Cover Tightness

[Spiderman]

Just wondering how tight your cover should be strapped down.  We've had it for 2 months now and I never had the straps too tight, but now it seems there is play in the coners;  i.e. if the straps aren't tight, there's play between the cover and the tub if I push down on the corner of the cover.  Is my cover going bonkers or do I need to tighten down the straps?

[sledjunkie]

I made mine tight so no play between cover and tub when you push down

[anne]

I dont even have the female parts of the clips to strap mine down.....it just sits there.....should I? I have no children, and none even live on my street.

[Vinny]

I dont even have the female parts of the clips to strap mine down.....it just sits there.....should I? I have no children, and none even live on my street.

I only strap them down when heavy winds are expected, I didn't do this once and found my cover opened up the wrong way, luckily it didn't bend my lifter or destroy the center seam. I do lock my tub when I go on vacation as I don't want anyone getting any ideas!

[Danny_L]

I strap mine down and lock it everytime I'm done using mine.  I only have a knee high block wall separating my yard from a golf course.  Couple weeks ago, someone stole my cheap 'ol bird house next to my wall.  Didn't care about the bird house since it was old and came with the house but it was the simple fact that someone came that close to my property to take it.

I wouldn't put it past some kids from trying to enjoy my tub sometime while I wasn't around, so I lock the cover (which anyone can easily break) and lock the controls.  :-/

[Brewman]

Those cover locks are a joke- must be there for liability or some other reason- they sure wont prevent someone from getting the cover open.  Mine open with a screwdriver.  

In the winter the straps seem to constrict a little bit, especially if they get wet and then freeze, so I have them just slightly loose, so when they shrink up this little bit I can still snap the straps in .

Not sure if it was carelessness on my part, mischievious kids, or the wind, but one time in Mid January I discovered my cover folded over.  Not sure how long it was that way, but it was long enough for about 60 gallons of water to evaporate.  

Ever since than I at least click them shut.  Usually don't bother locking- it's rather like locking the doors to a soft top convertible- what's the point?

[drewstar]

 I don't lock my  cover.  I do snap it closed and do so fairly snug.   My back clips snapped a few times and I don't use those.

Instead, I got a hurricane strap from our fine member Dr Spa.  It's one strap that goes across the middle of the spa (front to back.) This seems to hold the cover down very well,  (this will be my first winter with it) and I no longer need to unlatch the back of the tub, just the two front corner buckles and the buckle for the hurricane strap.

I have not noticied any warping or lifting of the cover, and the corners seem to sit flat.   I do get a bit of a vacuum effect when lifting the cover off.


I could see using two of these straps, one along each side to hold the corners down...
I do make sure to push the ends of the cover towards the middle so that the two halves are tight agains the seam block doo hickeys. (Insualting blocks on the seam).  I get the impression this is a big area for heat loss.  (sometimes in the winter, I'll take a close look at the cover and see if  I can see any steam escaping, and also run my hand along the cover's edge to feel for excessive heat loss.

On my old crappola freebie tub,the cover was in bad shape  and I was placing bricks on it  to keep it from blowing off and the weight helped to ensure a tight seal between the cover and the tub.  However, bricks slidng across a vinly cover though isn't the best idea. I'd only do it if you cover was on it's last legs.


Here's a pic of the hurricane strap.



And there are more detailed pics and info on the hurricane strap over at Doc's site (Rh Tubs).

here's the link http://www.rhtubs.com/store/hurricane-strap.htm for docs site on the strap.

[Gary]

The cover could bent or the corners of the spa could be sagging, i would put a level on the spa to insure that it is not a shell issue.

If it is the cover you can remove the core and flip them that way they slight bend in downwards. All lot of times in shipping the will run one strap across the cover and it can cause the corner to bend upwards.

The straps should only be snug, if too tight it will wear on the stitching.