One of the most important factors to consider when buying a hot tub is how heavy the hot tub is. But, how can you tell if a hot tub is too heavy? This article will help you make informed decisions about whether or not you need a large, heavy hot tub.
People usually buy a hot tub without knowing how much it weighs. Depending on the type, hot tubs can actually weigh between 500 to 1000 pounds. Add in other factors like seating capacity and the total number of gallons needed to fill the hot tub, and things become a little complicated. But don't worry, we'll simplify things for you. We'll show you how much hot tubs weigh based on certain conditions, their types, and whether or not you can move them on your own.
Why is the weight of a hot tub important?
When planning to buy a hot tub, you need to consider a number of factors. Among them is the weight of the hot tub. The weight of a hot tub depends on the size, design, materials used, and manufacturer. The weight of a hot tub is an important factor that influences its safety and usability. It will determine how heavy it is, whether it is easy to carry, or whether it can be easily moved around.
Key Takeaways: Before buying your hot tub, consider where you're going to use the hot tub and how often you're going to move it around your property.
What factors determine a hot tub's weight?
You may have noticed that some hot tubs are heavier than others. It's because many different factors can affect the weight of a hot tub.
- The size of the hot tub is one of the major ones. The size of the hot tub will determine how much water it can hold. Consequently, filling your hot tub to the brim increases its weight dramatically. Be sure to measure its total weight before installing one on your deck. Ask a professional to know if your deck can support a hot tub's weight based on a given size.
- The type of material used to make the hot tub will also impact its weight. Hot tubs are made of different materials like fiberglass, metal, plastic, or wood. The denser the material used, the heavier the hot tub. Fortunately, you can go for light but sturdy materials like vinyl and PVC like those used to make inflatable hot tubs. They're significantly lighter than other portable hot tubs, and you can get as big as you want and still be able to move them around with ease.
- The amount of water that you put in the hot tub can also affect the weight of the hot tub. To know how heavy your hot tub would be when adding water, check how many gallons your hot tub can hold and multiply it by 8.34 (gallons to pounds). Note: you can check it by using the timing filling method or measuring the hot tub itself. Add the result to the empty hot tub's weight, and you get the total weight when filled with water.
Key Takeaways: Pay careful attention to the type of material used for the hot tub. If you use the wrong material, the hot tub could be too heavy.
How to Calculate the Weight of a Hot Tub
As we said earlier, the weight of a hot tub depends on many factors: size, how much water it can hold, and the type of material.
Let's say you have a small hot tub that weighs around 320 pounds and can hold up to 200 gallons of water. Using the gallons to pounds formula, multiply 200 gallons by 8.34. That gives you 1668 pounds. Add the hot tub's empty weight for a total of 1988 pounds.
Here's a comparison of different types of hot tubs and how much they would weigh in certain conditions:
2 person hot tub weight
- empty: 600 pounds
- with water: 2575 pounds
- with people & water: 3000 pounds
4 person hot tub weight
- empty: 750 pounds
- with water: 3700 pounds
- with people & water: 4420 pounds
6 person hot tub weight
- empty: 800 pounds
- with water: 4300 pounds
- with people & water: 5500 pounds
2 person inflatable hot tub weight
- empty: negligible
- with water: 2200 pounds
- with people & water: 2700 pounds
4 person inflatable hot tub weight
- empty: negligible
- with water: 2700 pounds
- with people & water: 3700 pounds
Many of the differences we see in weight can be attributed to the type of hot tub and not so much with the addition of people and water. For instance, when comparing a 4 person hot tub with a 4 person inflatable hot tub, the difference in weight, excluding the hot tub's empty weight, is a mere 30 pounds. In other words, they're basically the same weight when in use, but the deciding factor whether or not you could easily move one or the other is the empty weight.
Key Takeaways: If you want a hot tub you can move around very easily without any assistance, inflatable hot tubs are the way to go.
Can you move it yourself?
This brings us back to the question of whether or not you could easily move your hot tub within your property. By now, we've already established how much a hot tub weighs in certain conditions. But what we're really interested in is the empty weight. Even the smallest of hot tubs can weigh around 300 to 600 pounds when empty, which is far beyond what an average person can move, let alone carry.
However, with inflatable hot tubs, the empty weight won't be an issue, and you can pretty much move it around by yourself.
Key Takeaways: Above-ground portable hot tubs are exceptionally heavy for an average person to move or carry, with the exception of inflatable hot tubs.
Conclusion
Choosing your hot tub based on how much it weighs all boils down to where you're planning to install one and how often you want to move it within your property. Remember to check with a professional if you plan on using your hot tub on your deck to see if it can support your hot tub's total weight (people and water included). If you want something you can move around very easily, go for inflatable hot tubs. Otherwise, any other above-ground portable options will do.