Spa Cover FAQ

Below is a table listing some general sizes and approximate weights.

People frequently ask how much weight a cover will hold. While all of our covers meet or exceed ASTM Standard  F1346-91¹, there is not specific weight rating for each specific thickness and density of foam. There are many reasons for covers not having a "weight rating" or "load rating", but the most prevalent would be general liability issues.

That being said, the chart below compares the overall strength of different foam densities and thicknesses. This compasison is based upon an 8' square cover, of  the longest industry standard, of 4" to 2" tapered foam with a density of #1 (with a rating of 1). A rating of 2 would be twice as strong as a rating of 1, a rating of 3 is 50% stronger than a rating of 2 etc.

¹ - 7.1.1 In the case of a pool with a width or diameter not greater than 8 ft (2.4 m) the cover shall withstand the weight of 275 lb (125 kg) (weight of a child and an adult).

² - This is the weight of the foam only (rounded off to the closest full pound), and does not include the vinyl. For estimation purposes ad 20 pounds for the vinyl

³ - Listed R-value is based only on the foam and does not include the additional insulation value provided by the vinly covering,  polyethline vapor barrier (R-0.85) or other materials involved in the construction of the cover.

One piece continuos skirts, which are easier to manufacture, have many inherent problems as compared to skirts that are gusseted (also called "slits"). Gusseted skirts not only hang much straighter, but also have less of a tendency to bunch-up under the cover when putting it on your spa. If the skirt folds under the cover it prevents a proper seal between the cover and spa, greatly reducing the covers insulating ability.

More importantly though, as the sun beats down on a cover, extreme heat can build up between the skirt and the outer lip of the spa. This intense heat can actually damage the outer lip of the spa. A gusseted skirt allows this excessive heat to escape, preventing heat damage from occurring.

The most common cause of spa cover failure is due to the foam cores absorbing moisture. Besides the moisture causing the cover to gain excessive weight, the saturation also greatly reduces the insulating ability of the cover. One of the most important features of an insulating is the vapor barrier surrounding the foam. Not only is the type of material and it's thickness important, but how it's sealed is also important.

The simplest way to seal the foam is to simply wrap it in plastic sheeting and tape it closed. Unfortunately the tape will fail rather quickly thereby allowing moisture to penetrate into the foam. The preferred method for sealing the plastic sheeting is to properly heat seal it. Special care must be taken when heat sealing, otherwise failure can occur prematurely. Just the right temperature must be applied to the plastic sheeting to achieve a proper seal. Too hot and it will become brittle and crack open, too cool and it wont remain sealed. The ideal temperature will literally "weld" the polyethylene together.

Single-extruded, polyethylene sheeting has proven to be the best type of plastic to use for sealing the foam. Our machinery used for heat sealing is thermostatically controlled to maintain exact temperature tolerances. We also use a very heavy, 6 mil polyethylene and seal it extra wide, to assure years of performance. One of the options we offer is to double wrap the foam core with the polyethylene sheeting, which further extends to covers lifespan.

All spa covers must have a drain hole on the underside. This is too allow moisture and condensed water vapor to drain out of the cover. Due to the properties of the two materials we use for the underside, scrim and Reflex´ Energy Shield, they do not require anything to strengthen this hole or prevent the fabric from fraying. All a grommet would do is cause scratches in the spa as the cover is slid off and on.

ASTM developed standards which include a category intended to protect children five years of age and under. ASTM Standard F1346-91 for spa covers includes specific performance tests and labeling requirements. Covers must be able to pass certain tests. The first is Static Load. "In the case of spas with a width or diameter greater than 8' from the periphery, the cover shall be able to hold a weight of 485 pounds to permit a rescue operation. In the case of a spa with a width or diameter not greater than 8' the cover shall withstand the weight of 275 pounds".  Second is Perimeter Deflection. "The covers shall be designed in such a way that when tested, deflection of the cover does not allow the test object to pass between the cover and the side of the spa, or to gain access to the water". Additionally, testing for surface drainage is conducted to see if a dangerous amount of rain could collect on the cover's surface. There are also requirements to include labeling in consumer information and on the cover itself. Labeling must contain proper warnings (as described by the Standard) and identify the product as a safety cover.

The life-span of a spa cover is dependant upon many different things. How much direct sunlight it gets, how well it's cared for or abused, how extreme weather conditions are and how the chemicals in the spa are dealt with all have an effect on life-span. Generally though, if reasonably cared for a spa cover should last five to eight years.

