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Do You Have A Cover Lifter Installed?


spa_newb

Do you have a cover lifter installed?  

68 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you have a cover lifter installed?

    • Yes, its great!
      55
    • No, removing/replacing cover manually is fine
      5
    • No, but planning to get one!
      8


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Just wanted to see who has the cover lifter option

I'll only vote if there is an option saying "yes, you're CRAZY not to get one".

When the dealer first gave me the quote and monthly payment, the cover cradle was part of that price and I told her, "oh we don't need that" as I balked at the $250, but then she explained how it actually lengthens the life of the cover and with my disabilities and physical limitations, it really made sense. Now that we have it, I can't imagine not having it. It makes it possible for me to remove the cover and it holds the cover folded up while you're using your tub. Why wouldn't you want it? B)

Anne

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Why wouldn't you want it? B)

Anne

Well it does seem like a nice feature. My gf and I did not like the way it sat up high forming a "wall" when it was folded off, we liked having it clean/open air around all 4 sides. Altough the covermate II does provide a lower profile. Also it does cost $250-$300 dollars it seems, which is still a consideration as well.

We thought maybe we'll start without one and get it if necessary.

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I don't have a cover lifter, but my tub is a small one and taking the cover off manually is no big deal.

Besides, my inner miser balks at paying $250 for $30 worth of pipe. I may make one myself, it would be a fun project.

Dave

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Also it does cost $250-$300 dollars it seems, which is still a consideration as well.

So you're going to buy a spa for $6k, $8k, $10k but have trouble pulling the trigger on a lifter? I've never met a person who regretted getting a lifter, especially those who get a good lifter. It'll last you for years so instead of thinking of it as a $250 bill think of it more like $30/yr and if that still sounds like too much just skip Starbucks a couple times per year and you'll be even.

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I can't see a lifter being optional. The real question is mounting high or mounting low (Covermate II style).

Mine is used to block a gawd-awful yard light (from my neighbors 600 ft away), but I do worry about the wind whipping it around when it gets to blowing more than 15mph. Anyone have any horror stories of the wind taking their cover and lifter away?

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Also it does cost $250-$300 dollars it seems, which is still a consideration as well.

So you're going to buy a spa for $6k, $8k, $10k but have trouble pulling the trigger on a lifter? I've never met a person who regretted getting a lifter, especially those who get a good lifter. It'll last you for years so instead of thinking of it as a $250 bill think of it more like $30/yr and if that still sounds like too much just skip Starbucks a couple times per year and you'll be even.

No, we may still very well get one, but these $250 "options" add up during the purchase. Like I said why does it hurt to start without and then if we decide we really want it, get it?

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No, we may still very well get one, but these $250 "options" add up during the purchase. Like I said why does it hurt to start without and then if we decide we really want it, get it?

You can typically get it a little cheaper if you negotiate it into the price of the spa (more like almost always cheaper to buy with spa) and when you buy it at that time you can often get them to install it for free upon spa delivery. They can install it in a snap since they do is so often. When you buy it later it often costs more and they give it to you to take home and install.

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No, we may still very well get one, but these $250 "options" add up during the purchase. Like I said why does it hurt to start without and then if we decide we really want it, get it?

You can typically get it a little cheaper if you negotiate it into the price of the spa (more like almost always cheaper to buy with spa) and when you buy it at that time you can often get them to install it for free upon spa delivery. They can install it in a snap since they do is so often. When you buy it later it often costs more and they give it to you to take home and install.

Exactly! We essentially ended up with ours being free. I made a mistake, ours is the cover mate, not cover cradle. And it does sit up high, but I like how it gives us a wall on that side. And I watched the delivery guys who came and delivered and set up our tub and they were like a well oiled wheel(or whatever the term is), it took them no time at all and they attached the cover mate in about 2 minutes, where as I would have taken much longer. This is one of those added options that is essential really. It's better to have the cover stored in the cover mate, than on the ground or deck.

