Hi guys,

Have a practical question regarding 5:4 versus 4:3 tapered spa covers.

Now I do know that the thicker spa cover has a bit more insulating value, however on that you also have additional weight which may be a pain and put extra stress on the handles and for energy savings you really do not get much more over a 4:3. Perhaps this one makes more sense for a northern cottage where you get very large snow loads (strength), and consistently below -20 weather.

A 4:3 cover on the other hand seems to be insulted enough in a large city northern envireonment, weight is reasonable.

What do you gentlemen think from your experience, is the thicker cover in this case really value added. Like I mentioned I know you do have a bit more insulating factor in a thicker one however I have been told once you get to the 4:3 thickness it really isn't very large and making the cover heavier also has it's drawbacks convenience wise with younger kids.

What do you think.....

Going to put in an order for a new cover and would like to see what others tend to do. I can get the thicker cover for less then $50 additional...but at the moment I am leaning to the 4:3 as mine lasted 9 years now and was very happy. I never have had a 5:4 cover however...and at just a $50 premium wondering if I should really rethink this one.

Live in Toronto, Canada by the way. Winters are fairly reasonable not like when we were kids that's for sure!

Thoughts....

Sudz

You don't mention foam density, which will make a slight difference. Assuming you're comparing cover with the SAME density (either 1 or 1.5 pound).

The difference in R value is R-2 (regardless of density)
The difference in weight will be 3 to 5 pounds
The difference in strength will be 13% - 14%

Personally, I've NEVER liked covers with only a 1" taper. 1.5" to 2" is MUCH better for water runoff. Therefore, I'd go with the 5x4 to prevent sagging and eventual foam breakage from rain water (my preference would be a 6x4 taper)

Dr Spa thanks for contributing.

I did forget to mention foam density and for others reading they come in 1.0lb, 1.5lb and 2.0 lb. I think the majority of generic covers these days come in 1.5lb...but I'm sure there are many vendors where you can specify or where they offer up a different version. From what I understand, higher foam density equates to a little bit more R value (as you mention), a fair bit more for loading such as heavy snow or wet ice, and potential longer duration from water saturation if the water barrier fails. Only drawback if there is one is weight factor, but everything in life is a tradeoff in some way.

I also agree a 1" taper does help with rain runoff, but something a bit larger would ideally work better. Again a tradeoff against getting the most R value vs giving up some for a higher slope.

I am surprised your ideal would be a 6:4 taper, I would think that would best be suited for a very harsh winter secluded cottage. If electricity did go out, I would expect a longer duration before things started to freeze! It must be fairly heavy though, do you have a cover caddy of some sort with that one?

I'm in the City so going to not go quite as thick, am leaning towards replacing as a 4:3 cover...with an eye on a 5:4 cover. Both with 1.5lb foam from a reputable place. I wouldn't mind 2 lb foam but I don't see a lot of advertisements for that.

Thank you for contributing, always nice to share thoughts and learn from other peoples experiences. I'll hold off a bit as I may learn of some other items I haven't considered as of yet.

It's so amusing, EVERYONE always says, "it's not that cold here, not as cold as XXX". As long as there's no spas in Antarctica, there will ALWAYS be some place colder to compare with. Dude, it's FREAKIN COLD where you are " title="Very Happy" />. We have customers in Florida that tell us there's a NOTICEABLE difference between our 6x4 tapered cover over the 4x2 taper in energy savings. 1 pound foam is MUCH more common than 1.5 pound. Be SURE the density is specified as there's a BIG different. See the 2nd FAQ here; http://www.rhtubs.com/covers/spacoverFAQ.htm It's a complete comparison between densities and thicknesses, a bit complicated, but thoroughly explained. Typical "industry standard" is a 4x2 tapered 1.5 pound density foam. A 6x4 tapered, ONE pound density foam is 50% more insulating, 30% stronger, and weighs the SAME as the 1.5 4x2

Going with either a 5:4 1.5lb or a 5:4 2.0 lb foam, each should be able to provide plenty of R value and extra capacity for snow loading seeing my tub is built into an open deck. A lighter color, I believe the darker ones may fade quicker however I may be wrong on that. Darker cars generally fade quicker in my personal experience, seems logical that darker covers would trend to do the same.

Either way thanks for the help.

Dude, it's FREAKIN COLD where you are " title="Very Happy" /> ummmm, yeah. I have to agree. Sudz, have you been hibernating for the past 2 winters? I'm in Toronto too, and I agree that normally we get pretty mild winters compared to many other regions in our country. But the last 2 winters (2008 and 2009) have had record snow falls. I always shovel the snow off my hot tub cover and around the hot tub itself, so we have a nice clean path from the house to the tub in the winter. Last winter, the pile of snow near our hot tub was over 7 feet high! We also had some FREAKIN COLD weather, because I can remember my son trying to fix an oil leak on his car one morning, and it was around -24 degrees Celsius. It was NOT a mild winter! For our area, I would definitely go with a minimum of 5" on the cover. Get one of those lifter arms, which will allow you to lift the cover on and off with ease, with only one person.