Safety Products - Pool alarm

[vinnie]

Wasn't sure where to post this, couldn't find much on it.

I have a little one 2 years old. We have a fence and we have a gate on the deck but I'm looking into these pool alarms. Do they actually work enough to be worth the money? If so can anyone recommond one? I read some good info on a Swim Alert unit?

Thanks

Vince

 

[TizMe]

IMO safety alarms are only good if you hear it go off !!

There is no better safety than a LOCKED gate and a well supervised child. I think if she is old enough that you are concerned then she is old enough to start with the pool rules .....

A better buy for your money would be to enroll the child in a swimming course that teaches children what to do should they fall into the pool to prevent them from drowning.

 

[ric]

Vinnie...I have tried the pool alarms and I didn't have much luck with them. They might have better ones now but mine would give false alarms every day no matter what setting it would be on. You need to check your pool codes there is some states that require them I have read.

My set up is similar to yours. 5' gates have the magnalatch at the top and a gate on the deck with a combination lock. I also installed chain locks and bolt locks at about 5' on my inside house doors and sliders. This helped me sleep at night.

I agree with TizMe 100% supervision is a must at all times. and teaching the kids to swim is important. My daughter has swam since 18 months. I have found I had to teach my daughter to swim every year. She would forget in the off season. She will turn 5 this week so I will see if she remembers this year soon.

:-D Ric

 

[TizMe]

Ric, Our older Grandchildren seem to get the hang of it every year but they seem to need a little coaching in the beginning every year the past couple of years. One is 8 and one is 7.

They soon remember though !

 

[sbluhm]

We have a Poolguard inground alarm. I am happy with it.

It has an AC powered in-house receiver for the alarm, which you definitely hear! The unit itself has a 9 volt battery which I replace every season.

I haven't had much trouble with false alarms. Usually it happens during a storm, especially if there has been a lot of rain that has raised the level of the pool. I try to reset the unit during or after a storm before I go to bed to minimize that chance (I think I've only gone running out in the middle of the night in my underwear once to silence an alarm.. great visual).

It can be picky about being removed and then put back in the water, in terms of having the alarm go off. You're supposed to hold the button for 5 seconds, hear a chirp, and then you have 5 seconds to put it in or take it out, but sometimes it goes off anyways. Usually just holding the button will shut it up (but not before my wife comes running from the house!).

But overall I'm happy with it, in terms of not having many false alarms. This is should only be one layer of protection as others have noted, and the best protection is as many different layers as you can do (door locks, gates, alarms, net, safety covers, education, etc).

-------
Virginia Beach, VA
28K inground, vinyl

 

[el_steak]

I also have the Poolguard alarm. I unfortunately don't use it anymore because I had too many false alarms with it and waking up the neighbors in the middle of the night is not something you want to do too often.

I'm considering modifying it with a remote control relay switch so that I can cut it off from inside the house. I might also unplug the speaker in the outside unit and just keep the remote alarm speaker that is in the house. It will still wake me up, but not the entire neighborhood.

It's big compromise on security, but it's better than not using it at all.

Of course, this is all additional security, the pool is enclosed with a 5' fence.

 

[budster]

Check out this link to the Pooleye Alarm models: http://www.smartpool.com/website/pooleye23.html. They are reasonably priced, but, of course are just one layer of protection for your pool safety. Some of the old systems that used lasers and mirrors have been discontinued because of liability issues...if the wind (or a dog, or bird, or kid) knocks the reflective device out of position, the perimiter security has been destroyed. Floating pool alarms (like the old Remington) have not proved effective.

Agreed, the best defense is supervision and "drownproofing" courses for children. The human body will float, even if just a few inches below the surface. With proper training, no human should drown in a swimming pool!

 

[silcozot]

Hi, i am a dealer for this product and have been using it at the entrances to our pool it works very well no faults alarms and the battery lasts a long time over one year and still working! I don't want to sell you one but if you contact any garage door dealer in your area they will have a source to order it under 100 bucks. Every time it goes of my dog goes postal I don't need to worry about not hearing it! http://www.chamberlain-diy.com/doityour ... ?typeid=59