I'm looking to build a homemade hot tub I need to find a large tub...
Preferably between 175 200 gallons (needs to be big enough to hold 2
people comfortably 4 people tight)it should also be about 2 ft deep
and it should also be able to withstand water tempratures of up to 120
degrees. I envesion some type of very large rubbermaid container also
be imaginative I dont care if it is something that will take blood
sweat and tears to construct (i.e. build some type of structure with a
vinyl liner?)  my only requirement is that it cost less than 150.00
prefferably much less.

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Request for Question Clarification by alienintelligence-ga on 30 Sep 2002 18:01 PDT

Hi belgiebob2,

In reference to;
"my only requirement is that it cost less than 150.00 
preferably much less."

Is that the cost of the "tub" only?

Have you considered buying a used hot tub shell?

What about forming your own tub from fiberglass?

Bricks and tile are an awesome way to make a 
hot tub that doesn't need to be moved. Is movability
possibly another requirement?

Can you quantify the interior "size" of the hot tub you
envision in lineal feet or inches? 4 people can fit
horizontally 'tight' in about 72" or 6 feet. So 6ft x
5ft would probably fit 4 adults "tight"


thanks,
-AI

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Clarification of Question by belgiebob2-ga on 30 Sep 2002 20:16 PDT

Just the tub no other components (have already found sorces for the
other components)

doesn't need to be moved

Interior size 
preferably 2 - 3' deep and between 4- 5' square or anything similar
and useable

Hi belgiebob2, 

Well, in the old days (1960’s) when hot tubs first became popular;
people scavenged used oak wine vats and converted them. Unfortunately
now those are virtually impossible to find. So, here are some other
ideas ---

My first thought, (especially since you used the term Rubbermaid) was
a livestock water trough – these are usually inexpensive (depending on
material) and large volume. They can be made of galvanized steel,
rubber, PVC, Fiberglas, or poured concrete.

The difficulty I had was that most farm supply stores online do not
give prices because stock tanks are too large to ship. They just refer
you to your nearest dealer. Also, some of the sites with the best
photos were from overseas (I am assuming you are in the US because you
used feet and gallons as your measures), so won’t help you as far as
actual ordering goes.  But my goal was to generate ideas, and I think
I’ve done a good job in that regard. You shouldn’t have any trouble
finding any of these items locally.

First – I did a little rough calculating because some of these sites
used metric.

175 gal = 1000 L
2Ft deep = 600 mm


Rubbermaid stock tank
http://www.swpowerfence.com/cat22.htm
http://www.brusselsagri.com/farm_supplies/rubbermaid.htm

No official prices but one hot tub builder mentions buying the $100
gallon for $70, another mentions buying the 300 gallon (for use as a
fish pond) for $220.  Yet another mentions the 100 gallon for $94.

----------------------------------

Concrete, Fiberglas and Galvanized troughs
http://www.rockinrwellservice.com/wildlife.htm

*no prices but good pics

--------------------------------------

Round Cattle Trough – Concrete  -- 1000 Litre Capacity
http://www.midwestconcrete.com.au/body_cattle_troughs.html

----------------------------------

1000 Litre Round Cattle Trough   - Plastic 
http://www.ariplastank.com.au/Plastroughs.html

-----------------------------------

L2154  200 gal poly trough c/w bal 215.00  252.63
http://www.farmbits.com/l_prices.htm


===============================
OTHER IDEAS
===============================


Concrete septic tank  $79
http://www.gizmoplans.com/septic_tank.html

---------------------------------------

Used Tractor Tire (usually available free) 
http://www.ulrich-hereford-ranch.com/watertrough.htm

----------------------------------------

Build the hottub of wood then use fish pond liner to waterproof
http://www.fabseal.com/pond2.html

-----------------------------------------

Ferrocement
http://www.ferrocement.net/archives/msg04849.html

-------------------------------------------

Homemade out of Redwood strips - instructions
http://www.rhtubs.com/assemble.htm


------------------------------------------

Look at this website and imagine finding one of these used and cutting
it down to for a tub. It may also pay to check with this or a similar
company about purchasing a damaged cistern. Since you’re going to cut
it down anyway, won’t hurt if one corner is cracked or dented. 
Especially see: rectangular tanks, cisterns, and septic tanks.

WATERTANKS
http://www.watertanks.com/rectangulartanks/

----------------------------------------

Pickup truck bed liner
http://www.pickupspecialties.com/pendaliner.htm

Again, too expensive new (although one here is only $169 installed)
but more of these should be available used now that spray-on bed
liners are in vogue.


