Trouble keeping Intex Easy Set Ring Inflated

[tutomut3]

I gave up on patching this stupid ring. At first I had set up a reminder in my phone to reinflate it everyday. But that was tedious. Being an X10 home automation fanatic, I figured it shouldn't be too hard to rig up an auto-inflator using the electric inflator that came with the set. I plugged the inflator hose into the ring and duct-taped it shut. However after an inflation all the air leaks back out of the inflator after it shuts off.
So I went to Lowes and bought some 5/8" clear tubing and a 1/2" pvc check valve. The check valve is spring-loaded and only allows air to flow in one direction. Amazingly everything fit snugly without much hassle. I cut off the little black inflator nozzle and pushed it about a quarter of an inch into the tube. Then plugged it into the ring and taped all around it really good.
Finally I set up a timer with X10 to turn on the pump every hour and run for 30 seconds. So now I have a DIY pool ring auto inflator.
I will try to include some pictures, bear with me this is my first post.

Did you have any problem with the check valve not springing back after the pump ran several times? I used the same setup, it worked great for a couple of times, then the valve wouldn't hold the air back.
Also what type of timmer did you use? I could one find one with one minute intervals at a time.

 

[stepfour]

Check the filler valve. I found a separation between the inner seal and the outer housing. Couldn't see it until I bent the filler valve a little bit. I managed to get a little rubber cement in there and it seems to have plugged the leak. Hoping this will solve my problem.

 

[Slowpoke]

I am having the same problem; the soapy water test has not delivered any results, and I'm not thinking that my wife will let me borrow her stethoscope.

I'd like to simply coat the entire ring with some kind of product to seal any and all holes, and hopefully prevent any future leaks. I wonder if this spray-on rubber would work:http://www.homedepot.com/buy/paint/...rformix-brand-spray-98266.html#specifications

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

Try two part expanding foam. It comes in various densities and cures without air. It gets HOT so testing to be sure the material can take it is a requirement...

Edit: This would be expensive unless you can find very low density cheap foam.

 

[Slowpoke]

UWV: Where can I find some of that foam?

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

Search two part expanding or urethane foam. The problem is $$$. Here is a Half-gallon kit (makes 12 gallons of foam) http://www.boatsupplyonline.com/647-foa ... 0QgwgwCTgU

However I saw an 18' recently and had another idea. Could you fill the ring with empty bleach bottles? The 96 oz seemed close to the size needed.

 

[stepfour]

Or maybe inflatable pool noodles.

 

[aa62579]

We did not find our hole with soapy water, but were finally able to find it with bubbles, like you buy for kids. Think we saw the to on here. Supposed to be glycerin or something in it that keeps the solution from drying out and allows time for the leak to bubble.

We inflated the ring as much as we could. Put the bubbles into a squirt bottle, and then we went around the ring, hubby on the outside, me on the inside. We worked about a 3-4' area at a time, making sure to cover the ring entirely and rub it in. Make sure to check the valve, too.

 

[GC0330]

I found I have a damaged value. It's deep inside and appears to have been damaged by the compressor nozzle. Best to use a blunt ended one rather than a sharp one. The tear is deep enough in the valve that you would think it wouldn't make a difference, but apparently it does. I'm trying a variety of remedies and will let you know what I learn. One thought: the fellow above who used noodles to insert into the ring has an interesting idea. There are also inflatable noodles as long as 6 feet. Those might be easier to use and, if inserted when deflated and stretched inside using, say, a thin pole like a broom handle, it might mean making less of an incision in the ring and not so unsightly.

 

[GC0330]

OK, update: there is a small tear deep inside the valve, but it is so deep, air does not escape out of the ring -- turned out, that is not the problem. The problem was two small holes near the base of the ring. The two small holes look like a snake bite, and I did happen to see a snake slither away when we retrieved the pool from the storage unit. We found the very small holes by overfilling the ring and then four of us checked out our section of the ring very carefully. Interestingly, in this case, soapy water didn't find the leak and I tried the stethoscope method too with no luck. It was just by painstakingly going around and feeling and checking every square inch until the tiny holes were found. I patched them with the kit provided originally with the pool and -- presto -- no leaks. Whew!

 

[jillsdarndog]

Ok, My darn dog strikes again He ate the plug off the inflatable ring blow up valve. So needless to say we experienced the flooded backyard and my pool now stands 12" hi. Intex does not make that replacement part, so I am clueless to what alternative I can use. This pool is brand new (1 month). It has to be removable for when it needs more air.

