Inflatable vs. Metal Frame

[Styx555]

Looking at getting a starter pool and do not want to (yet) invest in an above ground pool. I am looking at something 18' by about 4' deep. I hope to get a few years out of it, and will probably take it down every fall and erect again in the Spring. What is my best bet and what do I need to consider when purchasing? Also, I am buying in Canada (Ottawa), can anyone reccomend a good place to look for these types of pools and what price I should be looking at?

Thanks,

[pool newby]

We had the intex 15 inflatable pool a few years back, and it was such a pain the @ss ! We were constantly patching the inflatable top ring, because cats would get up there to get a drink and their claws would put holes in the ring. Also, the ground has to be absolutely, perfectly level or it will cause the pool to tump over. With the unlevel ground and ring constantly going flat, we couldn't get more than a day or two of use from the pool, without having to refill it and start from scratch. Also, the filter they use in that thing is a piece of junk. Plus, no skimmer and the vacuum is a joke, too.
I'd do yourself a favor and get an above ground pool, you'll be glad you did.

[amyinraleigh]

I have an inflatable ring 18' Intex and so far love it. BUT, I've only had it up for 10 days. Levelling the area WAS a huge PITA, but I would've had to do that for any AG pool - maybe in a few years we'll just expand on the level pad and put a bigger pool up. The vacuum that came with my pool works great (I think different vacs come with different pools), and the filter has been just fine so far - I knew going in that the filter is underpowered, so I take a bit of time each morning to spray my skimmer sock, debris screen and filter cartridge. I see currents from the return hole, which I think should mean a powerful enough water turnover for really such a small pool.

Bottom line, it's a perfect pool to: learn maintenance on, teach my 4 yo how to swim in, cool off after mowing the lawn, and have a margarita in on a hot night.

What the heck more can anyone want for $300?!

Amy

[gpshemi]

Don't get an Intex or Sun -n- Shade. You'll be disappointed. That's actually how I ended up with an AG Esther Williams pool this year. I bought my little boy a $200 Intex at Wally World. It was up 2 days and it collapsed and sent 3000 gallons into the back yard. I'll add that the well pump ran almost 7 hours to fill it too. Needless wear and tear on everything frankly. If you want to keep the costs down and don't want a full blown AG pool, I have some friends that are having good luck with the "portable" type pools. They are a metal frame "basket" type with 35mil liner. They don't have to be dead nuts level either. You can have them 4" off and they'll still hold up. You can put real filters on them too at any point.

Check out this link. http://www.arthurspools.com/pools/legacy.htm
The Legacy was nicer looking of the brands and is what I seriously considered just before we decided to get the EW AG. The kicker for us was that some stores said you could leave them up for winter, other said take them down. I didn't want to mess with it every year. To a certain degree I regret not trying one out cuz it's less money and after all...yer just trying to get wet right? However, the wife didn't want to risk the money over the winter and I didn't want to tear anything down. That should hold up for year though if you do.

gpshemi

[CarlD]

I had an Intex 15'x3' inflatable and we used it for 3 years and loved it.

1) A level site is critical for ANY pool. You can maybe get away with an inch out of level, but a half inch is the max recommended.

2) In 3 years I never had a hole ANYWHERE in my EasySet. My wife's cats are indoor cats, and I used the EasySet cover religiously. It is very tight-fitting, sealing the pool, and covers the ring completely, adding protection. It also greatly reduces chlorine usage since it blocks all UV rays and prevents evaporation of the chlorine. I did have it empty when a hose sprung a leak while on vacation, but I don't blame the pool.

I think the EasySet is an EXCELLENT starter pool. When you are floating in a lounge chair, with an iced drink, on a lazy afternoon, it feels JUST as good as big pool. And the water is just as wet. I would, however, be leery of the clear-sided one. On mine, the sides were HEAVILY re-inforced.

[gpshemi]

The portable pools can be set up on unlevel ground. I repeat, they do not need to be as level as traditional pools. The manufactures even state that in the flyers.

The easyset pools get mixed reviews. It was a nightmare for me, but for others (liek a buddy of mine) they get 3-4 years out of them. My buddy got his on sale for $60. This is his 3rd year and the filter just went out. The filter was $63 this year and the pool is $90. Luckly for him he found one at a yard sale for $5. However, he was about to toss the pool.

When I returned mine Wally World said they've had some problems with them, but they sell well. Guess it's really up to you.

If that's the route you want to take I'd go look at poratables at Sam's (~$600-$800). They have been carrying them and I think they'd hold up alot better, and they'd have a traditional sand filter and not a fish tank power head. Just my $.02 though.

gpshemi

[d1dave]

I don't have any long term experience with the Intex pools, but after a little over a month of use I am very pleased with our 18 x 48 inflatable ring pool. I found this forum before purchasing it so I've been using the BBB method since the beginning and the water is sparkling clean. The only thing I did to get started was buy the pop up pool start up kit at walmart and once that was used up switch over to bleach. The startup kit came with a perfect sized bottle of conditioner and a little chlorine to get started and I was in and swimming in no time. I do leave the pump running 24/7, feeding through the skimmer, and so far so good. I am still planning on cutting back a little at a time once I purchase a timer as long as the pool continues to sparkle. The skimmer will shift a little on the inflatable ring occasionally, not sure about the framed pools, but I just check on it once in the morning and again when I get home from work and shake it out if needed and it seems to work great. Someone posted they used a piece of foam under the skimmer clamp to help keep the skimmer in place and I do plan on trying that out. My pool is eating about 2 or 3 ppm per day here in the Texas sun currently so I just dump in about 4 to 6 cups of ultra bleach each evening.

