Opinions on above ground pools?

[AuntKitty]

Does anyone have the "quick-set" metal sided kind and are they better than the ring top inflatable kind? I am looking at a 20' round 48" tall pool. I have a level area already so that won't be a problem.

Thanks for your help!

Kitty

[Minelson]

I want one too so I will be watching this thread

[Our Little Farm]

Someone I know has one and it seems just fine. We have one of those ones that rises with the water level. Works fine on level ground.

[Tilly]

We had the inflatable ring kind, a big one that all 7 of us could get into. They are tapered from the bottom(wider at the bottom, narrower at the ring) and I always worried about the kids getting trapped in that part somehow. Our kitty cats loved the fresh, clean water in their new drinking 'bowl' until their claws popped the ring. our next pool will be a large stock tank.

Tilly

[taylorlambert]

W had one for 15 years here. It was a pain to put up but worth it. a few years later I helped my brother put his in and we had it up in 2 hours. His lasted 8 years but moles were his downfall. THey would burrow under the sand pad that its liner sat on and bore into the liner. Id like to have seen the look on the little face when 13 000 gallons of water hit him.


We had the same liner for 15 years as we have no moles. If I was todo it again I would put a concrete pad under this one to make intalation go faster. Ours was a 4 by 24. What happened to hours was the the tin sides is one sheet and its galvanized. But its galvanized before the connecting holes in each end are punched. THat left the clean tin exposed in the bolt holes along the sean and it rusted from inside out. When we noticed it I tried to get my mother to let me take a sheet of stainless and bold it over with carrage bolts and it wouldnt be noticed. She never did and one night it let go. imagine 13 000 gallons shooting down hill and across the road.

Im looking for a 24 foot diameter gran bin to make my nesw sides from as its thicker and hot dip galvanized after all the holes are punched. just install it and put in a pool liner and filter.

[AuntKitty]

Thanks everyone! I'm kind of surprised that a cat's claws could puncture the ring. I thought it would be stronger than that. The one's I am considering hold around 5,000 gallons and cost $300 to $500, not one of the more expensive models. I guess I will ask around and see if any of my friends knows anyone who has one set up around here and I will go look at them.

Or I could always do a driveby in the city closest to me - road trip!!!

Kitty

[Our Little Farm]

We have the one that you are talking about Kitty and lots of cats. Being deep they never tried to get in or bothered with it at all.Guess it depends on how curious your cats are! Ours have taken a dip in the hot tub on occasion, so maybe that has made them wary? Hope so, as we are putting it up again this year. Got it on clearance last year, early enough for some good times before we had to pack it up.

[AuntKitty]

OLF - is the size I am looking at big enough to swim in and for kids to cannonball into? I have some old extra wide mobile home steps that I am thinking for sliding up against the side of it so my 8 year old nephew can jump in. Is it sturdy enought that adults can stand around with their arms up on the side? What do you think?

Thanks!

[Pink_Carnation]

Growing up we had the metal sided kind. It did not seem to have any problems and lasted quite a while before it needed a new liner even. The filters that come with them are not always very good but other than that it worked well. We were also able to dig out a deeper end with ours since the liner stretches. After at least 20 years my parents sold it to someone else since they spent more time cleaning it than using it after we were gone.

And yes adults would be able to rest their arms on the side of ours...you are not supposed to walk on the sides so jumping in was limited since we did not build a deck around it. Whatever you use make sure there are no sharp edges.

[galfriend]

Kitty, my DD has had one for years. They love theirs! 3 boys and their friends too. Heard how Mom and Dad enjoyed a dip too after young'ens asleep.

She safety fenced hers in, w/locked gates, to keep it on safe side since she also has a younger child. She also took hers down at end of season too. Seemed like a lot of work there, but so would all the expense and cleaning on off season too.

Hers came w/ladder. Worked fine for them. I'd make sure any steps you add are slick-wet proofed!
Go for it!! Have FUN!

[Belfrybat]

Originally Posted by AuntKitty

Thanks everyone! I'm kind of surprised that a cat's claws could puncture the ring. I thought it would be stronger than that. The one's I am considering hold around 5,000 gallons and cost $300 to $500, not one of the more expensive models. I guess I will ask around and see if any of my friends knows anyone who has one set up around here and I will go look at them.

Or I could always do a driveby in the city closest to me - road trip!!!

Kitty

I had a friend with one of those inflatable ring kind and she also had a cat puncture it. Also, even though the height might be 48", the water level is about 6" below that. For just a little more money, I would think the hard sided metal ones would be better.

[halfpint]

We're on our 3rd above ground pool. First was taken out by a small tornado at only about 2 years old. The 2nd lasted about 16 years and then rusted out and collapsed. The only bad thing about that was that it washed out years of building up my garden soil. We're now on our third. The only liner we ever replaced was on the 2nd pool, but it went bad the at the beginning of the 2nd year and was still under warranty since all the leaks were in the seams. We put about 6" of black sand over Alabama red clay, and then put the foam liner on the bottom before putting in the liner. The foam bottom makes the bottom much softer and I'm told makes the liner last longer. We've never had anything try to burrow. We built a deck around ours which took a couple of years, but it makes it seem as nice as an inground. We're in the process of replacing the deck with the recycled plastic/sawdust boards now, which may take 2-3 years due to the cost of the materials.

