Cover lifter allowing heat loss

[juno]

I've got an Arctic Spa Ocean hot tub/swim spa with Leisure Concepts Covermate III lifters.  These are hydraulic-assist lifters that we purchased from the dealer when we purchased our hot tub this past summer.  The main reason for their purchase is a disability issue in the family.  Our first problem we had with them is that the hydraulics put enough upward force on the cover skins, that it was causing them to rip (see pic1).  The solution from the dealer/manufacturer was to install a bracket that hooks from the lifter to under the cover, bypassing any stress on the skins (see pic 2).  However, these brackets cause a small gap between the cover sections and don't sit completely flat against the tub (see pic 3).  Now that it has gotten cold out, I can see steam escaping from the brackets and there is some ice build-up in the area from the escaping moisture (see pic 4).  Does anyone else have these lifters and have a better solution?  Right now the dealer is basically giving up and offering regular (non-hydraulic) cover lifters as a replacement.  We hope to avoid having to switch to non-assisted lifters, but we are not sure what else to do.  Currently we are stuffing foam (cut up pool noodle) pieces into the gaps, hoping to create something of a seal.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Foxy]

Have you tried pushing from both ends of the cover towards the centre to make sure covers join together in the middle properly. Some of the hydraulic lifters also have a bracket lock on them to keep the covers down tightly when closed.That failing if you have lots of room on both ends too can put on a cover shelf that when you fold the cover in half you just push the cover on the cover shelf to rest on.Covers slide on and off quite easily as they have wheels on them to make it easy to push on and off.

[Dr. Spa]

This is the downside to this type of lifter. It's a VERY common problem.

 

It's unfortunate that folks with disability issues think this lifter will be any easier than any others. The most difficult part of raising the cover is flipping back the first half. None of these lifters help with that, and after that, removing the rest of the cover is easier with any lifter.