Although very durable, a small amount of general care and maintenance can help extend the life of any spa cover.

• Do not over sanitize the water, and remove the cover when shocking. This is the most important thing. As excessive sanitizers evaporate, they can actually deteriorate many of the plastic materials a spa cover is constructed from.
• Periodically cleaning, treating and protecting the outer vinyl from the elements is the most important thing. 303 Protectant is the best thing for treating and protecting the cover from sun damage. Stay away from any petroleum based products that claim to condition vinyl. They actually do much more harm than good.
• Remove excessive snow to prevent the cover from sagging and possibly breaking.
• Never sit of stand on a spa cover.

As with any product, a comprehensive warranty is important. It's important however, to look closely at, and understand the warranty. Warranties are frequently used as a marketing tool and can be  very deceptive. While the warranty may state an extremely long time frame, the exclusions can make it virtually worthless. Some retailers are adding an extremely long extended warranty, to the actual manufacturers warranty, as a marketing ploy. It should be interesting to see if they're still in business (or have any happy customers) towards the end of this time frame.

Most warranties exclude damages caused by animals, fire, vandalism, excessive chemicals, improper installation, excessive weight load, acts of God and possibly more. Almost certainly, they also have an exclusion for "normal wear and tear". What exactly is "normal wear and tear", and who makes the determination on this?

The most important exclusion in all spa cover warranties is "shipping and handling". The customer is ALWAYS responsible for this, and the cover has to be shipped back to the manufacturer and then again back to you. Unless you can personally deliver the cover to the manufacturer, almost certainly the cost of shipping will be MORE than the cost of a brand new cover.

Prorated warranties are some of the most deceptive! It  makes it look like the warranty has an even longer time frame, but now you're paying not only for the shipping costs (in both directions, which can be more than the cost of a new cover), but also a percentage of the retail cost.

We have been in the manufacturing business since 1976, and though it's rare, what few warranty problems we've seen, have never occurred after the first year! In fact, almost all have occurred within the first month. Since we started double stitching every aspect of our spa covers, we have never had a warranty problem. While it is stated in our warranty that the cover must be returned to us for repair, we have never required the actual return of an entire cover at the customers expense for repair.

This is an interesting question, that even we have had to wonder about sometimes. We've seen different retailers offering the same exact spa cover, yet the R-value "claimed" can vary by as much as 30%.

The insulating core of almost all spa covers is EPS (Expanded Polystyrene). The insulating value of this product is very specific, and is listed in the table below. Please note, the R-value shown is for 1 inch of thickness.

The average spa cover cores, tapered 4" to 2", made of 1 pound density foam, have a total R-value of R-10.74 (calculated by averaging the thickness). Going to a 2 pound foam increases the R-value to R-13.05. Additionally, some R-value can be added for the vinyl and poly wrap that seals the foam cores. But only about R-2. The R-value of a 1 pound density spa cover only calculates to, at most, R-13 (2 pound = R-15).

Preferably not. Unlike cars, spa manufacturers are constantly modifying the spas. Sometimes twice a year!!!!......Although we have thousands of measurements for templates, your measured dimensions are the most accurate and ensure a proper fit.

There are a number of reasons we prefer your actual measurements over our measurements on file;

1. Your spa may have warped slightly out of shape over time.
2. Manufacturers may have supplied us with fictitious measurements.
3. You may want a cover different from the original.
4. Your year or model may actually differ from what you believe it is.
5. We have a typo, or are simply wrong.

Depending upon your location, typical delivery time is two weeks after time of order. Frequently delivery time is much sooner, however during busy times it may be slightly longer. Usually most covers will be manufactured and shipped within a week.

There are literally thousands of different shapes and sizes of spas and hot tubs in existence today, and with all of the manufacturing options we offer, cost and storage space make stocking covers impossible.

Besides excessive force, most tie downs tear out due to poorly designed or poorly made spa covers. While the tie downs shouldn't be use as handles for lifting a cover, they should hold up to quite strong winds. We have virtually eliminated "tie down tear out" by using nylon webbing and sewing it into the cover at 4 different points.

