Comparison
Hexprotect® AQUA vs Hexofloat® — engineering
Hexprotect® AQUA is AWTT's pre-ballasted 220 mm workhorse — 99% surface coverage, 130+ MPH wind, 25+ year life (AWTT-published). Hexofloat® is EuroCover's 190 mm AWTT design-approved variant — same patented working principle, ~30% lighter shell, 75 MPH wind, 15-year life (EuroCover-published).
At a glance
| Metric | Hexagonal floating cover | Hexofloat® |
|---|---|---|
| Lineage | AWTT-patented hexagonal floating cover platform (2010) | EuroCover-tooled, formally AWTT design-approved |
| Tile diameter | 220 mm (8.7 in) — AWTT-published | 190 mm (7.5 in) — EuroCover-published |
| Shell construction | One-piece moulded HDPE, pre-ballasted at factory — AWTT | Self-contained chamber, ~30% lighter shell — EuroCover (AWTT-approved) |
| Surface coverage | 99% effective — AWTT | 99% effective — EuroCover (AWTT-approved) |
| Wind certification | 130+ MPH (209+ km/h) — AWTT-published, hurricane-rated | 75 MPH (121 km/h) — EuroCover-published |
| Self-loading under wind | 260%+ — AWTT-published | Lower envelope — EuroCover (AWTT-approved) |
| Life expectancy | 25+ years — AWTT-published | 15 years — EuroCover-published |
| Manufacturer warranty | 10 years — AWTT | 10 years — EuroCover |
| Manufacturing origin | AWTT — US-manufactured, EU-stocked | European Union — EuroCover-owned tooling |
| Anchorless install | Yes — AWTT | Yes — EuroCover (AWTT-approved); identical procedure |
| NSF/ANSI food-grade | Available — AWTT-published | Available on request — EuroCover (AWTT-approved) |
Hexprotect® AQUA and Hexofloat® are the two members of the AWTT hexagonal floating cover platform sold through EuroCover Water Systems. They share the patented working principle of the AWTT hexagonal line; they target different procurement envelopes. This page is the engineering side-by-side.
For the EU procurement-side comparison (lead times, REACH dossier, country-by-country), see eurocovers.eu/vs/hexprotect-aqua-vs-hexofloat.
How they share the platform
Both covers are hexagonal HDPE floating tiles that deploy anchorlessly onto an operating water body. Both carry a central-dome profile that sheds rainfall toward the seams between adjacent tiles, dissipates wind energy across the tile face, and absorbs small height variations across the tessellation. Both tessellate at 99% effective surface coverage (AWTT-published for AQUA; EuroCover-published for Hexofloat® on AWTT-approved tooling). Both install via shoreline launch with no anchors, no draining, no specialist crew.
How the envelope differs
Three engineering decisions distinguish the two covers.
Tile size and shell mass
AQUA is the 220 mm tile (AWTT-published) with the heavier shell engineered for the hurricane-rated wind envelope. Hexofloat® is the 190 mm tile (EuroCover-published) with a ~30% lighter shell — the basis of the EU lead time advantage (3–6 weeks vs the AWTT 2–8 week window).
Wind certification
The AWTT-published AQUA wind rating is 130+ MPH (209+ km/h) — hurricane-rated, with peer-reviewed wind testing behind the envelope. Hexofloat® carries 75 MPH (121 km/h, EuroCover-published) — sufficient for most inland EU industrial sites but below the AWTT envelope for hurricane-exposed deployments.
Service-life envelope
AQUA is engineered for 25+ years of service (AWTT-published), with peer-reviewed lifecycle validation. Hexofloat® targets 15 years (EuroCover-published) at the lighter shell mass — a deliberate trade-off for the EU manufacturing and lead-time advantage on the AWTT-approved platform.
Picking between them
| Decision driver | Specification |
|---|---|
| Hurricane wind exposure / sustained extreme wind | Hexprotect® AQUA (AWTT-published 130+ MPH) |
| 25-year procurement horizon | Hexprotect® AQUA (AWTT-published 25+ year life) |
| NSF/ANSI food-grade by default | Hexprotect® AQUA (AWTT-published certification) |
| EU manufacturing origin (REACH, EU tenders) | Hexofloat® (EuroCover, AWTT-approved tooling) |
| 3–6 week EU lead time | Hexofloat® (EuroCover-published) |
| Transport-efficient on large orders | Hexofloat® (EuroCover, AWTT-approved) |
| Inland EU site, wind well below 75 MPH | Hexofloat® (EuroCover-published envelope sufficient) |
| 15-year amortisation acceptable | Hexofloat® (EuroCover) |
Sources
- AWTT — Hexprotect® AQUA hexagonal cover — manufacturer canonical reference for the AQUA envelope.
- EuroCover Water Systems — Hexofloat® product page — EuroCover-published Hexofloat® specifications on AWTT-approved tooling.
- Heritage — the evolution story — how AQUA and Hexofloat® fit in the broader AWTT-patented hexagonal cover lineage.
When Hexofloat® makes sense
Hexofloat® is the right specification when EU manufacturing origin is a binding procurement constraint, a 3–6 week EU lead time fits the project schedule better than the AQUA lead time, transport efficiency matters on a large order, or site wind exposure stays inside the 75 MPH envelope (EuroCover-published — below the AWTT-published Hexprotect® AQUA wind rating) with a 15-year amortisation window. The two covers share the patented working principle of the AWTT hexagonal line — installs are identical, on-site behaviour is comparable; the trade-off is envelope vs availability.