TonyDiethelm.life

• It's 6' diameter
• About 4' tall
• 4 steel bands
• Serviced by 240V, two 50A circuits.
• pump is 120V, 13A, US motors R55CXFCM-0305
• heater is ACC applied computer controls SMTD-3000-0D-GAS-8.KW
• UV filter is Paramount Ultra ultimate UV water sanitizer
• wood thickness of staves/sides is 1.5“
• staves/side pieces are ~5” wide.
• They have a pump, a heater, a physical filter, and a UV filter.

• How tall? 4'
• What Diameter? 6'
• Are we heating with electricity(have to run it out there) or fire(burn bans) or propane(expensive heater and ongoing cost)? Aline would like to go electric. Investigating if our panel will support that.
• What's our budget? $5000
• Are we putting chemicals in the water or no? T would rather not
• Are we putting salts in the water or no? T would rather not.
• Can Tony build a solar power sand filter to just clean the damn thing all day? total budget about $100
• Do we want a stainless steel band or a covered metal “rope”?

Volume = area * height = pi*r^2 * h = 3.14*3'*3'*4' = 113.09 cubic ft

Approximately 846 gallons, per google

area = pi*r^2 = 3.14 * 3 * 3 = 28 square feet

Our boards are appox 11“ wide, let's assume 12” for easy math, this is an approximation. Also, we need to be slightly smaller than 6' wide anyway.

So we need about 28 lf of boards. It will be more than that, we're going to lose some to tongue and groove.

circumference = 2*pi*r = 2*3.14*36in = 226in

assuming 5“ staves, we'll need 226in/5in = 45 staves

• 6' across
• 4' tall

• Water weighs ~8.34 lbs/gal.

Here's a video showing a full build of a cedar tank. But she doesn't do rounded joints, she does angles, and FUCK that, if you're off on your math, you're fucked.

Here's a fairly in depth series of videos of a couple building their own cedar tub. I kinda hate how they did their staves though.

Here's a video by those same folks of "lessons learned". Short version, don't let it dry out or it'll warp, don't let it freeze.

Here's a link to a basic How To article, nothing that isn't covered in the videos.

Here's the |Amazon Store for Spa Guts. Oh, damn, they appear to be dead. spaguts.com is out of commission too. Argh!

Here's a video for a gravel foundation

If you want to see a professional cedar tub, here's a link. It's stupid expensive.

• We need a Bead and Cove router bit set. Most people use a 1/2” radius, per all the websites I've seen, but I'm not sure I want that much of a lip on the edge?
  • Do I want a round nose bit? I'd have to cut over it, that's awkward. Something like this.
  • Do I want a cove bit? Would need 2 passes, and would have to be really careful how I line it up.
  • Also called a Boat and Canoe set.
  • Gonna have to make multiple passes anyway…. Hmmm….
• We might need a beefy router for that. 1/2“ shank capability.
• Gonna need to cut a good Dado joint to connect the staves/sides to the bottom.
  • Probably table saw here.

Bought 51566 Amana Carbide Tipped Bullnose 3/4 Radius x 2-3/8 Dia x 2 Inch x 1/2 Shank Bought Amana Tool Part #49118 (Carbide Tipped Cove Bit)

comparison shop at Spa Depot.

1. Find a spot
2. Make a foundation
3. build a base using tongue and groove
4. make side pieces using bead/cove bits and dado them to fit onto the bottom
5. Put on the staves/sides

Per this article, we need 4” of 3/4“ gravel. We need an outside barrier to contain the gravel. They recommend 4×6 pressure treated “ground contact” lumber with 1/2” rebar pounded down into the ground and the corners connected with screws.