Thermal Blankets

[Trenden]

Is there any consensus regarding Thermal Blankets?  Are they a worthwhile purchase or a waste of money?  

[Bonibelle]

 Vinny and I have actually been discussing the merits of the spa blanket and we both agree that besides the energy savings from insulating, it also prevents evaporation much better than just your cover alone. The only downside is that they don't have a long life. I need to buy a new one and since mine has been off the tub for about a month, I really notice a big difference in the amount of water I am adding to my tub.
So for energy savings, prevention of evaporation and extending the life of your cover...buy a spa blanket. But don't waste your money on the bubble type. Get a closed cell blanket.

[tony]

I just added a thermal blanket to my spa this weekend thanks to the fine folks at RHTUBS.COM.  I always resisted doing this because of the reasons most list...the extra effort to deal with it.  First soak last night dealing with the blanket...wasn't much of an issue at all.  It didn't even drip much on the back of the spa...something I was concerned about.  Definitely a difference in the amount of water on the underside of the cover.  We'll see what my long term experiences are.

[Brewman]

Will be intesting to see if your power consumption goes down by any measurable amount.

[Vinny]

Vinny and I have actually been discussing the merits of the spa blanket and we both agree that besides the energy savings from insulating, it also prevents evaporation much better than just your cover alone. The only downside is that they don't have a long life. I need to buy a new one and since mine has been off the tub for about a month, I really notice a big difference in the amount of water I am adding to my tub.
So for energy savings, prevention of evaporation and extending the life of your cover...buy a spa blanket. But don't waste your money on the bubble type. Get a closed cell blanket.

Vinny who?

JUST KIDDING... Boni and I were talking about it and I do see an increase of evaporation. My cover is dripping wet now where it wasn't before. I also believe that it doesn't insulate the way the cover is insulating since it is very thin but it does cut down on the convection effect on the water surface. Or if a blast of wind gets under the cover.

My blanket lasted about 2 years and as Boni said the blanket took the brunt of the damage from the chemicals.

Will it save you a ton of money from insulating  - probably not; will it save on evaporation - yes it will and will it help your cover last a little longer - I believe it will.

[Shaamus]

How long are you all getting out of your floating blankets?  We only sell the solar bubble type, but have been weighing the benefits of offering the more expensive ones as well.

[NE-Phil]

How long are you all getting out of your floating blankets?  We only sell the solar bubble type, but have been weighing the benefits of offering the more expensive ones as well.

I have the closed cell foam type and I got less than two years out of it. Maybe a year and a half. I can't definitely say it's helping with better insulation since I haven't been keeping track of my electrical usage but I'm assuming it has to help some. But you know what they say about assuming something...  
If it also helps with evaporation and slows down cover deterioration then I guess it's a plus all around.

Phil

[kervis]

How long are you all getting out of your floating blankets?  We only sell the solar bubble type, but have been weighing the benefits of offering the more expensive ones as well.

I got a year out of my solar bubble one.  The bottom of some of the bubbles started to come off.  Mine however, was from my neighbor's year-old pool cover.  The house switched ownership and the new blanket ripped in the wind.  They gave it to me when their new one arrived.  It was about a year old then and rarely used to cover the pool.  It was more of a decoration.   I was able to cut 5 if not 6 large squares out if it which I tied up and put in my shed.   I then cut it to fit the curves of the tub.

I had it off just once, just recently, when I shocked the tub.
In that one overnight, I could tell a big color difference in my cover.  

The downside of having one for me would be when it is windy and it blows off the open cover where I have it draped.  No big deal though, pick it up and put it back on!

[104 degrees]

I

The downside of having one for me would be when it is windy and it blows off the open cover where I have it draped.  No big deal though, pick it up and put it back on!

Dirt, leaves and all in the tub.