Looking to buy our first pool.. Wondering about pricing and options..

[Pappy]

Get an Intex metal frame, above ground pool - the blow-up models are not reliable. Intex has the most consistent quality of lower end pools. This is the third season we've had our Intex and it has been WELL worth the money. We upgraded to a sand filter this year because the Intex cartridge filters don't do a great job(almost worthless with the Intex brand filter) and we didn't know there were higher quality cartridges available. Also, a 2 hp pump is way more than you need, and cost more to run. A 3/4 hp will probably work and 1-1/2 will be plenty.

Read this
http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/abov...-problems.html

and this
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...-Bestway-pools

[tbird2340]

So I'm thinking about buying all the parts and then having an installer install it..

The pool that my local store has that we like is called "Quest" and I found it sold online here: http://www.thepoolfactory.com/quest-24x54-round.html#

So other than the pool, I need advice on the pump / filter.. I read recently that for up to 24' you should get a 1HP pump and that getting more than that is actually counter productive.. Is that true?

Also, sand or cartridge? I'm leaning towards cartridge..

Thanks

[Watermom]

You are right in your thinking that too big of a pump is counter productive. In the case of pool pumps, bigger is NOT better.

I actually think if I was buying a 24ft AG (I used to have one), I'd go with smaller than a 1hp pump. Actually, when I had my 24ft, I initially had a 3/4hp. When it was time to replace that pump, I had Poconos (who is another moderator who is no longer active on the forum) pick out something for me to buy. He told me to get a 1/2 hp full-rated inground pump. I think it is a Hayward Superpump. Inground pumps are usually made a little more sturdily and also have the advantage of being self-priming which AG pumps are not. I now have a 27ft AG and am still using that same pump and it does just fine.

I have it paired with a 300 lb. sand filter. I prefer sand filters because they are by far the easiest to deal with. I have always had good filtration with my sand filters. They are easily backwashed (takes 2-3 minutes tops and requires nothing more than turning a handle on the multi-port valve) as opposed to having to actually take out and clean a cartridge filter which is a nuisance and can be a very messy job. In fact, a cartridge would be my last choice. (You'll get lots of opinions on which type of filter is best. )

There are several members of the Pool Forum support team who are way more knowledgeable than me about pumps and filters but until one of them comes by and gives you a good recommendation, I just thought I'd share what I have.

[tbird2340]

Thanks a lot for the reply! So if I went with a 1/2 HP Inground Pump, what should I pair that with as far as the filter goes? I know when you buy them as a "package" the filter/pump come on a nice stand.. If I buy them separate do I just make my own flat surface to put them on or what?

RE: Sand vs Cartridge.. My friend at work had a cart and he switched it for a sand.. The guy at the pool store tonight sorta had me leaning towards a cart filter because he made it sound like the sand ones were a major PITA.. He said you have to (or should) change the sand yearly and that it's a bear to get all the wet sand out etc..

My other friend has sand and likes it and a neighbor has a cart and he said he would go that way.. So yea.. LOL.. It depends on who you ask..

So for the liner.. Should I go with a bead liner? 25gauge?

I think the rest is pretty straight forward.. A cleaning kit, solar and winter covers, a ladder, etc.. I'm just most concerned about picking the right filter/pump..

Thanks

[Pappy]

From http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/abov...-problems.html

A combination that will work fairly well for almost ALL above ground pools -- regardless of pool size -- is a 1/2 HP Hayward "Super" pump (mfg. model #SP2600X5), a 22" Hayward "PRO" sand filter (mfg. model #SP220T), a Hayward 1.5" "Vari-Flo" multiport valve (mfg. model #SP071113), and a cord set (#SPX1550WA [25 ft long] or #SPX1250 [6 ft long])

If I was in the market for a pump/filter on the pool you described , I'd probably go with a 3/4 hp 2 SPEED pump and a 250lb sand filter. I've also read that 2" plumbing instead of 1-1/2" will probably pay for its self in energy savings, for pumps 3/4 hp and larger.

