Tomab Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Hello All, Long time reader first time poster. Great forum! I'm in the beginning stages of narrowing down a hot tub. I really like the Arctic line with the natural cedar cabinet. After looking at the options of cover lifters I see there are generally two different options. The one's that fasten to the side of the cabinet and the one's that can slide underneath the spa before filling and the weight holds the lifter in place. The reason why I pose this question is to be honest the thought of drilling into the side of that beautifull cedar cabinet makes me cringe. I would like to get the one underneath but before I do I thought I would see what everyones experiences are with either type. My thoughts are with drilling into wood the possibillity of the lifter working loose exists due to the constant opening and closing of the cover. Are these thoughts justified or am I overly paranoid. Just wouldn't want any damage down the road. Any thoughts or suggestions on brands, models and type? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIALDA Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Hello All, Long time reader first time poster. Great forum! I'm in the beginning stages of narrowing down a hot tub. I really like the Arctic line with the natural cedar cabinet. After looking at the options of cover lifters I see there are generally two different options. The one's that fasten to the side of the cabinet and the one's that can slide underneath the spa before filling and the weight holds the lifter in place. The reason why I pose this question is to be honest the thought of drilling into the side of that beautifull cedar cabinet makes me cringe. I would like to get the one underneath but before I do I thought I would see what everyones experiences are with either type. My thoughts are with drilling into wood the possibillity of the lifter working loose exists due to the constant opening and closing of the cover. Are these thoughts justified or am I overly paranoid. Just wouldn't want any damage down the road. Any thoughts or suggestions on brands, models and type? Thanks Where are you going to locate the spa, Indoors or outdoors. Will it be on the ground or on a deck. Are you in an area that receives a lot of snow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomab Posted November 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 The spa will be outdoors on cement patio pavers with possible moderate snow fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIALDA Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 The spa will be outdoors on cement patio pavers with possible moderate snow fall. We are also in a snow area. We only use the understyle version when the spa cabinet cannot support the lifter brackets well. You end up with the pipes being effected by the snow left on the lifter side. You also dont want to brush the snow off to that side. When there is hard snow and ice build up the lifter does not perform well. I prefer the ones that mount to the cabinet, But only if the bracket is made for that spa. Some have generic brackets where the screws only go thru the cabinet. Over time they loosen and can damage the cabinet. The ones that are done correctly screw thru the cabinet and secure into the frame of the spa. Most quality spas have brackets designed to line up exactly with there spa frames. Ask your dealer to remove a side panel of the spa and show you the frame and cover bracket for the spa. Make sure all the screws line up with a frame crossmember. I like the ones with top mounted brackets. Snow and ice never seem to effect these mounts. Dont be afraid to drill into your cabinet. If done correctly it will not effect the spa in any way Afterall, the sythetic cabinets are more exopensive than the cedar ones anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spa_newb Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Hello All, Long time reader first time poster. Great forum! I'm in the beginning stages of narrowing down a hot tub. I really like the Arctic line with the natural cedar cabinet. After looking at the options of cover lifters I see there are generally two different options. The one's that fasten to the side of the cabinet and the one's that can slide underneath the spa before filling and the weight holds the lifter in place. The reason why I pose this question is to be honest the thought of drilling into the side of that beautifull cedar cabinet makes me cringe. I would like to get the one underneath but before I do I thought I would see what everyones experiences are with either type. My thoughts are with drilling into wood the possibillity of the lifter working loose exists due to the constant opening and closing of the cover. Are these thoughts justified or am I overly paranoid. Just wouldn't want any damage down the road. Any thoughts or suggestions on brands, models and type? Thanks The other difference you may notice is how high the cover sits once its unfolded. the ones that mount on the top or side of the tub usually sit higher when unfolded vs the ones that mound at the bottom or underneath. Some like the higher profile as it provides "privacy". Or some don't care since that side is against a wall anyway......Personally my gf and I like the low profile type, that sits lower. We don't like the look of the cover as its unfolded and we want all 4 sides of the tub free of obstruction. Covermate seems to be a big name I see, Covermate II is low profile. Also Cover Rock-It looks very low profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Arctic Dealer Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 As long as you buy a good quality lifter you should have no problems. Also dont worry about