Overall, I spend maybe 10 minutes a day checking the chlorine and pH level, adding bleach, and shaking out and making sure the skimmer is straight. Other than that I do rinse out the filter once or twice a week and I did replace the first one after three weeks, not because it wasn't still rinsing clean but mostly just because I've read they can get holes in them and I wanted to be safe since they are so cheap. I read somewhere about a guy saying he had purchased an expensive filter with the same dimensions as the Intex filter at a pool store and used it and just rinsed it out as needed. I saw one at the local pool store for $37 that looked identical to mine but since I didn't have the exact measurements and because I wasn't sure I wanted to spend $37 for a cartridge which I can get at WalMart for $5.95 without knowing why it was better I decided to pass for now.

The ladder seems a bit shaky but fairly strong. We've had two peoples weight on the ladder, over 300 pounds combined and it seemed to have survived just fine. The pool came with the deluxe Intex kit, with the vacuum that plugs into the skimmer and I just get in the pool with my goggles and snorkle when it needs vacuuming and cool off while I clean the bottom with the extension pole attached but collapsed all the way. It seems to suck up everything I can see. We did buy a net with a finer mesh than the one that came with the pool but we almost never have to use it because the skimmer runs 24/7 and seems to do a great job.

As far as the pool being level, I can only say that 3/4 of an inch slope is perfectly safe for the 18 x 48 inflatable ring pool. I had to do quite a bit of chopping into a hill in our back yard and the dirt was almost like chipping into brick (very packed, very dry, very hard clay) so I decided to build up on one side as i cut down the other side. The laser said I was perfectly level once it was all done and I had driven the riding mower around in circles for a while to pack it all down. I then raked and smoothed the surface and lightly watered it for a few days to help it settle and proceeded to set up the pool. Well, dumb old me forgot to check it again with the level before putting the pool up and it had indeed settled or at least it settled with a few tons of water on it. Once the pool was almost full I decided to check it with a tape measure because the box said water level 42 inches on the side, 41 on the top and in the instructions and I was going to squeeze out every last inch of depth I paid for That's when I discovered the 3/4 inch difference from one side to the other. Visibly, you can't tell it, but with a tape measure you know it's there. Oh well, it isn't causing any problems and you can't see it so I'll just fix it this winter probably. The pool appears uniform, you can't tell even from inside the pool, and is very stable. It shows no signs of shifting to the low side at 3/4 inch difference. Oh, and I wouldn't go more than the 42 depth with the inflatable ring pool or 40 or 41 especially with kids because the top does seem to start getting a bit too easy to mash down where water can run over. For us, with our first child only still on the way at the moment, we push it to the max and just stay off of the sides.

Overall, after the first month, I am very pleased with the Intex pool and at $297 from WalMart you can't beat the price. I still have my eyes on a monster 20 x 40 above ground oval but that is going to mean ALOT of chopping into the hill behind our house and that is something that just couldn't happen before summer was over.

[Styx555]

D1dave, do you have any pictures? i am particularly interested in how you built up one side while chopping the other as I am contemplating the same thing. I am not sure what the best method to build up the side would be?

[BlueBlobTX]

I don't have experience with the metal frame... we have an 18' x 48" intex easy set. This is our 2nd year with the pool and we've had no problems and absolutely love it. I believe several years ago there were problems with seams bursting and inadequate pumps. I think all of that has been resolved. For the price (and they should be going on sale by now), you get a lot of stuff. The 18' pools usually come with the cover, ladder, pump, filter, skimmer, and a cleaning kit that includes a vacuum that hooks to the skimmer. Ours last year also came with a sprayer head to go on the return which is great for aerating when you need to drop the alk or cool the water down. You will need a level site, but that's necessary for any pool holding that much water (5500 gallons). My cat jumps on the ring as well as racoons in the night and I've never had a leak. We even left it up through the winter with no problems (but it doesn't freeze much in our area).

The kids need to be taught to respect the pool and its limits. I'd say big kids playing too rough would be the biggest risk pool failure, and that would probably apply to the metal frame pool as well. That water weighs a lot and has a lot of force.

This pool has been a great learning experience for me. I found this forum before we filled it and have followed the methods here with perfect results. We'll be ready for a bigger, more permanent pool in the next year or so and I'm confident I can maintain it well from what I've learned here. If the Intex had only been good for one season, it was worth it. We've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it, with a very small investment. In my opinion, its a great starter pool.

Sidenote: These pools are literally "popping up" all over the place here in S. Texas. I've told my DH that we need to figure out a good use for all the pools that will be discarded in the next few years. We have a large, leaky stock-pond on our place and I'm thinking of lining it with cut up Intex pools. DH thinks I'm nuts...

Lori

[gpshemi]

Hey playing devils advacate here, but I will say that if you're at all on the fence about a pool, it's a great learning experience and you're not out much if you decide to hang it up.....

gpshemi