[PoolDoc]

So I'm thinking about buying all the parts and then having an installer install it..

Just remember that, if you do it that way, warranty problems are ALL yours.

If the installer sells the pool, and something goes wrong, he's on the hook. But if you buy the pool from a 3rd party, and there's a problem, the installer will usually say 'the problem is with the pool', and the 3rd party will say, 'the problem is with the installation'.

Just sayin'

[PoolDoc]

RE: Sand vs Cartridge.. My friend at work had a cart and he switched it for a sand.. The guy at the pool store tonight sorta had me leaning towards a cart filter because he made it sound like the sand ones were a major PITA.. He said you have to (or should) change the sand yearly and that it's a bear to get all the wet sand out etc..

So yea.. LOL.. It depends on who you ask..

Yes, but not in the way you're thinking: the cartridge advocating pool guy is lying! You do NOT have to change the sand annually, or anything like that. I've worked on old commercial pools that had 40+ year old sand that still worked just fine! Replacing sand *IS* a pain, but if you maintain your pool chemistry and don't use Baquacil, odds are it's a job you'll never have to do!

Sand filters may have to be cleaned more frequently than cartridge filters, but it's MUCH easier. You can backwash a sand filter (or some DE filters) wearing a suit. Try cleaning a cartridge filter in a suit . . . and you'll need a new suit!

There *are* a number of people here who have cartridge filters and like them -- but many of them have pools in arid regions, where there are water use restrictions, and where they don't have thunderstorms filling their skimmers (and filters) with leaf bits and bugs.

One key point that applies regardless of filter type: get a BIG filter and a LITTLE pump, and your pool life will be much easier.

[tbird2340]

Just remember that, if you do it that way, warranty problems are ALL yours.

If the installer sells the pool, and something goes wrong, he's on the hook. But if you buy the pool from a 3rd party, and there's a problem, the installer will usually say 'the problem is with the pool', and the 3rd party will say, 'the problem is with the installation'.

Just sayin'

Oh crap.. Really? So people don't go this route that much? I'm not sure how much pool install is but if it's under $1,000 I would save about $500.. BUT, if the above is likely to happen.. It wouldn't be worth the savings..

[PoolDoc]

Oh, I think people DO go that route fairly often. But I also think most of them don't understand the consequences till too late.

Years and years ago, when I was working as a repair plumber, Lowes began to sell water heaters at $5 - 10 more than they cost me buying them "wholesale". At the time, I was charging around $150 to swap out an electric heater, and adding about $60 to what I paid for the heater. More than a few people thought it would be a good idea to save that $50, and buy it themselves.

Initially, I got P.O.d. But I realized that it was a reasonable choice for them to make . . . based on the limited info they had. So I explained that about 5% of the heaters I installed had some sort of problem within the first month -- and that I'd correct that for free, if I sold the heater, but that it would be another service call if I had installed a heater from Lowes. And, I pointed out that maybe 2% of the heaters had a MAJOR problem within the warranty period, requiring replacement, and that (again) that replacement was free, if I sold the heater, but another $150 if they bought the heater.

Pretty much everyone decided -- once they were informed -- that saving that $50 wasn't such a good idea after all. But, they wouldn't have known if I'd just gotten mad, and not explained calmly.

When you're doing the work yourself, it makes sense to buy from the best source, so long as they'll honor basic equipment warranties. But hiring a contractor to install YOUR materials often leads to a real mess when something goes wrong.

[PoolDoc]

I probably should add, people brag about getting a great deal, but not about the stupid mistakes they make. (Me too! I still haven't told the story of the 300,000 gallon pool I turned purple, while 200 people were swimming in it!)

As a result, you tend to hear from your friends and buddies when they save money by doing it themselves, or buying it themselves, but not so much, when it all goes sour. This tends to make DIY or BIY projects sound better than they are.

We see it all the time here, where a poster will be actively posting, till it finally becomes clear even to them, that THEY were the ones that screwed up . . . at which point they disappear from the forum.

Information flow is such an interesting topic (to those of us with philosophical inclinations).