This is the NICEST LOOKING & most DURABLE patio heater on the market. You can even buy additional items of the Veranda Collection to cover your patio furniture, firewood rack, etc !!!! I didn't want one of their competitor's two versions that look like a cheap black garbage bags just hung over. One type just goes over the heat shield and ties down and around the heating unit, not protecting the pole or base. The other looks like a full size black plastic Hefty bag from top to bottom. All I can say is Cheap & Tacky. This one is actually tailored and fits every surface tightly and securely, protecting your heater from top to bottom. Obviously if your heater is painted, copper you want to cover it But even if your heater is stainless steel, it still needs to be protected from the elements, it will still tarnish & stain and not covering it will just make your spring clean-up even harder. When shopping for a patio heater cover for a heater that you would like to leave in place with the cover like before putting the cover onif it's exposed to rain, snow or especially wind, you want a cover like the Veranda cover that fits tight so you can cover it & leave it where it is, not having to roll it away at every sign of inclement weather and the wind can't blow it over. If you have a baggy cover it will act like a sail and tip it right over. PLEASE REMEMBER, if the wind is strong enough, ANY patio heater WILL blow over. I highly recommended covering your patio heater during wet weather to prevent damage and prolong the burner system's life. I left one uncovered one year and I ruined it. The ignition system will not light the burner & when trying to light it manually, it will not burn properly, it burns inefficiently with an orange flame. I even had a cover for it, I was very sick that year and I just didn't think about covering it and even if I did remember, I couldn't have done it anyways. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars is because the top of the cover developed 3 holes/tears in the material where it sits on top of the heat shield from the 3 bolts & nuts that secure it. It happened during the 7 months that it was covered here in PA during the cold months. I really don't feel that I can fault Veranda's quality because almost any material, (except Kevlar) would tear through after 7 months of weathering. *** HERE'S A TIP FOR EVERYONE TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO YOUR VERANDA PATIO HEATER COVER LIKE I DID *** Look at the bolts & nuts on top of the heat shield dome. Mine has the usual 3. According to the manufacturers instructions, they had me push the bolt, which had a Acorn Head on its end (An Acorn Bolt or Nut looks like it sounds, like an Acorn. It has a round smooth head with a nut's standard form around the base) up through the burner tabs, through the heat dome's lid and then to tighten with a regular but. That left the sharp end of the bolt exposed on top. I put the cover on that fall and saw the damage the following spring when I took the cover off. I never thought to lean the heater down to check what the top looked like. After I cooled off from cursing the heater's manufacturer, LoL, I figured out why they wanted the smooth Acorn head bolt inside. Merely for aesthetics & so no one might somehow scratch themselves on the bolt end. I went out and found the proper size bolt and Acorn Nut in stainless steel to replace my 3. Stainless Steel is important for longevity & to prevent rust. I pushed the bolt up through the burner from inside, up through the dome and tightened the Acorn Nut on the top. This way the inside of the cover won't be rubbed through as easily by the sharp ended bolt. Instead it will lay on the smooth top of the Acorn Bolt. I originally bought plastic Acorn Nut caps that are made to fit on to standard metal nuts to provide aesthetics and prevent cuts and scratches but I would have had to remember to take them off each time I was going to use the heater because they would melt from the heat. With stainless steel, they are permanent. The cover's only weak point is the top of the cover. For even greater protection I would glue a round flexible plastic disk, kind of like a Tupperware like material into the inside top of the cover or a few layers of a canvas material. That will give you 100% protection because the rest of the cover is EXCELLENT & will provide many, many years of protection. You could probably get away with skipping the changing of the bolts & nuts if you reinforce the inner top of the cover. Either way this cover protects as well as it looks !!!
