Wood Fired Cedar Hot Tub - Internal Stove - 5 Person

We chose to give the internal stove tub a 4 star for one main reason: We found that it does not heat at a rate that you read about online. We've seen 20-30degrees per hour,... once the fire is well established I have observed maybe a good 12-15 degrees per hour. That is a fully stoked stove, full of hardwood or softwood. SO.. to bring some 55 degree water up 50 degrees to a comfortable tub temp , we have not been able to accomplish yet in under 5 hours or thereabouts. And keep in mind, we are not novice wood stove users. 90% of our winter heat source is a wood stove in our home. Other than that here are some things you will want to know about the product itself. #1 Likely because of covid... it took us 3 entire months to receive our tub. Bummer. But worth the wait. #2. The spark arrestor spot welded onto the top of the chimney is of poor design. After 1 single fire, it was 75% clogged with soot. Our second fire would not even vent properly. Had to keep the lid off the fire for it to vent. I removed the spark arrestor with a pair of tin snips and it will now vent properly. #3. Chimney could use a damper. I am considering installing one on my own. If you had one, you could contain the heat much better, and probably heat faster... BUT, perhaps manufacturer does not recommend. I haven't consulted them yet. #4 The directions you are given on the website, are barely close to what actually arrives in terms of hardware/chime joists. The directions for installation were clearly drawn up by someone who was uninformed as to what the company actually ships. And there were outright errors in the directions when it came to spacing for chime joists. No clear direction on how tight to make your steel bands. Lots of incidents where fasteners are not correct length for what you need... very much ,." here's your tub,.. here's some general guidelines for how to install it... call us if you need anything. " Redwood made themselves available for help while assembling, which is nice.. but what would be nicer is if they updated their manual. #5 Sold as a 5 person. I suppose if you were just sitting next to each other with half your bodies out of the water, its a 5 person,.. but in reality its 4 at the most comfortably. And take it a step further, its a 2 person if you want to kinda lay back stretch your feet out under the bench in front of you, submerge your body up to your neck like we all do when sitting in a hot tub when its cold out. I had considered getting a 5x4 and now wish I had, as for the most part its just the two of us using the tub. Cool product. LOVE that it doesn't have any jets or parts and pieces that will fail in a few years. I wonder if the external tub would have been the better bet because you'd have more space,.. and it seems this one doesn't heat as fast as youd think, which is part of the reason we chose it. All in all I do like it, looking back on what I know now, maybe we would have chosen a different size and external.. FYI ours took a week to fully seal. 4/5 because it does not heat as quick as you think.

This hot tub is amazing for my sore shoulders after work. The cedar smell makes it even more relaxing. I look forward to using this tub every day!

I wasn't sure which tub I wanted, but after talking to Mary, she helped me choose the 5 person internal stove, and I couldn't be happier with it!