Advice on Metal Frame Easy-set pool?

[tphoward26]

Hello,

I hope this is the appropriate place to post on this topic. I am interested in purchasing a 18' x 48" easy-set metal-frame pool. Me and my wife want to use this pool for 2-3 years to see if we want the expenses/maintenance of a pool. My concerns are below:

1) Seems like there would be a tremendous amount pressure on the walls. How likely am I to end up with a Tsuami in my back yard? My neighbors don't like me anyway.

2) How long do these pools usually last?

3) Are they more difficult to maintain that a regular Hard-wall pool?

4) About how much money per month am I looking at for Chemicals?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Tom

[gwrace1]

I can appreciate you wanting to get your feet wet before jumping into a major purchase. However buying cheaper pools usually results in more equipment and break fix maintanance. These pools tend to come with very cheap accessories and pump/filter equipment.

Any pool regardless of size will require:
1. Perfectly level ground for installation
2. Regular water chemistry adjustments on a daily sometimes weekly basis
3. Filter and Pump maintenance
4. Frequent Pool cleanup tasks
5. Never ending list of accessories, chemicals and toys to buy

Most of my neighbors with the Walmart pools throw them away after the 1st year. I don't know about the Easy Set Pools.

[IMherDad]

with GWRACE1. I've seen so many people that think they are going to try a pool and if they like it then they will move up. Infact this is exactly what we did. I wish we had not wasted the time and expense of getting one of the cheaper pools. We were so happy when we got out 33' AG and now encourage anyone we talk to when they are looking at a pool not to try the cheap route.

You will spend as much if not more in the long run going with the cheaper pool.

[CarlD]

I can appreciate you wanting to get your feet wet before jumping into a major purchase. However buying cheaper pools usually results in more equipment and break fix maintanance. These pools tend to come with very cheap accessories and pump/filter equipment.

I have to take GREAT issue and umbrage at this statement. I personally think it is BS (Barnyard Slush, as Ben calls it).

We bought a 15x3' EasySet inflatable donut and used it with great pleasure for 3 seasons. Without investing thousands of dollars I was able to find out how and if I could handle pool maintenance. Sure, the filter is cheap and barely adequate. Sure, I had to replace the hoses every year (wow, 18 bucks a year--shameful). But if you make a mistake you can DRAIN AND REFILL easily--and I did. By the third season, having found this site, I had no problems at all--and I DID invest in Ben's PS-232 version of his test kit. Even on the little cheapie pool it was worth every penny.

We never planned to have the donut as our final solution, but to learn about pools. After you put in a $50,000 I/G is a lousy time to find out you hate or cannot manage pool maintenance. Some A/Gs get very pricey as well (Like FantaSea--mine, or Splash or Kayak). For another $100 I added a 10'x4' solar panel (including plumbing) and turned it into the biggest back-yard hot tub you ever saw!



Any pool regardless of size will require:
1. Perfectly level ground for installation
2. Regular water chemistry adjustments on a daily sometimes weekly basis
3. Filter and Pump maintenance
4. Frequent Pool cleanup tasks
5. Never ending list of accessories, chemicals and toys to buy

This is right-on! Your level surface is the MOST crucial element. Without it, you WILL have problems. It may cost you a few hundred or more but you have NO CHOICE--a pool--especiallly a ground-standing pool, MUST be level. Each cubic foot of water weighs 62 or 68 lbs (I forgot which). At 62 lbs/sq foot a 20,000 gallon pool has 165,775 LBS of water--that's 82 tons. At 68 lbs/sq foot it's 90 tons! A level surface is crucial.



Most of my neighbors with the Walmart pools throw them away after the 1st year. I don't know about the Easy Set Pools.

They clearly haven't read the info on this site, and they certainly haven't applied it.

When we decided to go for a big pool, I had FULL confidence in being able to handle it, handle solar heating and look FORWARD to opening for the season, rather than dreading it. As I plan for our 4th season with our big pool, I again can barely wait to get it going, fire up the solar panels and get in with my kids! The EasySet donut doesn't owe us a dime!

