Arctic Owners -- Help!, By how much does the cover

[Utah]

Ok, I pulled the trigger on the used Arctic.

The Arctic Midsun is 85.25 inches wide with no cover lifter. The ideal spot on my deck is 90.25 inches wide. How much will the outside width of the tub be increased with cover lifter and cover. I don't think by 2.5 inches on each side but I'd feel better if someone took a quick measure and let me know.

Thanks

Doug
  

[anne]

I think you are asking if the cover "hangs" over the edge at all.........right? On my tub, there is no appreciable increase in the length/width of the tub because of the cover- perhaps 1/8"-1/4" on all sides. The cover hugs the top of the tub, and is about 5" thick.

Different lifters will take up a different amount of space. I have a covermate I with my Arctic, and Arctic seems to sell a lot of those. The bars on mine stick out a few inches on each side, and when the tub is open, the cover takes up about a foot of "width" next to the tub. I have about 2 feet of clearance between the tub and the shrubs.

[anne]

oh, and congrats!!!!

[Utah]

Thanks for your reply.

Any idea on how far the covermate extends beyond the furthest out point on the tub.

I have exactly 2.5 inches on each side.  Is this enough or do I need more space?  Tub delivery comes in 30 minutes and I'd feel MUCH better if I don't have to move it once the crew leaves.

Help, please!

[badval]

You might have enough room but it doesn't sound like it.  A cover folded in half is more than 2.5" thick.  The other things to consider are (1) how much room is needed to manuever the cover into position? & (2) how far from the side does the lifter need to be installed?.  With mine, I fold the cover in half over the lifter, then slide the whole assembly back & then rotate 90^o to get it vertical in it's resting spot on the ground.  For me, that means the minimum amount of unobstructed space on the side where the cover stores = (1/2 the overall cover length) + (space required for me to stand behind it & manuever cover).   Other designs may operate differently - mine is a very basic lifter that mounts to the bottom of the spa frame & is basically a metal [size=16][ch8719][/size] shaped device.

[tanstaafl2]

The arms of my cover lifter require a minimum of about 3 inches for clearance but that would be tight. A little extra would be better. But there are different types of lifters and one might take less. But 2.5 inches doesn't leave a lot of room. Of course the area where the cover folds into has to be much deeper.




Perhaps a shelf "caddy" might work better. I think somebody had a picture here recently of that kind of set up.

Or something like this:
http://www.rhtubs.com/coverlifts/cover-caddy.htm

or http://www.rhtubs.com/coverlifts/cover-shelf.htm

Side clearance for other covers lifters on this site is 4-6".

[Hammster]

You will need about 12 inches of space for the cover lifter to tilt the cover and get it to its storage position. The problem is that there is a time when the cover isn't horizontal nor is it vertical. That time when it's at an angle going from horizontal to vertical and back again is when it takes up the most space. So, about 12" is about worst case based on my cover and lifter setup. Now that's if you want to fully remove the cover, unlike in the picture that tanstaafl2 is showing.

[anne]

Thanks for your reply.

Any idea on how far the covermate extends beyond the furthest out point on the tub.

I have exactly 2.5 inches on each side.  Is this enough or do I need more space?  Tub delivery comes in 30 minutes and I'd feel MUCH better if I don't have to move it once the crew leaves.

Help, please!

How did it go?