Shaamus

I guess what I was eluding to was if there's a tear/breach/etc., you don't have a warranty claim. However, if no breach can be found they need to replace your cover depending on how long the warranty term is.

Unfortunately, you cannot effectively dry out the foam cores. They need to be replaced. If you have a spa cover manufacturer locally, it's your best bet because you'll avoid freight costs which is the same as if you bought the whole cover. The Kokido lift infringed on the Covermate 1 patent. It's Covermate 2 clone brother is still around. Basically the lifts made of steel are these cheap ones and about a year and a half sounds right until they fail. I'm kind of surprised your cover got waterlogged in that time though. Watkins/HotSpring/TigerRiver makes a decent cover. Do you have any breaches in vapor barrier? A rip? If you don't, I would maybe talk to your dealer about replacement cores.

If you don't mind it hanging over, it should work for you since it's not too small.

FYI - The Cover Rock-It has been redesigned. Functionality will be the same but it's shaped a little differently. Also, they will all be slide-under-cabinet models. The reason I bring this up is I don't think the new version allows the cover to drop as low as the old one.

1997-Current = 80 x 93 with 12" radius 1990-1996 = 76 x 91 with 12" radius Pre-1990 = 76 x 89 with 7" radius Used to be called the Indoor/Outdoor before 1989. That's why the Sovereign is a Model "I".

Unless they switched sources, I think a pretty big online retailer had Aber/Pacific build there private label spas. I may be confusing companies though.

I believe that Centurion is a brand of Living Waters/Tatum/Gulf Coast.

I would agree with Doc. CM3 or the Cover Valet are the best bets. The higher the pivot point on the lift, the less clearance you'll need in back.

Conceptually, this is the weakest part of the insulation system. Personally, I think that it's a bit overblown as there have been hundreds of thousands of covers that have this design and the spa world hasn't screeched to a halt... because of that anyway I wouldn't worry about it messing with pH and chem levels. It's more of an insulation issue. That said, many of us offer what we call the continuous hinge seal. It's an affordable option that fills this gap all the way across the hinge instead of just having steam-stopper pads on the ends.

Also, resin prices are much easier for the producers to keep inflated. BASF and others have been known to shut down facilities for months for "maintenance" when pricing pressures are trending lower. Even the largest spa manufacturers are powerless to combat this. Because the retail public directly purchases gasoline and diesel there is more political pressure to keep prices in line with crude cost. However, resin producers enjoy much more anonymity and thus are able to hang onto cost increases. I will say though, that we have begun to be notified by some of our EPS foam manufacturers of price cuts. But to put it in perspective, they're dropping 3% this month after taking a 35% price hike since crude price was at these levels three years ago. Long story short, don't hold your breath.

Many manufacturers have tubs in those price points. It's amazing that people just assume that only the mass merchants have tubs under $6000.

Just call Jeff Sliger at Spa Cap and ask him to send you written proof of his R-value testing. After he lectures you about why you shouldn't be asking for it and generally verbally rips your head off, you'll be convinced never to buy that thing. The Spa Cap's ideal customer is so focused on avoiding the cover "that gets heavy" that they ignore the basics of insulation physics. Large chambers of free-flowing air are not as good at insulating as a honeycomb of smaller air pockets that restricts air flow. If fewer large pockets are better than more smaller pockets, I have two questions: 1) Would you replace the fiberglass insulation in the outer walls of your house will plastic bags full of air? and 2) Why does Spa Cap sell an extra bladder option if it isn't better?

We've been looking at adding robes to our lineup but are faced with a quandry. We can really only sell high-end like that earlier link to Tisseron. The big box stores have the $40 robes covered and they do it well. We can get some really nice (heavy and absorbant) robes like those found is high-end spas but would have to retail them for $85-$150 a pop. Haven't pulled the trigger yet as we wonder what the market for that price point is. As for your question (sorry for the mini-highjack), that Tisseron site looks to have nice robes. I was also impressed with the Hotel collection at Macy's.

Living Water is the new name for Tatum aka Gulf Coast.

That was probably a SpaScene. Definitely something that you either love or have no interest in IMHO.