Anne

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Why wouldn't you want it? B)

Anne

Well it does seem like a nice feature. My gf and I did not like the way it sat up high forming a "wall" when it was folded off, we liked having it clean/open air around all 4 sides. Altough the covermate II does provide a lower profile. Also it does cost $250-$300 dollars it seems, which is still a consideration as well.

We thought maybe we'll start without one and get it if necessary.

We just bought a cover lifter for USD 78 (44 Pounds) in the UK and that was including USD 19 postage. Also I thought that USD 200-300 is way to much for a bit of tub(b)ing.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=320302623108

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Thanks for posting that pic Peter Smit. I like what you have. I placed my order for a swim spa and opted NOT to get the cover lifter because I want to see what the cover is like first. I don't want a wall and I think that is what the dealer sells. I want what you have in the pic where is folds nice and neatly to the side. But I don't know if simply buying two of these will work with a swim spa multi section cover.

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Thanks for posting that pic Peter Smit. I like what you have. I placed my order for a swim spa and opted NOT to get the cover lifter because I want to see what the cover is like first. I don't want a wall and I think that is what the dealer sells. I want what you have in the pic where is folds nice and neatly to the side. But I don't know if simply buying two of these will work with a swim spa multi section cover.

Not a bad idea to wait and see what you've got and ease of use and what else is out there. Try Spa Depot, or did I already suggest that? They seem to have to really good deals on all pool and spa supplies. It is ok for me give them a spot here. Let me know if it's not.

I wouldn't go without mine, but your idea is just fine and I can understand not wanting to fork out the dough for one or two lifters(as the case may be with a swim spa). You might find you can go without.

Anne

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Not a bad idea to wait and see what you've got and ease of use and what else is out there. Try Spa Depot, or did I already suggest that? They seem to have to really good deals on all pool and spa supplies. It is ok for me give them a spot here. Let me know if it's not.

We went a year before buying a lifter. Now that we have one, it's just like folks on the forum said - we wonder how we lived without it and why we waited so long to get one. If you don't get one with the purchase of your spa, I'd really recommend rhtubs.com. If you buy one of the covermate lifters from Doc, he throws in a 1/4 inch thick closed cell foam floating blanket. And it's not like his prices are so high that the blanket cost is covered in what he's charging for the lifter. I compared prices at a number of website - Doc's prices are competitive AND you get the floating blanket. We bought the Covermate EZ and it took my husband and I about an hour to assemble and install.

Sandi

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I thought I wouldn't like the "wall of cover" either, but after 3 weeks I found that It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I kind of like it now. It creates a great wind block, it blocks the hot morning sun and also creates privicy if you need it on one side. Just make sure you put some thought on what side of the spa you put the lifter on because if you want to move it to another side later on you will have to patch a bunch of holes in your spa siding.

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I have had several tubs. some with cover lifters and some without.

GET A COVER LIFTER.

Just because it's priced seperatly, does not make it an "option". Sure, you can use your tub without one, but I wouldnt want to. (Folks who think lifters are optional probably belive steps are optional too.) Let me repeat: Get a cover lifter.

A cover lifter protects the cover. If you don''t have a lifter you'll be placing the cover on the ground, gettig it dirty, scuffed up, torn, and a general pain in the butt. Getting the cover off and on without a lifter is also a major pain in the butt and can be a hassle. If you are in a cold climate there is nothing worse than struggeling with a cover in the middle of a feb night, all wet after a nice relaxing soak. Talk about ruining a nice experinece. :angry:

AS others said, you probably just dropped $6k-12K on a tub. Don't ruin it by cheaping out on a $150 peice of equipment. Get a cover lifter. Get a good one and place it so it doesn't obstruct any views, and helps block some of the wind and can give some privacy as well. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I was wrong. In my previous post, in this thread, I said that there was $30.00 worth of pipe in a cover lifter, I just made one and there is $11.00 worth of pipe in it! The total cost of my home made cover lifter was $20.00, a far cry from the $200.00 that was quoted to me at the home show for a lifter that looks just like mine. Quite a mark up!

I made it out of two 10 ft sticks of 3/4" flexible electrical conduit, it is the kind that can be bent with a conduit bender.

