Cover Lifts???

[ssilver853]

Undermount or mounted?

[mjb]

Most all of our Sundance Spas and Jacuzzi Hot Tubs have an upper cabinet mounted CoverMate I from Leisure Concepts installed at delivery.

[ssilver853]

With the purchase of a J-245 my Jacuzzi dealer wants to provide one that slides underneath the spa... Said it's better than affixing to the spa.

Thoughts??

[mjb]

Should be no issue either way.  Many dealers have their preferences.

[mjb]

By the way, congratulations on your purchase of the J-245.
It's one of our hotest selling models right now.

[JohnnyK45]

We have a round hot tub and I ordered an undermount online.  A few things I like about our Cover Caddy - you can re-position it when you drain your tub if you wish or need to, no additional holes in the cabinet and you can either keep it in a horizontal position while it holds the cover, OR, fold it down so the cover is more out of sight while you are in the tub (vs. standing upright and possibly obstructing a scenic view, etc. on one side).  With the size of our tub, the cover is about 95% hidden when folded down along the outside of the tub.

A couple photos below showing it in the open position where the cover just slides into the open arms, then a shot of it in the closed position (which is how it would rest with the cover in the arms if you folded it out of sight)... 





No right or wrong way in any of this, it really comes down to, do you like Coke or Pepsi? 

J

[wmccall]

One of my favorite cover lifters was mounted to the lower rear of the tub, it was a Cover Butler. It was the easiest to manipulate on a large cover of lifers without shocks. Another consideration is a cover that folds down out of sight or stays up giving you privacy/wind break (wind load)  We are in an urban nieghborhood so the privacy is nice.

[Shaamus]

There are so many options out there and most of them are pretty good.  With undermount systems you don't have to worry about damaging your hot tub if a screw gets pulled out.  You also don't have to worry about building up support behind wherever you are looking to install the mounting brackets.  The downside is that most of the undermount systems are Low Pivot Point designs which require more rear clearance.

As a side note, we are also big fans of the previously-mentioned Cover Caddy and it's little brother the Cover Rx.  These tray-type systems do not engage the spa cover's hinge.  Damage caused by cover lifters is excluded by many spa cover warranties so hanging the cover by its hinge is not ideal.  If you fall in love with a bar-style cover removal system, you can use something like the Cover Saver product to mitigate damage.

[BravoRomeo]

I also have the Cover Caddy as pictured earlier in this thread on my HS Jetsetter. When I had a new cover made, I requested that the fold go the longer dimension of the rectangular shape. This makes is so when the cover is folded and lowered in the Caddy, it is mostly hidden behind the side of the tub. Also, the U-shaped arms fold inward to stow flat against the tub when the Cover Caddy is not being used... it's a nice touch.

I was planning on attaching the Cover Caddy hardware to the side of the tub, but I have found the weight of the filled tub works just fine, especially with the new cover which is amazingly light compared to the OEM waterlogged cover.