Portable Foot Bath Massager for Professional Salons & Spas, Plumb-Free Pedicure Bath with Vibration and Heating, Detachable Splash Shield, PIB-FM3830A

Return-Path: blueflash@comcast.netSubject: FootbathFrom: Don PomplunTo: Don PomplunA few weeks ago I thought maybe my occasionally sore dogs needed some TLC. Bought some Epsom salt at Walmart and dissolved some in hot tap water in an old Sterilite storage box. Convinced myself it was beneficial but the water got cold quickly. Had to scoop out a quart of cold and dump in a quart of hot. This got old quickly. OK what's Amazon got? Read the comments on a number of footbaths. Main complaint was that even those that claimed to keep water hot, didn't. The Pibb was moderately endorsed as having real heating capability, so I ordered one. Showed up today in typical Amazon quick style. I was skeptical so I unpacked the bath and set it up on the kitchen counter for testing. I connected it to a watt meter so I could see what & if it could really heat. Here's the results . . .The instructions are pretty useless (no surprise). There is a 4 position switch: off; vibrating massage only; heat with water circulation only; and massage and water circulation heat. The vibrate massage is nice. The floor of the bath is rigid plastic points. These can be a little harsh. They include a pair of foot-shaped rubbery pads with points that are much softer.Heat & water pump circulation always go together (as they have to so that you don't get hot spots). The sheet talks about Heat, Wave & Massage. "Wave" is just water circulation. My wattmeter shows that the heater is about 400 watts, a respectable amount! I started the test with hot tap water (107 deg). The heater easily kept the temperature up. For Geeks who understand it, it uses a proportional controller for the heater. It says you should start with hot water because it won't heat the water. . . YES it will! I dumped the hot water and filled it with cold tap water (72 deg). It took 25 minutes to get up to 110 deg before it shut off. Note that you can't adjust the temperature (I took it all apart expecting some adjustment on the circuit board, but there isn't any). 110 is a pretty warm hot tub temperature! Later when I started soaking in this, I was working up a sweat just sitting there. So here I sit writing this, soaking with heat & vibrate (and 1/4 cup of Epsom salts). When it starts feeling too hot I turn the knob to Massage Only. As it cools down I switch to Massage & Heat. It takes quite a while to cool down, so this isn't a problem.There a few silly "attachments" that are mostly useless. When I got done, I added a couple spoonfuls of Clorox for disinfection and ran it 10 minutes before emptying. The sheet talks about the fill line - there isn't any. Be careful about overfilling so your feet don't make it overflow! The tub is comfortably big for my size 11 feet. It's deep enough to get the level up to your ankle bone. But there isn't much freeboard, so using it on a waterproof floor is a plus. The whole unit seems durably constructed. I unpacked it carefully, fully expecting to return it. I'm pleasantly surprised.

This product did everything it said (in the description) that it would do:1) Keeps water warm,2) Vibrates/massages,3) Create Bubbles.The problem is we, consumers - were hoping it did what we have encountered personally, like the Foot Massage that comes with the Pedicure Chairs at the local Spa which have WATER JETS that exfoliates your feet (lol)....but I looked up the price of those and they are in the thousand dollar range.So - again, the PIBBS Foot Massager FM3830A does "EXACTLY" what it says it will do, my wife and my own expectations were not met because we are looking for something this "good deal" does not do or deliver.Overall - if you are reading this, please note that it does EXACTLY what the product description says just not at the STRENGTH or DESIRE we want. But overall - we are KEEPING IT as I had noted above, it does what it says and we are happy with just that - since we are not going pay a thousand plus for the Pedicure Chairs with Foot/Body massage. Hope this helps.As far as the service from Amazon and it's vendors, well - we are VERY VERY happy with the SERVICE - arrived "before" Christmas 2012 which was a challenge considering a huge or several huge Winter Weather systems which cancelled many flights in the Midwest and Northeast affecting shipments for the Holidays. But this really speaks to Amazon and the infrastructure they've built - PRETTY EFFICIENT, actually, the MOST EFFICIENT of any Online Retailer. Thank you so much.

This is an excellent Foot Bath Massager! Previously had a HomeMedics Brand Foot Spa, which was a complete waste of money - owning a HomeMedics brand is akin to owning a very expensive bucket. This Massager costs about $30 more than the HomeMedics, but is well worth the extra money.Pros:-The Heater actually heats the water (unlike the HomeMedics models) - The heater works so well, you'll have to turn it off because the water will get too hot!-Very good Massager Mode - the unit vibrates providing a very soothing experience.-Yes, you can add foot oil (i.e. Magnesium Oil), Epsom Salt, and whatever into the water. Most other brands (in fine print) will state that adding supplements to the water is NOT recommended (which kind of defeats the purpose of owning a Foot Spa - you normally would want to add at a minimum Epsom Salt).Cons:- Pathetic instruction manual.-Bubble mode is pretty pathetic, however, the Massager Mode is what you'll be using the most of any ways.-Wish it came with a handle.Overall, an excellent Foot Bath Massager. Strongly recommended if you are in the market. Stay clear of the HOMEMEDICS Foot Spa, you won't regret it.

This was a waste of money, for me. It gets too hot, so I have to turn it off after 10 minutes. It would be a lot better to just fill a dish pan with warm water from the tap and soak in that for 15 minutes—if you have big feet, use two dish pans and save yourself $80. The “massage” is just annoying. The “bubbles” are imperceptible. The “accessories” are of no value what-so-ever. Instruction booklet is meager, mainly just a list of what NOT to do.