About to buy a new inground pool!

[CarlD]

Hi PJM--I'm not far from you, being just West of Newark, so we have very similar climate conditions. I use solar heating and have for over 10 years, so you can use it VERY effectively to extend your swimming season from the standard Memorial Day - Labor Day by a month on either side--from 3 months to 5 months. Of course, this year it might be mid-April!

IMHO, I would take a 36x18 pool over a 32x20 any day. But, I am a lap-swimmer, going to my local Y a couple of times a week. You cannot really lap in 32', but can in 36', although I think 40' is the minimum for lapping. My pool is 16x40 and it is easily wide enough for pool parties and lots of kids and grownup.

I think switching from oil heat to gas heat just to be able to heat your pool is unwise. If you are considering gas heat anyway, because of the cost savings, that's another story. But, despite our fairly high electricity costs, you should consider a heat pump as it will be FAR less costly to run than natural gas. Still, unless you want to swim outside of the May-->September corridor, solar will work extremely well...and costs virtually nothing to run.

Just my thoughts!

[cleancloths]

Agree, I am close to Morristown NJ and if you keep the solar cover on the pool when not using it you need very little heat inside of the may to sept window. I use my heat pump to bring it up to temp and that is it until mid-september. The rest of the heat is supplied by 80 SqFt of solar mat which is enough to maintain the 20x40 ig pool.

[Watermom]

Hi Cleancloths! Glad to see you back around the forum this year!

[PJM361]

I didn't have the email notification setting on so I did not know there were any replies, thanks everybody. They started digging on Wednesday, forms & poured concrete yesterday. The pool is going to be 20 x 34, I went a little shorter & wider to save space in the yard for my kids to play. Pool is running away from the house. Hydramatic cover is $$$$ but, it's a must because 1 of my sons has Autism & loves the water. Deep end will only be 4' as another safety precaution and my cousin who has a 8' deep end told me if he had to do it over again he wouldn't have. Solar company said I would need (9) 4'x12' panels to heat the pool, that would take up a lot of space on the roof. I wanted to go solar PV to help with AC cost but, the sub panel box in basement won't have enough amps to use a heat pump. My electrician said he had one at a previous house and it didn't raise the temps high enough in the early spring & fall. I'm 99.9% sure I'm switching the house to gas so I might as well get it for the pool, too. The auto cover should help. Cleancloths , 80 is enough? how big is your pool?

[TomC]

Hi PJM, Swimking put my pool in also, in 2001. They are a very good company , they installed my pool from dig to swimming in 2 weeks. They have good customer service and are very responsive to any problems that may arise. I really enjoy the poured concrete steps running the entire width of the pool. We didn't get a heater, but our pool is in the sun all day and usually stays around 80-90 degrees. Good luck and have fun!

Tom

[PJM361]

I heard good things about them from my brothers friend but, they didn't call back after several attempts & emails. They then said the salesman was in an accident but , I had call the office a week before that and had ask if he was on vacation or something and they said no, I just got tired of waiting. We went with south shore pools instead after several neighbors & friends gave good reviews. Only 1 problem so far that got straighten out. Hopefully all goes well from here.

[TomC]

Good luck PJM! Nothing beats a backyard oasis, especially if you have kids. Sorry about Swimking, but I've heard really good things about South shore pools. Between our dogs, our kids, and family and friends, our pool gets quite a workout. I wish I did a couple of things differently, mostly I wish I had sleeves put into the patio for umbrellas and volleyball poles. Have fun this summer.

Tom