and the 6 person one is great size if you’re tall and like to stretch out your legs but truly only holds 3-4 people max comfortably. It maintains around 104 degrees sometimes on colder days it lingers at 103. If you use the bubble jet setting it pulls the cold outside air so after the jet timer stops (30min duration) it’ll drop down to the mid 90s which is a bit of a bummer but it’s a great deal so I don’t complain. I love this tub! So far we haven’t had any holes or other issues aside from forgetting to spray down the filters with the hose and that can give an error reading. Change out the filters more frequently if you use it more often otherwise it can clog and not heat or filter properly. We’ve been able to reuse our filters after thorough high pressure hosing them off. We bought extra neck pillows but honestly don’t even use them nor the ones they came with (there not really comfortable lol) the tray table we bought separately from Intex and that thing is AWESOME!

I was so excited for this hot tub after reading reviews on it. I had the Coleman hot tub for 3 long years where it really took a beating. Finally the pump gave out and I couldn’t fix it so I decided to try this hot tub.WTF? I went to go use it today and noticed almost all the water was gone! After some investigation, it looks to be leaking due to a very poor seal underneath the tub where the pipe goes to drain the tub. Tried some flex seal tape on it and while it slowed the leak - it’s really difficult to get where that seam is to fix..Luckily Amazon is very good about refunds. $600+ for it to just leak is not acceptable.. I’m going to try to seal it but I’m not holding my breath that it will hold.I can vouch for the Coleman hot tub but not this.. I used it once - was excited about the head rests and the jets seem stronger.. really wanted to love this product but unfortunately I am left very disappointed.I will say that I was impressed with how quiet the pump is compared to the Coleman. It was so quiet I often went over to check to see if it was still on.. so sad about the leaking!!