Branches, falling debris and large hail will pound the foam with enough force to damage or break the cover. As people who live in areas of heavy hail storms know, anything rigid is going to take a pounding. If you have been replacing covers because of this type of damage you have to ask yourself if there is some better way of covering your spa.
Let's look at a few options. First you could opt for an Aluminum cover. This would be stronger than a foam filled spa cover, but it could be a little unwieldy because a one piece cover that size would need significant storage space. Not to mention even the slightest wind would make it a very large destructive frisbee.
A roll spa cover would be one possible option. These are very strong and essentially work like a portion of deck that you roll over the spa. The down side is they tend to collect small debris and allow it to get into the spa. Though strong they also offer little in the way of insulation.
Then you could choose to go for a reinforced rigid foam cover. One of the latest developments in this area is to have the foam glued to a board for strength. Naturally this will handle all but the most severe hail storm. Only two caveats on this type of spa cover, it still will fly in a wind storm and with the added mass it will do serious damage to anything it lands on and it will still eventually become saturated. A saturated spa cover will require more than one person to open.
The solution to this would be something that is able to give or absorb impacts. In Hollywood when a stunt man falls from a great height, he wants to land on something that will absorb his impact like an air bag. The air bag principle would work as a spa cover to guard against impact damage. Just like the stunt man landing on a cushion of air the same would be true of debris, branches and even severe hail.
The stunt bag is designed to dump air quickly on impact to catch the stunt person so you should not use your air filled spa cover this way. However if your house is on fire and you have to jump out of the window aiming for the large air bag would probably save your life. I should note here that jumping on any spa cover would not be covered by the warranty.
No matter how fierce the storm or the hail stone an air filled spa cover will give or catch it without damage. We have tested them by driving golf balls into them at close range, dropping bowling balls on them and just having them in use around the country in areas that get severe hail storms. Before you replace another rigid foam spa cover because it broke shop online for a spa cover that will not end up the same way.
Then why, if this is so great, would anyone end up giving it away? And as it is leaving say, "The spa works great it just needs a new cover." I hear it all the time. To me this is equivalent to giving away your car because it needs a new set of tires. Years of hearing these words led me to ponder the change of attitude.
It happens slowly, but see if any of this sounds familiar. When you first get your spa you use it like it's your first bicycle. It becomes a part of your regular routine. Over time though it becomes a little bit more of a struggle. The reason is that cover that came with the spa begins to get heavy. It does it so slowly that you don't even notice. Struggling with the weight you may think, "I must be really tired." Eventually you'll wait a few days between using it and when you go to use it again you realize that what was a fairly easy operation now requires two people and real effort.
What do you do? Most people get in their car and go back to the place they bought their spa from. What does the spa dealer say? "Well, yes the cover that came with the spa is our low end model. They always get saturated. However this new and improved version of the same type of cover has a special sealed wrapper against moisture. Buy this one and your trouble will be gone."You might even take home a spa cover lifter thinking that will help. Trouble is that even the new special cover will get heavy too. Too heavy even for the lifter.
In most cases you have had your spa for a few years by now. The struggle to get into it has outweighed the value of the stress relieved. Most commonly after a rate increase from the power company, you shut it down. You probably can't remember the last time you were in it anyway. It becomes a place to stack stuff. Eventually the cover caves in and you decide its time to reclaim this part of the yard. You'll end up giving it away or selling it cheap simply to get it out of the yard. As it is leaving with its new owner you say these words, "It works great, it just needs a new cover!"
Now if you are the benefactor of such a statement, let me give you a heads up. You too will end up in the same situation unless you find a way to break the cycle of covers that get heavy. If you are the spa owner that is just about to give up think about this, the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over expecting to get different results. Don't let a cover be the reason you give up something you paid hard earned money for and once enjoyed so much. Look for a different kind of spa cover. I once had a lady order a new cover from me and she was excited to show it off to her neighbor that had the same heavy cover challenge. Unfortunately before she told her friend about the new type of cover she had discovered, that neighbor had punched holes in the bottom of her spa and transformed it into a very large and expensive planter. A very expensive planter, all for the want of a better spa cover.
Jeff Sliger has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Spa and Internet Marketing. The Author is a business owner with more than twenty years experience. A former Police Sgt, Pilot, Heavy Equipment Operator, Trained Mechanic, and accomplished motorcycle rider he enjoys riding the back roads of Washington on his Harley Davidson, Police E. Jeff Sliger's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.