In general, the answer is "no". The foam for the cover's core, is initially manufactured in large blocks. It is then cut or sliced to order (we're one of the few manufacturers that starts with whole blocks and slices them ourselves). Most all cover manufacturers use foam cores that are cut specifically for them, to their specifications. Each individual manufacturer specifies the thickness and taper of foam that they desire. Because the foam is almost 1/3 the cost of the materials in a cover, many manufacturers try to "skimp" in this area. We've seen covers advertised as being 4" thick, as thin as 3-1/4" (our foam cores are TRULY as thick as we claim).

Secondly, over time the sun shrinks the outer vinyl covering slightly compressing the foam. A cover can actually shrink up to 1/2" over it's life.

As said, in GENERAL the answer is no, but it can be done. The real problem is expense! First off we would need to have your cover shipped back to us. If the cover is symmetrical, we can copy the good piece of foam. If it's not symmetrical (or both piece of foam are broken), we can through a little trial and error cut a new piece of foam (start a hair large, try it for fit, and trim if necessary). It's rather imperative that the foam core be exactly the correct size. Too large and it wont fit, too small and the outer vinyl will wrinkle and sag.

The problem though is shipping expense. The covers are too large for UPS and have to ship via common carrier. Common carriers have a MINIMUM shipping charge of around $75.00 to $100.00........ Each way. Though a new foam core may seem reasonably priced, when you add in shipping both ways, it can cost almost as much as a whole NEW cover for just a single foam core.

Just like trying to replace the foam cores, replacing just the vinyl outer covering usually isn't cost effective. Our entire process for making spa covers, including patterns, cutting the vinyl and other fabrics, and cutting the foam cores, is completely computerized. The additional work involved to make a proper fitting vinyl covering could cost as much or more than a complete new spa cover.

Besides the obvious reason of a loosely fitted vinyl covering, the frequent cause of sagging is excessive air inside the polyethylene that seals the foam cores. Manufactured at cool temperatures, once on your spa the additional heat of the water will cause any trapped air in a cover to expand. It's important (though difficult) to vacuum out any air that might be trapped during the process of sealing the foam cores in the polyethylene.

The foam a cover's cores are made of is called Expanded Polystyrene and is made of small beads that are expanded with steam. Once expanded they are dried and then "attached together" simply by compressing them. The more pressure they are compressed under, the high the density of the foam. The individual "beads" are waterproof! HOWEVER, water can saturate between the beads.

To prevent (actually reduce) water absorption, the foam cores are "sealed" in polyethylene. The method used to seal the polyethylene is an important factor. Many cheep covers simply have the polyethylene taped closed. Not good, as the tape will eventually fail. Better covers have the polyethylene heat sealed. While this is usually better than tape, if not done carefully and properly it can actually be worse. When the polyethylene is heat sealed, if it's over heated the seam will be excessively brittle and can crack, allowing water to enter the foam.

The most obvious cause of water absorption would be a small hole punctured through the cover. Even the smallest hole will allow a large amount of water to enter the foam over time.

The most common cause of water absorption is the "natural degradation of the polyethylene". Over time, chlorine, bromine, non-chlorine shock and ozone will break down the polyethylene causing it to become porous. The thicker the polyethylene (we use a 6 mil thick polyethylene), the longer it will resist this chemical degradation. At some point however, it will become porous enough to allow evaporation and steam to penetrate through it. It WILL NOT be porous enough to allow the steam that has condensed back into water to drip back out.

Since eliminating all the chemicals isn't possible (and still have a safe spa) the best preventative measure is a floating blanket. The blanket will greatly reduce both chemical off gassing, and more importantly evaporation. It's also important to completely remove the cover for a minimum of 20 minutes when shocking the water. This will allow the off-gassing chemicals to freely escape without penetrating into the cover itself.

Welt cording is a feature that is typically used to "straighten" out crookedly sewn seams. The down side is that it gives dirt and mold a place to attach, and gives an extra 'ridge' to get hung or torn when handling the cover. We prefer to simply work a little harder and sew straight seams.

We've seen some rather interesting "claims and statements" throughout the years regarding spa covers. Here's a list of some of the most "interesting", and the "other side" of the story.

• "100% Certified "Spa Hyde" 5x stronger than marine grade vinyl."
  "Spa Hyde" is actually a brand of marine grade vinyl that is imported from Southeast Asia. It's sold by one of the largest supplier of vinyl in the USA.

• "Hand heat sealed vapor barrier to prevent water absorption"