[NWMNMom]

I'm with CarlID on that. We had our 18x48 "dougnut pool" with a solar panel for 5 years and enjoyed it very much, but our children grew larger and invited more friends all the time, we have outgrown it. We kept our chemistry set, pumps on timers, the covers on when we should, had a nice Lil Shark for easy cleaning and it worked very well for us until it was time to move up. These work pretty well for letting someone find out the schedules and routines required for pool ownership, or if its not for them at all! I think these things cost close to nothing these days - a couple hundred and cheap filter/hose replacements if there is a problem (not a $600 initial expense like when we bought ours, but isn't that how it always goes?)

We saved until we could afford more than just the first thing that fit a budget. Wish a big round would have worked, but narrow sun exposure in our yard led us to a buttress-free 18x33, which has been ordered and will be delivered soon. (shade = mosquitos up here in the northern swamps)

[MarkC]

I'm also with CarlD on this one. We started with a 12 foot diameter 3ft deep pool from Walmart $150. I added a skimmer and changed the cheapo pump filter to a low end real sand filter with pump. I had $350 into that pool and we used it for 3 years. I would take it down at the end of the season (1 hr) and reinstall in the spring (3 hrs). I learned quite a bit about pool chemistry and it made me feel very comfortable when we decided to make the plunge into a 16X32 inground concrete pool. That was one great little pool.

[haze_1956]

I am with the rest, 14x3 donut for 2 years. I will say however my kids were only 6 and 8 and it was all the pool we needed. Now bigger kids, bigger pool. But what I learned on the little one, makes the bigger one less of a challenge.
Less than an hour a week to maintain it, thanks to what I have learned from this site, and the experience from the small one.

[scottturner]

My 2 cents, if you gather the knowledge from this forum on how to manage the water and how to make the equipment function at its highest capability and ask questions on the gray areas, you can make a simple inexpensive pool work wonderfully. I think like anything, buy the best that you can afford. Do your homework within your price range and hit this forum often and you will be happy. You could potentially put together a custom package, meaning buy a used pool and then a new pump/filter, etc., and make it fit your budget. You take more risk but can potentially get more pool for your money, and the more education you have on the subject, the more you minimize the risk. This is a great board for people willing to help you out and help you minimize your risk in whatever pool you decide. Good luck! Remember, this is only worth 2 cents :-)

[Kimrst]

I bought our easy set pool last spring for $400 and set it up and maintained it myself. I didn't have a clue about the chemistry but learned here. I love that pool. My husband and I are looking forward to setting it up again this spring. The 18'x48" was just the thing for the 2 of us to enjoy after work. And now that we know I can handle the chemistry we will build a "real" above the ground next year when we add our new garage. I say go for it and try it out.
The others were right, a flat surface is key to having a stable pool. Oh and not using stabilized chlorine tablets in the floaty dispenser duck. I learned that too. And when you push the liner out at the bottem before filling it don't kick it too hard or you can tear the liner at the seams. We did get a replacement liner in a week from Intex, at no cost, but it was a long 10 day wait. Let us know how it goes, Kimrst

[1badrebel]

Lesson learned...if you go on vacation for a week turn the pump off, dont let it run. My fittings wiggled loose after running flawlessly for 2 months and I came home to a empty pool, pump still running, and a soggy yard. Costly when you have to truck in the water.

Clean it, Shock it, Cover it, Pray.

We never erected that pool again. I am now the proud owner of a 24' Doughboy Desert Spring. I love it.

[CarlD]

Lesson learned...if you go on vacation for a week turn the pump off, dont let it run. My fittings wiggled loose after running flawlessly for 2 months and I came home to a empty pool, pump still running, and a soggy yard. Costly when you have to truck in the water.

Clean it, Shock it, Cover it, Pray.

We never erected that pool again. I am now the proud owner of a 24' Doughboy Desert Spring. I love it.

Um, when I had my 15' EasySet, I spent the $30 or $40 bucks on an outdoor timer for the pump................

A burst or loose hose can happen. That's why my first choice is standard PVC with glued-one Sched 40 fittings. My second choice is TigerFlex with glued-on Sched 40 fittings.