Open Air Business November/December 2016

ACCOMMODATION
NAKED FLAME ECO-TUBS
locations, a situation helped by the selfcontained
heating arrangement.
The stainless steel coil at the side of the
Tub-Tub, which holds the burning wood,
uses a thermo syphon effect; as the fire
in the middle of it burns the coil, it heats
the water passing through the pipe. Cold
water feeds in from the bottom through
the booster connection that connects to a
garden hose and starts to expand due to the
heat. As it gets hotter it rises up the coil into
the tub, which creates a circulating effect so
the water stays hot so long as the fire burns.
The booster connection also means the
tub can be drained through a hose, which
makes routine maintenance and cleaning
an easy process.
Should the cost of buying one or more
hot tubs initially be too high for a site owner
who is interested in adding an outdoor spa,
there are companies in the UK that offer a
hot tub hire service. However, due to the
size of the average hot tub and the issue
of transporting them to the location of the
hirer, the businesses that offer this service
are usually regional, catering for the county
in which they are located, and prices and
availability vary accordingly. The starting
price for most of the businesses that
operate hire schemes is around £250 per
tub per week. However, many of them will
happily negotiate on that price if the hire
term is over an extended period or more if
multiple tubs are required.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Having looked at the various options
available and the costs involved, glamping
site owners will also need to consider
the issues relating to having a hot tub or
tubs when they are used for commercial
purposes. Chief among these is the health
and safety of the clientele using them.
According to Jason Smith of RotoSpa:
“There are few laws that are specifically
applicable to hot tubs, but there are a
NAKED FLAME ECO-TUBS
number of Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) approved codes of practice designed
to ensure that you comply with the Health
and Safety at Work Act and establish best
practice for looking after hot tubs and
shared pools.
“This advice is currently being looked
at with a view to amendments being
made. However, the current advice is that
site operators need to carry out a risk
assessment. The water in the spas should
be tested three times a day for pH and
sanitiser and the results recorded (records
of cleaning of the filters should also be
kept). Regular microbiological results for
Pseudomonas or Legionella should also be
checked. If positive, the hot tub should be
emptied, cleaned and then treated.
“All records need to be kept for five years
under UK law. Not only should hot tub water
be changed between rentals, but hot tubs in
holiday homes need to have a continuous
chemical feeder to treat them with
disinfectant. Site owners are responsible for
the weekly cleaning of filters, drain down
and refilling between rentals. The filters
should be chemically cleaned and allowed
to dry on a fortnightly basis. Finally, all hot
tubs should have a secure insulated cover
and a circulation pump fitted.”
While all of the above is best practice for
spa type hot tubs, the Naked Fame Eco-Tubs
do not use pumps and their filters do not
need chemical treatments. According to
Gareth Edwards: “We work with the vast
majority of glamping sites on a three day
system. On a Friday the tub is filled with
fresh water, then on the Saturday morning
a small quantity of chlorine granules are
added to the water. This is done again on
ROTOSPA
the Sunday morning, the final day of the
cycle. Then before the next use the tub is
drained and once empty it is sprayed with
an antibacterial solution and wiped down
ready to be used for the next three day
cycle.”
HEATING OPTIONS
The final point that needs to be addressed
is the fuel supply needed to heat a hot tub.
A gas fired unit, using natural gas, will need
to be in a fixed location due to the need for
a mains supply connection. While electric
powered units can offer slightly more
movability, again they need to be tethered
to a fixed supply.
For the greatest degree of flexibility in
locating a hot tub and the freedom to go
off grid, wood-fired is the ideal option.
One business that provides fuel is Dalby
Firewood, which not only offers a national
wood delivery service for wood-fired hot
tubs, but it can also be used for outdoor
pizza ovens and other wood burning
applications. Dalby Firewood’s credentials
as a specialist supplier are also enhanced
by the knowledge that it is an authorised
dealer of Naked Flame Eco-Tubs.
Alternative fuel sources are now
beginning to become available too.
RotoSpa is actively promoting tubs that are
powered by biomass or liquid propane gas,
which opens up even more opportunities,
especially for any sites that are aiming to
operate off-grid whenever possible, or who
want the flexibility to move the tubs around
on site.
USEFUL LINKS
Dalby Firewood (distributor of Naked
Flame Eco-Tubs) - 01653 668177
www.dalbyfirewood.com
Naked Flame Eco-Tubs - 01484 766233
www.nakedtubs.com
RotoSpa - 0121 354 3428
www.rotospa.co.uk
Topstak (distributors of Tub-Tub) -
01446 771567 / www.topstak.co.uk
WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 43