I bent them into squarish U shapes, the middle of the U is the distance from the "hinge" on the spa cover to the floor at one end of the tub. I connected the U's together with a conduit coupler on one side and a 4 ft piece of 1" PVC conduit on the other side. The metal conduit slides inside of the PVC and acts as a bushing to prevent wear on the cover.

My tub is on a concrete slab, I didn't want to drill holes in it so I attached one end of the square hoop to a 4 ft 2x6 with 1" conduit hangers, they are big enough to allow the 3/4" metal conduit to pivot when the cover is lifted.

To prevent the cover from flopping over when opened, I made two 4 ft chain stops. I attached one end of each to the lifter with stainless steel hose clamps and the other end of the chain is attached to the wooden spa skirt with 1 1/2" vinyl deck screws.

Total time to put this together was about 45 minutes.

Dave

Here are some photos:

coverlifter1.jpg

coverlifter2.jpg

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Well, I was wrong. In my previous post, in this thread, I said that there was $30.00 worth of pipe in a cover lifter, I just made one and there is $11.00 worth of pipe in it! The total cost of my home made cover lifter was $20.00, a far cry from the $200.00 that was quoted to me at the home show for a lifter that looks just like mine. Quite a mark up!

I made it out of two 10 ft sticks of 3/4" flexible electrical conduit, it is the kind that can be bent with a conduit bender.

I bent them into squarish U shapes, the middle of the U is the same width as my hot tub. I connected the U's together with a conduit coupler on one side and a 4 ft piece of 1" PVC conduit on the other side. The metal conduit slides inside of the PVC and acts as a bushing to prevent wear on the cover.

My tub is on a concrete slab, I didn't want to drill holes in it so I attached one end of the square hoop to a 4 ft 2x6 with 1" conduit hangers, they are big enough to allow the 3/4" metal conduit to pivot when the cover is lifted.

To prevent the cover from flopping over when opened, I made two 4 ft chain stops. I attached one end of each to the lifter with stainless steel hose clamps and the other end of the chain is attached to the wooden spa skirt with 1 1/2" vinyl deck screws.

Total time to put this together was about 45 minutes.

Dave

Here are some photos:

coverlifter1.jpg

coverlifter2.jpg

Nice job MacGiver! I'm specially impressed with the waterfront location!

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Nice job on the homemade lifter.

After checking out some more spas, my gf and I both agree we are going to get one with a lifter, but we also both insist on one that is as low profile as possible. The Limelight at the dealer we went to had a low profile one, but the Sundance did not. The dealer seemed to think the covermate II would fit the Sundance. Does anyone know if a Covermate II will fit a Sundance Chelsee?

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Nice job on the homemade lifter.

After checking out some more spas, my gf and I both agree we are going to get one with a lifter, but we also both insist on one that is as low profile as possible. The Limelight at the dealer we went to had a low profile one, but the Sundance did not. The dealer seemed to think the covermate II would fit the Sundance. Does anyone know if a Covermate II will fit a Sundance Chelsee?

Covermate II is a good low profile lifter and fits most any spa including the Sundance Chelsee. It needs a little more room behind the spa to store it as low as is does so be sure you have the space.

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  • 4 weeks later...

just a quick review of our new cover lifter:

I needed a low clearance lifter (12") and went with the Cover Valet Slide-It cover lifter...its $125 or so on ebay and installed in about 30 minutes. we are really happy with the lifter - you open up the first cover panel and fold it on top of the other panel, slide the folded panels about 3" then lift the cover up using the side of the spa as a pivot, really easy and works great when space if limited - only problem is if you mind the cover acting as a barrier, which we don't as it provides privacy from our neighbors.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey, Dave,

Great job!! No chance you happen to live in the PNW, do you...? :wub:

I'd really like one, but based on what you've posted, the $$ sticks in my craw a little, too. Think I'll see what I can do about getting one made by a friend or somefink... I'm not handy, I'm afraid.

Thanks for showing the way!!

Raeven

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