Cover lifter - best one?

[Bromley86]

I know, it depends!  Well, there's the Foldaway (http://foldaway.at/en/features/), but that's a little pricey .

I'm looking for: a lifter that attaches to the spa; not a caddy; and something like hydraulic lift.  No issues with clearance.  A flexible budget of about USD 500.

We've just bought a Sundance Optima (so about 89" both sides), and SD offer the Covermate I and III.  I'd assumed the CM III was the one for us (despite it not sitting behind the spa when upright, it seems to be better made and has hydraulics), but the Amazon reviews on it are terrible.  I've searched for reviews here; they're good, but most of the ones I read were 10 years old.

Are the CoverCradle/Upright/Lift'nGlide lifters that Hot Spring offer better?  I'd assume that they could be fitted to a SD.  Any 3rd party ones that blow the competition away?  I'm over in NZ, so there's often a limited choice, but there's a reasonable chance I can get it shipped from the US for about what it would cost locally.  Cheers!

[The Wizard of Spas]

I have carried two brands in my store over the years and both have had a manual and hydraulic option.  I currently carry CoverMate and haven't had any issues, per customer feedback. 

The previous brand I used to carry was Cover Valet ( https://covervalet.com/ ).  They worked fine as well.

Honestly, I don't really think there is much separation between brands on the lower end cover lifts in the industry.  Either of these brands mentioned are fine and I am sure someone else will offer other brands as well.  But I don't go for the high-end product line as I just haven't seen the demand in my marketplace and most of the less expensive models are good enough.

I hope this helps.  Good luck moving forward.

[MarKee]

The CoverMate III works pretty well, but will eventually require maintenance on either the mounting brackets or the hydraulic shocks/pistons.

I have seen the mounting brackets warp or bend in high heat climates, or if a cover gets water-logged and it putting high amounts of stress on the brackets.

Years ago the CoverMate III had metal mounting brackets and seemed to be a bit stronger, I never quite understood why they switched to the plastic mounting brackets.  It must have been for cost savings.

Our delivery guys and service techs do prefer the CoverMate III over the Cover Valet hydraulic lift, but the Cover Valet lift would probably work for you as well.

The CoverMate I is about the most bullet-proof lift on the market in my opinion, but this one will require about 14"-16" of clearance behind the tub.

[Bober78]

I recently had the Covermate iii installed on my Caldera spa.  As soon as it was installed I noticed the hooks were pulling up on the cover at the seam.  I contacted the dealer and they sent someone to fix it.  they said they did but it was exactly the same.  It is almost like the bar wont lay flat against the cover.
Now they are ordering a set of new shocks, so we will see if that fixes the problem.  I like  how easy it is to open the cover with the shocks, but has anyone else had issues with the hooks pulling on the cover?

[Chris_H]

Assuming you have a new spa, Caldera will not honor the cover warranty with the use of a Covermate III.  Need to use ProLift IV Hot Tub Cover Lifter...

[Bober78]

Assuming you have a new spa, Caldera will not honor the cover warranty with the use of a Covermate III.  Need to use ProLift IV Hot Tub Cover Lifter...

Yes just got it in February and had this issue right off the bat.  That is very aggravating since the Caldera deal was more than willing to sell it to me.  I need to make a phone call to them i guess.   Thanks for the heads up.  I wonder if there is any way they will swap it out for a different model.

[castletonia]

That doesn't look like it's properly installed.  It shouldn't pull up that much.

[Bober78]

At least I know i am not crazy.  The person they sent to "fix" it said that it looks right after he was all done lol

[jacuzzidude]

Is there a reason to have those hooks?  My cover lifter looks similar but lacks the hooks and shocks, and I love it.  Simple, effective and the bar can be raised to make cleaning the cover easy.

[MarKee]

Because of the hydraulic shocks, the CoverMate III is spring loaded so it needs to hook on to the cover. On the Caldera posted it looks like that cover lift is pulling up too much, you should be able to notice the hooks slightly at the seam of the cover, but this looks extreme.  Either the vinyl cover seam is too thin or the cover lift is spring loaded too hard on that cover. The mounting brackets may be mounted too far forward or too far back on the spa, and that might be causing the problem. I would give Leisure Concepts in Spokane, WA a call and ask their opinion.

[Bromley86]

Thanks for the info Wiz and MarKee.  The Cover Valet looks a little more sturdy, but the CoverMate III looks a little neater with the "beauty covers", so I think I'll got for that as it's the one SD supply.  Shame they changed the brackets to composite, but it's not too hot here, so it should be okay.

I kinda like the look of the Hot Spring Lift 'N Glide, but I see that all the HS covers are "designed specifically for use on Hot Spring, Caldera, Tiger River and LimeLight hot tubs using their original style cover with metal bracket plates built into the sides."  I'll check with SD, but I suspect their covers don't have those metal brackets built in.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

It's called "tenting" and is somewhat normal. The pistons of the CM3 are always trying to push open and applying pressure to the cover. The hooks are necessary to hold the lifter down. without them, the lift would stay open. It's one of the downsides to the CM3, and it's not at all good for the cover. Rather than the mounting brackets being mounted too far forward or too far back, I would guess they may be too low (though, the geometry of moving the bracket to far forward will cause the lafter to be in a more open position when closed) . The further the pistons are closed, the less force they produce.