Any opinions or experience with wood roll spa covers?

[AAAAAAA]

EDITEDWanting to get opinions on people who have used them or are using them:energy consumption, ease of use, drawbacks ect.

Thanks.
EDITED
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I have read about the spa cap (junk) and foam covers are the standard.

There are 2 other kinds of covers that I have never really seen any comments or reviews on and one of those is the CLASSIC COVERS from www.canhottub.com (perhaps other companies make similar products I don't know). It is 2inch of cedar with 1\4inch of insolation on the under side. No clips required and apparently it sticks into place. It's apparently easy to roll on and off and last for + - 10 years and is about the same price as a beefy foam cover is (at least for maxxus size). the company has been making them for over 30 years and says they have lots of happy customers.

Anyone have anything thing to say about it? Experience with something like this?



The triangle shape of the wood makes sure you get an even and easy roll every time.

[AAAAAAA]

I just noticed that rhtubs has that kind of hot tub cover as well.... it reasures me, if RHTUB uses them they must be worth it.

Robert, can you chime in on them, the positives and drawbacks of that in comparisson to foam?

So far they seem to last longer, easyer to use but have a lesser R value but the actual insulation factor might not be to far off since they form a real seal to the hot tub and foam does not.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

We've been making these for over 20 years. They're absolutely beautiful, extremely strong and very easy to use. Insulation wise? Nope. Not even close to a good traditional insulating cover.

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So they look good and are easy to use but don't insulate well at all. Not so good for winter climates then huh?
I wonder how much more it would cost monthly or yearly on my electric bill. It's hard to qualify the differences I suppose.

How would someone go about comparing the differences? Obviously one has much lower R value but R value isn't the hole story. Any insight on that?

Would you say they are not recommended for winter use? Would they insolate half as well, 1\3 as well as a good regular cover?

And thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, much appreciated.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

 Would they insolate half as well, 1\3 as well as a good regular cover?

No clue. They've never been tested.

[wmccall]

Interesting, I certainly understand the appeal based on looks.

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They appeal to me not because of the looks.

Longevity and ease of use.

[Spatech_tuo]

They appeal to me not because of the looks.

Longevity and ease of use.

Personally, I'd put longevity, ease of use and looks behind energy efficiency but now that you know you'll have to prioritize.

[AAAAAAA]

The unknown is how much more it will cost in the long run. Screaming energy efficiency is one thing, but if this out lasts 3 traditional covers then the overall cost difference could be minimal...

Tuff choice.