===========================
TIPS FROM OTHERS
============================


A hot tub doesn't have to be expensive...We made ours for $35
By Tom Phillips

http://www.hotspringsenthusiast.com/35Tub.htm


Hot tubs - Creative and Thrifty Ideas
http://www.hotspringsenthusiast.com/Tub.htm


Build Your own Hot Tub
http://www.hotspringsenthusiast.com/SolarTub.htm

---------------------------------------------

“Just built a 6'x3' round hot tub out of building grade hemlock for
about 150.00 (not including the wood stove that heats it)”

“I found an old cedar hottub by advertising in the wanted section it
was dried out but free as many people have these things just sitting
taking up space.”

http://varsoon.wireboard.com/~jleitess/countryside/hv.greenspun.com/bboard/Wcf80e29b5f2aa.htm

------------------------------------------

“A mate of mine has built one … using a 400 gallon black PVC
cattle-drinker purchased from a farm suppliers for about £140. The
cattle drinker is good because it already has inlet/outlets fitted so
no need to make holes in it.”

http://www.samallen.com/wwwboard/messages/20449.html

----------------------------------

HOW TO BUILD A HOT TUB

“Our tub is made from a 400 gallon orange juice concentrate container.
These black plastic tanks are often use by farmers for water storage
and are available from some agricultural supply places..”

http://www.stewardwood.org/resources/DIYhottub.htm

---------------------------------

HOT TUB PLANS - $8

Build your own hot tub for less than $300
http://www.mountain-software.com/hot_tub.htm


----------------------------------------

Advice on building a hottub in cold climates ..

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22build+a+hot+tub%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=9bio7j%243i1%241%40slb0.atl.mindspring.net&rnum=1


And more advice …(and ideas)


http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=bfunk-1712960941540001%40newshub.sdsu.edu&rnum=14&prev=/groups%3Fq%3D%2522build%2Ba%2Bhot%2Btub%2522%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3Dbfunk-1712960941540001%2540newshub.sdsu.edu%26rnum%3D14


-------------------------------------


That should give you a good start towards solving your problem
affordably. It seems a lot of people are looking to enjoy the comfort
of a hot tub for a price they can afford.

Happy soaking –

--K~

Search terms:

Searched web and Google Groups --

Stock water trough
Rubbermaid stock tank
“200 gallon” water
Hot tub materials
“build a hot tub”
“making a hot tub”
plastic truck bed liner –sprayed –spray

Thank you very good very well researched answer

I've built three home made hot tubs in my day and let me assure you
there's a lot of fine tuning involved.  The tub part is not the tricky
part - an inflatable kiddie pool will last a surprisingly long time
even at heat.  Mine lasted about four months.  Considering I bought it
for about $50, that's not so bad.  As the clarification suggests,
using brick and/or cement block with a rubber liner would also work. 
You could also just build a plywood box and put some deck chairs in
it.

The problem comes in that when most people say hot tub what they
really mean is tub-full-of-water-with-hot-jets-and-maybe-some-bubbles.
 I never got the bubbles, but the first two I accomplished with some
garden hose (will handle the temp even though it generally claims it
won't,) a cheap pump and an in-line electric hot water heater.  Water
is recirculated with the pump, passed through the heater for, uh,
heat.  If you run the hose around the interior circumference of the
tub and put T-connectors with short pieces of hose attached and
terminate them with cheap (as in a couple of dollars) spray jets
(think lawn and garden, not hot tub,) you get the hot water jets. 
Intake is from a hose left in the middle.  No bubbles.  I never
pursued that part very seriously - if you are to do it, I'd suggest
trying to find a disfunctional hot tub and buying chunks of it.

This lacks a certain elegance, I admit, particularly since it involves
(if you go inflatable) draping the hose over the edge of the tub, but
it's dirt cheap.

By the way, if you go inflatable, expect the thing to break at an
awkward moment and flood the immediate area with hot water.  If you
have the right frame of mind, that's just funny.  If you have a poorly
grounded pump, it can be both funny and highly dangerous.

I built a hot tub by using those sheets of gardening plastic. It
lasted over a year. I dug a hole, lined it with some junk felt, and
laid the plastic in, weighing down the edges. When you fill the hole
with water, the plastic smoothes out and pushes out air bubbles. It
looks like crap, but functions very nicely. The plastic cost, I
recall, about 8 dollars. We used an old sump pump in a bucket with
vacuum cleaner hoses to pumpt the water, and an old diesel heater to
heat the water.