The Above Ground Outdoor Swimming Pool Thread

[Wallace12R]

I’ve just bought an Intex 4.5m x 2.2m pool for the kids to play around in. Would I be ok just putting a few ground sheets and some of the interlocking foam squares down as a base? Also, it came with one of the Intex cartridge filters and solar heat mats. The heat mat would be in the sun all day long, will one be enough to raise the temp enough so the kids don’t think I’m trying to freeze them to death?

Thanks.

[Jobbo]

Wallace12R said:

I’ve just bought an Intex 4.5m x 2.2m pool for the kids to play around in. Would I be ok just putting a few ground sheets and some of the interlocking foam squares down as a base? Also, it came with one of the Intex cartridge filters and solar heat mats. The heat mat would be in the sun all day long, will one be enough to raise the temp enough so the kids don’t think I’m trying to freeze them to death?

Thanks.

I've done just that with foam tiles, but you do need to clear the area of any stones, twigs, bits of gravel etc first. Even through the foam you can feel them if you step on them. Didn't even bother with a ground sheet. Not sure if this is good advice, but it's fine and usable for my second season this year.

I bought two solar heat mats last year to try and they did very little because the pump was strangled even by just one of them being connected. I have bought a much more powerful Intex pump this year (another thing you don't realise until too late - there are two pipe sizes commonly used, 32mm and 38mm, and I had to buy a set of adaptors before I could connect it), but since I have a heat pump coming I haven't bothered trying the heat mats again. A friend of mine reckons they work, which is why I bought them, but just make sure your pump can deal with the restriction on flow they cause.

[sunnygym]

Wallace12R said:

I’ve just bought an Intex 4.5m x 2.2m pool for the kids to play around in. Would I be ok just putting a few ground sheets and some of the interlocking foam squares down as a base? Also, it came with one of the Intex cartridge filters and solar heat mats. The heat mat would be in the sun all day long, will one be enough to raise the temp enough so the kids don’t think I’m trying to freeze them to death?

Thanks.

Amazon sell solar covers which is effectively bubble wrap, it’s pretty cheap and helps heat the water on sunny days

[Insert Coin]

I use the bubble wrap solar cover, the pool started off at about 18c back at the start of June, I regularly see it at 30c+ now with just the solar cover in the day and the crappy Intex heater running at night.

It’s currently 33c at the top, but cooler lower down in the water.

[Arnold Cunningham]

Pump on but with heater off, mine's currently at 25.5C - and it only gets about 50% sun.
Will fire the heater up again for the weekend if the weather looks OK.

[extraT]

I had the same question, either on this thread (as the op) or another similar one. Can’t remember. Using just the black cover the pool came with I get temps between 23 (good if you want to do laps) to 28degrees, where sometimes the first 15cm are 33-35degrees. Give it a good mix and the temp is comfortable enough to spend a good while in the pool, without the extra heating appliances.

[Wallace12R]

Well thanks for the advice, I’ve now got everything I need ( I think ) and I just need to take a few slightly higher areas of ground down a bit then hope for the best when I’m ready to put the pool up.

[Wallace12R]

Insert Coin said:

I use the bubble wrap solar cover, the pool started off at about 18c back at the start of June, I regularly see it at 30c+ now with just the solar cover in the day and the crappy Intex heater running at night.

It’s currently 33c at the top, but cooler lower down in the water.

I ended up biting the Intex heater as the pool was just too cold and the kids didn’t want to be in it. We run the heater over night from around 11pm until around 8am and it’s holding a steady 30°c so ALOT more comfortable and the kids love it now.

Why did none of you think to tell me what I was letting myself in for though? I didn’t realise that I’d need a degree in chemistry to keep the damn thing clean and clear

[Insert Coin]

I nearly posted about my recent pool experiences and then forgot.

My Intex heater went bang, blew the smart plug to pieces, blew the 13a plug top fuse, tripped the mcb in the summer house and finally the rcd in the house.

I’d always known the Intex 3kw heater was running close to the limit, the mcb had popped a few times over the last 3 years.

The pool heat then dropped to 23-25ish without a heater and the kids were using the pool a lot less as a consequence.

I decided to get a new heater and found this 8kw heater was a direct replacement and roughly 50% cheaper to run and gave double the output.

https://www.h2ofun.co.uk/products/poolstyle-mini-a...

It is epic, it’s set to 32c and left on 24/7, the water is always like pea soup.

I’m also using Jennychem liquid chlorine, seems far more effective than granules and doesn’t suffer from the dusty residue that settles on the bottom when you use some granules.

My chemicals have been spot on for weeks and weeks, just add a little algaecide weekly, some clarifier weekly and top up chlorine every other night. My water is literally crystal clear and it’s been getting a lot of use.

I also have a nice soft pool brush that I use every few days to stop any st from settling on the surfaces.

Edited by Insert Coin on Wednesday 20th July 20:44

[Arnold Cunningham]

Re power. To run my heater I put a new armoured cable in to the garage and then from there run arctic cable (above ground) with blue 16 amp sockets on the end. I got a special rcd for it too that can handle the startup surge on a dedicated circuit in the garage.

