Specialty Hot Tub Covers
There are some unique and unusual hot tub covers and spa covers that have been developed to meet special needs. Maybe one of these specialty hot tub covers would be useful for your spa.
Motorized Hot Tub Cover
For the ultimate in luxury you might want to check out the Automatic Spa Cover & Entertainment Bar, EZ Top. This is a hard-top, insulated, motorized automatic hot tub cover that can be configured for both above-ground (portable) spas as well as in ground gunite and fiberglass spas. The above-ground version incorporates a functional, entertainment bar into which the cover system retracts and is stored. Once the hot tub cover is fully retracted into the bar it completely disappears.
The cover itself is made out of weather-resistant PVC slats which are strong, durable, have a long life, and are insulated with 2.5 lb. density solid-cell foam. It takes just 7 seconds for the hot tub cover to be retracted and the same amount of time for it to be extended back across the top of the tub. It has a touchpad controller to help prevent unauthorized access.
For the above ground model with the built in bar, setup is about 30 minutes. For inground spas the set-up is more complicated and would likely take a trained professional to install.
As you can imagine, something like this is not inexpensive. But hey, if you can get a doctor’s prescription so you can tax-deduct a spa, why not a motorized cover?
Air Insulated Hot Tub Cover
At least one company is making a very unusual hot tub cover which is basically two large air bladders stacked on top of one another. This cover is made from a vinyl-coated fabric similar to that which is used for inflatable boats. The bladders are lightly filled with air and the whole thing sits right on top of the water. Because air is an excellent insulator this cover does a great job of holding in the heat of the water.
It has several advantages over the hard foam covers:
• A high insulation value of R-26
• Will not become water saturated over time
• Very light, easy to remove
• Stays on better under windy conditions
• Handles snow better
• Has a longer life
The price is around $395 for the standard model, about what you would expect top pay for a high quality hard foam hot tub cover. It’s certainly worth looking into if you are wanting to buy a durable, high insulating, lightweight cover.
Winter Hot Tub Cover
Not everyone likes to use their spa year round and you might be one of those who prefers the warmth of being indoors to sitting outside in your hot tub while it’s snowing. If that’s the case, you’ll probably want to look at a winter hot tub cover. This is a large heavy duty waterproof tarp that completely covers the hot tub cover, spa shell, and the spa cabinet all the way to the ground. It should also have an air pillow that is placed under the cover to raise it slightly so that the rain and melting snow runs off.
Even if you carefully “winterize” your tub by draining it, your standard foam core hot tub cover is not completely waterproof. Over the course of the winter the water from rain and melting snow can work its way into your spa. When that happens there is always the danger of it freezing and damaging your spa. The Winter Hot Tub Cover is an inexpensive additional step that you can take to protect your investment and keep your spa in top shape.