drilling into the cabinet, as long as the lifter is fitted correctly it will be fine. My advice would be to speak to the dealer and see what he/she recommends, buy the lifter with the spa and get the dealer to fit it that way if any issues arise your dealer should handle any problems under warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomab Posted November 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Thanks Everyone for your input. All usefull info. As long as you buy a good quality lifter you should have no problems. Also dont worry about drilling into the cabinet, as long as the lifter is fitted correctly it will be fine. My advice would be to speak to the dealer and see what he/she recommends, buy the lifter with the spa and get the dealer to fit it that way if any issues arise your dealer should handle any problems under warranty. UK Arctic Dealer, I agree with you about seeing what the dealer recommends and having them install it but for once I'm looking long term and really trying to avoid issues down the road once the warranty is up. I am also hoping to get feedback from Arctic owners and see what they have and if there are any issues either way. Of course all opinions are welcome and wanted. I know they are out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r5ran Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Thanks Everyone for your input. All usefull info. As long as you buy a good quality lifter you should have no problems. Also dont worry about drilling into the cabinet, as long as the lifter is fitted correctly it will be fine. My advice would be to speak to the dealer and see what he/she recommends, buy the lifter with the spa and get the dealer to fit it that way if any issues arise your dealer should handle any problems under warranty. UK Arctic Dealer, I agree with you about seeing what the dealer recommends and having them install it but for once I'm looking long term and really trying to avoid issues down the road once the warranty is up. I am also hoping to get feedback from Arctic owners and see what they have and if there are any issues either way. Of course all opinions are welcome and wanted. I know they are out there! Hi, I have a Covermate II with the underside mounts, and really like it. Very solid and I don't worry at all about stressing the tub siding if the cover gets flung open hard. Be aware that since the underside mounts pivot lower than the side mounts, they do not allow the cover to rest as low (out of view) as the side mounts do, (which the higher you mount, the lower the cover will rest). A nice thing no one has mentioned, is that if you decide to change the orientation of your tub or your cover, you can do that with out leaving some ugly holes in your tub. That's the whole reason I got the underside mounts in the first place, wasn't sure which way I wanted the cover or tub to face. The underside mounts allowed me to try it different ways without scarring up my tub's siding. Thanks Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIALDA Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 As long as you buy a good quality lifter you should have no problems. Also dont worry about drilling into the cabinet, as long as the lifter is fitted correctly it will be fine. My advice would be to speak to the dealer and see what he/she recommends, buy the lifter with the spa and get the dealer to fit it that way if any issues arise your dealer should handle any problems under warranty. He brings up a great point! check out the warranty carefully. It looks like the warranty only covers the Cedar Cabinet at time of delivery and not beyond. You can find there warranty on there website and read under exclusions. It also looks like the cover would not be covered if you install a lifter system without a "coversaver". I am not sure what that is, but I am sure your dealer can explain it to you. Work with your dealer and ask him if there is any kind of warranty on the cabinet if they install the lifter for you. You also certainly dont want to loose your cover warranty by not installing the correct lifter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomab Posted November 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Thanks Everyone for your input. All usefull info. As long as you buy a good quality lifter you should have no problems. Also dont worry about drilling into the cabinet, as long as the lifter is fitted correctly it will be fine. My advice would be to speak to the dealer and see what he/she recommends, buy the lifter with the spa and get the dealer to fit it that way if any issues arise your dealer should handle any problems under warranty. UK Arctic Dealer, I agree with you about seeing what the dealer recommends and having them install it but for once I'm looking long term and really trying to avoid issues down the road once the warranty is up. I am also hoping to get feedback from Arctic owners and see what they have and if there are any issues either way. Of course all opinions are welcome and wanted. I know they are out there! Hi, I have a Covermate II with the underside mounts, and really like it. Very solid and I don't worry at all about stressing the tub siding if the cover gets flung open hard. Be aware that since the underside mounts pivot lower than the side mounts, they do not allow the cover to rest as low (out of view) as the side mounts do, (which the higher you mount, the lower the cover will rest). A nice thing no one has mentioned, is that if you decide to change the orientation of your tub or your cover, you can do that with out leaving some ugly holes in your tub. That's the whole reason I got the underside mounts in the first place, wasn't sure which way I wanted the cover or tub to face. The underside mounts allowed