Anyway, since the assistance from you guys earlier in the year the water is good and it’s been great for the last few weeks of heat. I think we had 9 kids in yesterday, some of them even were mine.

Finally heat pumps FTW. More up front cost, but me pump runs at 3KW on the lecky but gives my about 13KW into the water. So it can heat the 20+ tonnes of water at about half a degree an hour.

[Insert Coin]

Ha, we’ve become a child magnet too, even our neighbours kids who have a real pool prefer it because it’s so warm

I gave my dad the old chlorine granules and he uses them in a sprayer on the weeds at the bottom of his garden, so he’s happy too.

[Jobbo]

I bit the bullet on a heater as well; one of these 8kW ones: https://blu-line.co.uk/index.php?route=product/pro... - bought when they were £749 and in stock, though that Poolstyle 8kW for £720 seems a bit of a bargain.

I don't seem to be able to keep the chlorine levels up without simply adding the shock treatment every week - how do people keep them consistent? I do have a floating tablet dispenser but it doesn't seem to do much even fully loaded with chlorine tablets.

Pleased with how lovely the pool is to use now it's heated though. I only run the pump and heater during the day so it's not making noise overnight, and set it to about 32C which means it's 28/29C the following morning, ideal for a dip first thing. While it was quite nice getting into 34C water, it felt a bit like a warm bath so not exactly what I was after from a swimming pool.

[Wallace12R]

I think I’ve finally cracked it, and am now in the process of setting up my own pool maintenance businesst

Pool has been covered for a week as we haven’t used it, uncovered today to find crystal clear water and perfect levels. Quick hoover and it’s ready for the kids to play in.

[Arnold Cunningham]

Jobbo said:

I don't seem to be able to keep the chlorine levels up without simply adding the shock treatment every week - how do people keep them consistent? I do have a floating tablet dispenser but it doesn't seem to do much even fully loaded with chlorine tablets.

I use this : https://pool-supplies.co.uk/large-buoy-ultimate-fl...
4 holes open seems about right for my 18' diameter pool. When not in use, the chlorine gradually increases - but when in use, seems a decent release rate.

Although anoyingly they're out of stock now.

[Jobbo]

Arnold Cunningham said:

Jobbo said:

I don't seem to be able to keep the chlorine levels up without simply adding the shock treatment every week - how do people keep them consistent? I do have a floating tablet dispenser but it doesn't seem to do much even fully loaded with chlorine tablets.

I use this : https://pool-supplies.co.uk/large-buoy-ultimate-fl...
4 holes open seems about right for my 18' diameter pool. When not in use, the chlorine gradually increases - but when in use, seems a decent release rate.

Although anoyingly they're out of stock now.

Seems mine is probably a bit small then. Do you just leave it in there under the cover when the pool isn’t being used?

[Arnold Cunningham]

Mostly, yeah. If chlorine gets a bit high then I pop it out for a few days. To be fair, that is the big one which therefore lasts longer. For my 20,000 litres I find 4 holes open is about right but you can have up to 24 holes if you have a proper big pool.

[Jobbo]

I might keep trying my smaller floating dispenser since the pool is only 10-11,000l - it’s a 12’ version of yours and I’m sure I overfill it beyond the recommended level.

[Insert Coin]

Once you get the chemicals right they do seem to need very little maintenance.

All I’ve done in the last week is top up my liquid chlorine every other day and then weekly (today) I’ve brought the ph down from 7.8 to 7.5 and added 100ml of algaecide. I’ve also given it a good brush and hoovered up a few dead bugs/sand/hair but 99% of the surface contamination goes in the skimmer.

[Jobbo]

Bumping this for 2023. My stepdaughter is very keen on the pool being up and running from the end of May/beginning of June when she gets back from university. I fear for our electricity bill... anyway, ignoring energy costs, here are some things I've been thinking of for this year:

- Moving the heat pump and filter pump to the far side of the pool. I am hopeful they will be less audible so I can run them overnight (using cheap rate electricity) rather than just heating in the day. Not sure how effective this will be since overnight air temperature is so much lower.
- Some sort of time switch on the heater/pump so I don't have to turn them on manually every day. The heat pump runs on for 30s or so after turning it off, no doubt to prevent overheating in the pipes, so I wonder if this is a good idea.
- Since the pool itself is not a massive part of the overall cost, I'm thinking of upgrading from a 12ft x 48" to a 15ft x 48". Would need a bit more clearing in the garden to accommodate but I could do with the topsoil elsewhere, and I've taken out quite a lot of overgrown shrubbery over winter so plenty of space to do so.
- There must be quite a lot of heat loss through the pool sides; is there a sensible way to insulate them?
- I'm going to replace the EVA foam tiles under the pool because they've been down a couple of years and look grubby now.

Anyone else had good ideas for improving their pools and setups?

[Arnold Cunningham]

I think you can just put the timer on the pump, and then let the heater do its thing. Certainly mine works like that.