ne_skier Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 I need a new lifter for my spa cover. The original lifter that came with the spa is twisted and bent from 5 years of opening and closing from one side and doesn't work well anymore. My requirements are: - The cover can be opened and closed relatively easily by one person (my wife), from one side (not standing in the tub). - The lifter and cover will not twist when opening and closing the cover. - The cover is about 95+" square. - There is ~25" of space on the side of the spa where the cover will open to. The original lifter is something very simlar to this: CoverMate II undermount. In my experience, this is a poor design because the bars become over-bent where they're curved near the hinge. The lower part of the bar slams to the ground under the weight of the cover and all the stress goes to the curved part of the bar, and it eventually gets over-bent. Poor, IMO. One local vendor has suggested that a design like the "EZ Lifter" would be less likely to bend because the lifter frame is a full rectangle of piping rather than just 3 sides. That seems plausible but I'm skeptical. Does anyone have experience with hydraulic or gas-shock assisted lifters, for example the Cover Valet or the CoverMate III side mount, or anything similar? I'm leery of the Cover Valet because, after studying the installation instructions, I can see that it doesn't have a full length bar the cover's center panel. The support bars only support the outer 1 foot or so of center panel. That looks like a poor design to me. And one general question. Many cover lifters are designed to be mounted to the spa frame. How do you deal with the panels in this kind of installation? Do you cut away sections of the panels so the lifter brackets can be mounted directly to the frame? Or just screw through the panels and leave them sandwiched between the frame and lifter brackets? And then how do you remove the panels when you need to service the spa? Remove the lifter? That sounds like a PITA. I appreciate any and all advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dg98adams Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 I made mine using the same pattern as yours out of 3/4" Conduit... less than $40. Very heavy duty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Spa Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 Just a few point.. It sounds like your cover has absorbed some (or, a lot of) water, increasing it's weight (normal on a 5 year old OEM cover)...this will put excessive strain on any lifter. All lifters twist a bit when opened from the side. While the Cover Valet doesn't have a bar that goes all the way across, the cover doesn't actually contact or put any weight on the the middle of the bar anyways. If your cover lifter is only "similar" to the CM2, it's probably a cheep Chinses knock-off. IMO, and I've only sold some 15k+ lifters, the Cover Valet is one of the best, strudiest, strongest lifts out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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