me to try it different ways without scarring up my tub's siding. Thanks Randy As long as you buy a good quality lifter you should have no problems. Also dont worry about drilling into the cabinet, as long as the lifter is fitted correctly it will be fine. My advice would be to speak to the dealer and see what he/she recommends, buy the lifter with the spa and get the dealer to fit it that way if any issues arise your dealer should handle any problems under warranty. He brings up a great point! check out the warranty carefully. It looks like the warranty only covers the Cedar Cabinet at time of delivery and not beyond. You can find there warranty on there website and read under exclusions. It also looks like the cover would not be covered if you install a lifter system without a "coversaver". I am not sure what that is, but I am sure your dealer can explain it to you. Work with your dealer and ask him if there is any kind of warranty on the cabinet if they install the lifter for you. You also certainly dont want to loose your cover warranty by not installing the correct lifter. I did a search on "coversaver" and came up with this coversaver. This makes sense to me. Anybody else using these? Thanks for bringing that to my attention KIALDA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomab Posted November 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Thanks Everyone for your input. All usefull info. As long as you buy a good quality lifter you should have no problems. Also dont worry about drilling into the cabinet, as long as the lifter is fitted correctly it will be fine. My advice would be to speak to the dealer and see what he/she recommends, buy the lifter with the spa and get the dealer to fit it that way if any issues arise your dealer should handle any problems under warranty. UK Arctic Dealer, I agree with you about seeing what the dealer recommends and having them install it but for once I'm looking long term and really trying to avoid issues down the road once the warranty is up. I am also hoping to get feedback from Arctic owners and see what they have and if there are any issues either way. Of course all opinions are welcome and wanted. I know they are out there! Hi, I have a Covermate II with the underside mounts, and really like it. Very solid and I don't worry at all about stressing the tub siding if the cover gets flung open hard. Be aware that since the underside mounts pivot lower than the side mounts, they do not allow the cover to rest as low (out of view) as the side mounts do, (which the higher you mount, the lower the cover will rest). A nice thing no one has mentioned, is that if you decide to change the orientation of your tub or your cover, you can do that with out leaving some ugly holes in your tub. That's the whole reason I got the underside mounts in the first place, wasn't sure which way I wanted the cover or tub to face. The underside mounts allowed me to try it different ways without scarring up my tub's siding. Thanks Randy This is another good thing to mention about changing the cover/hottub orientation. Something to think about. Thanks Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandi Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 I did a search on "coversaver" and came up with this coversaver. This makes sense to me. Anybody else using these? Thanks for bringing that to my attention KIALDA. When we bought our Covermate EZ lifter a few months ago from rhtubs.com, I ordered the coversaver straps as well. I did it b/c our cover is not a top-of-the line one so I figured that something that takes the weight of the cover off of the center seam seemed like a good idea. The straps definitely do what they say they will do - when the cover is in the up position, there is about a two-finger gap between the center seam and the metal bar of the lifter so the weight of the cover is resting on the t-shaped brackets of the coversaver and not on the center seam. Just another note, if you buy a Covermate lifter from rhtubs.com, a 1/4 inch thick closed cell foam floating blanket is included in the price of the lifter yet the prices are competitive with other online places. We went with the EZ b/c our cabinet is composite - we knew that we had wood framing at the top and bottom of the cabinet where the parts for the EZ had to be installed. In the open position, about 1/2 of the cover is above the top edge of the spa. Good luck. Sandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Spa Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 FYI. We're no longer offering the option of a floating thermal blanket with Covermate cover lifters. Long story, but instead we've been able to dramatically lower our prices instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandi Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 FYI. We're no longer offering the option of a floating thermal blanket with Covermate cover lifters. Long story, but instead we've been able to dramatically lower our prices instead. I paid $169 for a Covermate Easy in early August and got a 7' X 7' floating blanket included in the price. Today's price for the same cover lifter without the floating blanket is $163.95. A competitive price, yes but lowering the price by $5.05 is certainly nothing "dramatic." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Spa Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 All the others dropped $20 - $40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomab Posted November 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 Thanks for all who contributed their thoughts. So far I like the Covermate II along with a Coversaver. Once again, Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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