If your pool is still functional, and you would like to get rid of it, you can often advertise on craigs list and someone will come remove it for you. I've had a couple of friends do this - either before the moved or when their children were grown.

I'm not sure if they still have the 48" pools. When we replaced ours about two years ago, we could only get the 52" deep pools.
Dawn

[English Oliver]

I bought a 750 gallon stock tank, never leaks and will last for years. Works great for soaking in on those hot afternoons.

[Jan Doling]

English Oliver:

Stock tanks dont have drains, do they? How do you clean and empty it?

[English Oliver]

Originally Posted by Jan Doling

English Oliver:

Stock tanks dont have drains, do they? How do you clean and empty it?

This one has a drain. I hooked up a pump and filter off a swimming pool that went bad after one year. I change the water every ten days. I don't enjoy swimming for fun, just soaking. The grandkids love it, they call it the hillbilly hot tub.

"O"

[Beeman]

We've had a 24' metal sided one for years. Last year we had to replace the liner which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Nothing makes you feel better then a swip after work on a hot day. A quick dip cools you down so you can go back to work refreshed.

[highlands]

I've seen a lot of these that have lasted for years even in our harsh northern climate. The failures I have seen were from people making too much waves - spectacular. Think 10 kids all jump in at once for fun. The pools can't take the shock wave at the other side and split at the seam or a weak rust point. I got to salvage those pools - the owners were delighted to get rid of the ruins and I used the materials to build animal sheds.

For a decade(?) we had a 1,800 gallon fiberglass walled above ground pool. It was great. We stopped using it after the pond I built sealed. The pond is probably more like 36,000 gallons and more fun so we carefully stored away the pool. The liner needed replacing about every four years or so. We paid $29 for the entire pool on sale in the fall and the liners were $29 - irony.

The biggest key was making the level absolutely perfectly flat and then laying down a several inch layer of fine sand with NO STONES!!! I emphasize that. I had to patch the bottom from a sharp stone. I can't figure out how it got there as I put an old quilt and blanket under the sand layer but there was the stone and it punctured the liner creating a slow leak.

To heat our pool we took a 100' length 1" black plastic water line and put it on the low shed roof near the pool. The pool pump pushed the water up through that line where was headed by the sun. A timer turned the pump off at night. Worked great and extended the swimming season by months in both the spring and fall. See:

http://flashweb.com/blog/2007/06/hot...ural-pool.html

The downside of our much bigger swimming pond is that the pond doesn't have the solar heater and is thus cooler. The pond's real purpose is water storage for our livestock for the dry season - it is just big enough. One of my goals is getting more flow to it. Another goal is making another small pond like it to double our storage capacity. Ponds are a great excuse but as noted, a bit cooler.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[Harry Chickpea]

Originally Posted by AuntKitty

Thanks everyone! I'm kind of surprised that a cat's claws could puncture the ring. I thought it would be stronger than that. The one's I am considering hold around 5,000 gallons and cost $300 to $500, not one of the more expensive models. I guess I will ask around and see if any of my friends knows anyone who has one set up around here and I will go look at them.

Or I could always do a driveby in the city closest to me - road trip!!!

Kitty

Ummm 20' diameter and 4' tall would be closer to 9000 gallons.

There is a lot of markup in this type of pool, especially at the beginning of the season. If you wait, you can sometimes pick up bargains. I got an 8' one of the ring type for less than $20, one 10' complete with a little filter pump for less than $70.

If money is an issue, 6 mil greenhouse plastic is very strong and could be used as a liner. A couple of 4' rolls of hardware cloth and some stakes could make the frame. I'd stuff lawn clippings between the hardware cloth and liner as a cushion.

[MushCreek]

We had one that lasted about 15 years (with 3 liners). Installation is important, with a special sand under it. You MUST nuke the ground with high power weed killer- certain weeds and grass will grow right through the liner. Ours came with free installation. The guy assembled the sides, sprayed some kind of weather proofing where the sides overlap and are bolted, and put duct tape over the screw heads. Installing a liner is difficult to get right, and we called up the same guy every time we needed a new one. Our pool was very hot in the summer- often in the mid 90's. We found a shade room that fit over it, which lowered the temperature about 10 degrees.

Any pool is a lot of maintenance- cleaning, chemicals, pool pump. Our first pump died in 2 years, so we got a good Haywood cartridge type that was still working when the pool fell apart. By the time our pool gave out, our son had out-grown it, and we were glad to see it go.

[Wis Bang 2]

My college friends have one 24' in diameter, it's sides are supported by a 2' deck all the way round w/ a larger spot by the steps & a railing all around. It's over 18 yrs old w/ NJ winters. Great summers too! They had lots of usable designs available.