Cover, Lift, Protect – Repeat

The Covana, a hot tub cover and gazebo, is at the forefront of innovative add-ons.

 

Sterling Leisure Products, makers of the Covana – a unique hot tub cover/gazebo – is a Canadian family-owned and operated business founded in 2004 by Raymond Bussière and Mario Piché. After purchasing a hot tub, Bussière grew frustrated with removing its cover. So, wanting to help his father-in-law, Piché took to the Internet to research insulated, automatic covers. Not satisfied with what he found, he began building automatic cover prototypes in his garage and eventually ended up with a rough design of the Covana.

Sheldon Unreiner, owner of Canada-based Ultimate Spas and Power Sports in Medicine Hat (a town three hours south of Calgary), first saw the Covana at the Las Vegas pool and spa show about two years ago and found its usability appealing for his customer base. “For years we had been trying to come up with something that made the lifting of the cover or the design of a cover easier because a lot of our clients are getting older and a lot of them have shoulder and back issues and can’t lift the cover up,” he says. Also noting that the Covana “passes a lot of the safety codes for the city bylaws.”

The structure is an all-in-one system with both a gazebo and an R21 rated insulating cover that meets ASTM requirements and is UL Certified. Consumers gain access to their hot tub with the turn of a key, which opens and closes the Covana within seconds. “It [operates] very similar to a garage door where a spring is doing most of the lifting and the motor itself is strictly controlling movement,” says Piché. The Covana does not have to reach its full height of 8.5 feet, but rather it can be stopped at any level. As a safety precaution, the key should be removed when the covering is not in use. This will keep it locked in place so children and unwanted guests can’t get inside.

Featuring an aluminum frame construction that is both aesthetically pleasing and resistant to corrosion, the structure has a pitched roof that allows for snow and rain to slide off easily. The Covana also can support up to 600 pounds and replaces the need for a standard hot tub cover. “We vacuum form an inner shell out of an ABS plastic and we spray the back of it with polyurethane foam,” Piché says. “And on the outside we have just come out with a hard shell. So it’s a hard plastic on the outside that totally seals the unit, eliminating any possible transfer of vapor or water to get inside and damage the foam.”

The core of the lid, where the insulation comes from, is made out of a two-pound polyurethane foam that is similar to the insulating foam inside the hot tub itself. According to Piché, “Most covers on the market are styrofoam. We chose to not to go that route because we know styrofoam does absorb water and moisture and in time it will become waterlogged.”

Almost all standard sized hot tubs will fit under the Covana and seal with the cover, which is seamless to prevent heat loss. Sterling Leisure Products also can provide dimensions of the Covana so that customers can see if their hot tub will fit underneath. According to Piché a 10-by-10 space is the ideal starting point for outside dimensions of the Covana, but it can be compacted to fit more closely to the hot tub.

Installing the Covana is a simple process, Unreiner explains, “Within an hour we can have it up and running, with two to three people tops. We place it around the hot tub and make it level and assemble it. All [the customer] needs is a 110 or 115 volt plug-in.”

To make the Covana more private and appealing, optional shades and screens can be purchased. These can be hooked on to any side of the structure and are available in a few styles including a weather-resistant polyurethane fabric that provides protection from the wind, the sun and nosey neighbors. When the Covana is raised, the shades unroll to the consumer’s stopping point.

As a standard feature, the Covana includes a cutout for hot tub steps. Measuring a maximum of 55 inches in length, the cutout allows steps to be flush with the hot tub. This creates a hassle-free way to enter and exit the hot tub. Sterling Leisure Products always is thinking of innovative ways to make the Covana more consumer-friendly. Currently, the company is working on lights that will be on both the inside and outside of the structure.

And as for how the Covana can help your business, well, Unreiner made a point to mention that it has increased and helped close sales as well as given him extra revenue for the year.