I've found a jacuzzi bath I'd really like and have some questions. I'm curious to what others think about the need for an inline heater. A friend of mine put in a jacuzzi bath and swears there's no need for the heater. His bath also has a lot smaller and fewer jets than the one I'm looking at (a 5'x36"x22"d tub). What do you think, inline heater mandatory, nice or not necessary? Considering the heater is another $300 how hard/dumb would it be to put in the tub now and do the heater later if it becomes obvious that I need one?

 

Jacuzzi is a brand name but...

Whether or not you need or may desire an in-line heater depends on a few factors, most important is how long you want to sit and soak in the tub. The in-line heater is to keep the water hot for an extended period of time.

Insulation around the sides of the tub will help maintain the heat.

I know that with my jetted tub I would definitely get cold without the heater. I have insulation on the back side and both ends of my tub and the only reason I don't have it on the front side is because that is where the pump and heater is located.

When I use my jetted tub I am often in it for close to an hour. I wouldn't think of having a tub without the in-line heater.

 

Can't really add to furd's comments. Maybe your friend doesn't understand what a in-line heater is for. As furd mentioned...it is there to keep the hot water you have..hot longer so you don't have to re-fill the tub or add more hot water. It doesn't heat the water. So whether or not you need one is completely dependant upon how long you plan to spend in the tub.

For my customers..i usually tell em..if you can afford it..get it...if money is a question..don't. They are usually really easy to install, especially if it is jacuzzi brand, and can be added later with zero difficulty if you have a proper access panel to get to the pump.

 

In addition, face it, once you have expended the 40 gallons of hot water in your water heater to fill up the monster, that's it. No more until it cycles. At least the heater will help heat the water without draining the water heater.

 

As noted, the inline heaters only maintain the temperature of the water, they DO NOT heat it from cold, they also only run when the main pump is running and even then they only run intermittently based on temperature. The fact that they plug in to a 120v outlet should tell you something about the output they are capable of.

Most American Standards tubs come with the inline heater (it's the brand I have), the ones that don't it's a $200 option.
Turning on both the hot and cold lines, it completely empties my 50g tank of hot water and then some. As soon as it's high enough, I turn on the pump (so it also turns on the heater).

Links to the cadenza elite..
http://www.homeportfolio.com/catalog/Product.jhtml?catId=27&searchText=cadenza+elite&selected_anId=&prodId=179196
http://www.porcher-us.com/pdfs/as/specsheet/SpecSheet_1207.pdf