There is an Arctic version for the Covermate I, as there are for Master, Sundance, Coleman, Marquis, Clearwater, Thermospas and others. The only difference in the OEM versions is the bracket as they are designed to accommodate the intricacies of the specific cabinets. For example, the Sundance version allows the CM1 to be mounted on any side of the spa and not block the access to the equipment cavity. Whereas we carry the Coleman and the Sundance OEM versions, most of the OEM versions are only available at a dealer that carries that brand. The reason is inventory. Leisure Concepts has about ten specialized CM1 and CM3 versions. Online retailers like ourselves don't move enough of most of the OEM models to stock them in the minimum case quantities. An Arctic dealer would sell enough to stock the Arctic version and that's why that's the best place to look for the Arctic specific CM1. Probably more info than you were looking for, so I apologize.

Covermate II is a great lift and will work with your J-365 (barely because you have an 11" radius). I would also take a look at the Understyle version that slips under the spa so you don't have to drill. The Cover Up is another "good quality" lift that fits what you're looking for. There are other lifts that match the type in terms of low-pivot/low-mount that brings the cover closest to the ground, but there's some junk out there you want to avoid. The steel ones will rust in about 18 months and I would definitely avoid those. You mentioned you wanted a quality lift so I would stick to the two I mentioned as they are generally considered to have good field life.

1-3 months depending on how much sun you get. The more sun you get (or more UV due to higher elevations) the more often you should reapply.

Speaking as someone who owns a spa cover manufacturing company... 1 - Probably. We took a pass after evaluating the cover. Too much work and specialized pieces to compete with the Jacuzzi pricepoint to its dealers. I would say that $599 is a fair price considering the design of the cover. 2 - The cover cap is a nice product as mentioned by Pathfinder.

Doc's right that it depends on the lifter. Most of the makers and resellers publish the clearance information.

"These are the colors we want." I meant are they spec'ing Oxen between two cabinet to compliment both.

Doc - you know I hate to even hint at disagreeing, but Aristech does have a motive to ding the effectiveness of Microban since Lucite is a big competitor that has embraced it. Sometimes these studies are about what they don't say. The Aristech study doesn't say that Microban doesn't work. It also doesn't go into the control method. I would agree that in a closed environment where you put bacteria on a sheet of acrylic with and without Microban, you'll get similar results because their is no food source in acrylic and the bacteria can't grow. Remember that Microban doesn't kill. It inhibits growth. But in a spa, the water (and all the wonderful goodness in it) is the food source and Microban in the shell *MAY* actually help. I am no chemist nor microbiologist. I just think that Aristech is incentivized to show that Microban in its rival Lucite is useless and a carefully worded article about how there is no difference between a Microban acrylic and a normal acrylic sheet. Notice that they say that there is no anti-microbial activity (0% bacterial reduction). But I didn't think Microban is about reduction, it's about inhibiting further growth. I don't know for sure either way but when I read the Aristech article, I'm not 100% convinced.

Most spa manufacturers only offer a couple of colors. In fact, a lot are only offering brown and grey. I have always thought it was odd that Artesian insisted on that Oxen when their cabinets are closer to our Parchment. Maybe they are trying to use Oxen to cover two cabinet colors. What are they telling you guys Doc?

Congrats on your spa purchase. It's hard to find a spa in that price point and from what I've seen personally (Costco member) it's not horrible for $3000. Like you said, it's not on par with the high-end lines but that's not what everyone is looking to spend their money on. I will say that the only way to buy a spa like this is from Costco and that no-fault return policy they have. Buying something in that price point from an online/eBay retailer who is probably working out of his house is not the kind of fallback I would want for a spa like this.

This is almost always a dirty filter. But you've got a new filter. You mention that you push down on the filter and the error goes away. Is it the exact brand as your last filter? Having sold a couple of different filter mfrs, I know they all try to build to the spec, but there are sometimes differences. If you have a different brand filter this time, you might track down a copy of your old one that didn't trip the FL error. Have you added a Nature2 or SpaFrog or other mineral cartridge inside the spa filter? If these aren't the case and you haven't a working knowledge of what to look for in the plumbing, I'd bite the bullet and schedule a tech out.