Does anybody have any ingenious ideas for me?

 

[GC0330]

Jill, that is a darn dog! Ummmm....if the only thing he did is eat the plug tab...the part that closes the gap....then a simple cork might work from a wine bottle. You would have to press it in real tight then some duct tape over it to keep it from coming out. If that didn't work, I'd go to my local Home Depot/Lowe's type store and explain the problem -- there are likely a number of "corking" type devises/materials out there that might work.

 

[xanadu]

Took me 2 days to find my leak. I tried everything and resorted to filling it up, then taking a hose and gently pouring water all over it, piece by piece.....found a small pinhole on the inside (at the ladder)about 2" from the water level. Missed it with the soap as I was trying to be careful not to get too much soap into the pool water. I needed to put air into the ring 3 times to kep it nice and full before I managed to find it.

 

[xanadu]

Ok, My darn dog strikes again He ate the plug off the inflatable ring blow up valve. So needless to say we experienced the flooded backyard and my pool now stands 12" hi. Intex does not make that replacement part, so I am clueless to what alternative I can use. This pool is brand new (1 month). It has to be removable for when it needs more air.

Does anybody have any ingenious ideas for me?

Maybe cut one from an old vinyl air tube mattress? I am sure you look around, one could find something.

 

[chenoa31]

I tried that myself and it did NOT work.

 

[xanadu]

I tried that myself and it did NOT work.

Wrong size, keep looking. Maybe someone has an old pool they are scrapping that you can get the valve from that. I am sure Home Depot or something similar sells a tapered rubber plug that will fit. Might have to tape it in place, but.....

 

[danyboy]

Hi,

We are on our second Intex Easy Set Pool. The first one was a smaller one than we have now. Nothing was wrong with it other than it was just too small for our growing family, it lasted 3 summers. We pack it away for the off season.

We bought this one last year and we did at the end of the summer have a problem with the ring staying inflated. We tried to find where there was a hole but couldn't, but the ring would stay good for about 4 days, then we'd have to refill with air.

This year it's alot worse. We still can't find where it's leaking AND it won't stay inflated for more than one day. Overnight, it deflates and a ton of water comes out. This has happend now twice in a row and we have to add more air and a ton more water. Our water bill will probably be more than a new pool, lol Now.. we have 3 cats who are attracted to this huge water bowl so we laid the ladder on the ground sideways so they can't go up the stairs. We've caught them sitting on the top of the ladder AND walking along the rim of the pool. I'm assuming they have caused this leak.

We aren't stupid people, but we can't seem to find the air leak anywhere, my husband spent at least an hour going over the rim for the leak. So I guess I'm asking how can we easily find this leak and even, how can we keep the cats from being attracted to the pool so we don't have to take it down, the summer just began here. Is there something we could use that wouldn't harm the kitties and would safe for the environment? Something that would repell them that wouldn't repell US? lol I want to at least get the kids through this summer with this pool, seems like such a waste of money if we can't get this fixed.. We can't keep adding water each day.. The water police are probably going to arrest us soon!

Please help?
Thanks, Pamela

Had the exact same problem. Found an easy way to fix it. You first have to re-inflate the top ring with a hand pump specially designed for air mattress and what not (not a high pressure compressure). Then just use a pail and dip it in the pool to wet thr ring with water and LISTEN TO THE WHISTLE. A leak will whistle when wet. A lot easier than the soap method cause it tends to dry really fast under the sun. I found 4 leaks this way and they were barely noticeable with soap.
To fix them, just go to where you got the intex pool (WalMart or whatever) and they usually sell transparent vinyl patches with a small tube of PVC cement. Apply the glue to one side of the patch after cleaning around the pinhole of the top ring with soapy water, rinsing it and wipe it dry. Apply the patch on the hole, hold tight, making sure there is no bubbles between patch and top ring vinyl. Let dry for 12 hours. Of course, you will deflate the ring real good prior to gluing the patch.
Good Luck.

 

[SWIMMER55]

I, too, had trouble with air leaking at the air valve. It was baffling me. I went to home depot and purchased some clear silicone. I filled the blue cap inside the plug halfway with clear silicone and also put a bit of clear silicone on the top (outside) of the plug. I let it set up for three hours and then closed the plug. The air pressure inside the tube would not permit me to close the plug near the part of the plug that attaches to the plug assembly. I took a penny and placed it on top of the plug and added a little more pressure. Well, it's been two days and it looks like this fix worked. The air inside the tub is pushing on the clear silicone inside the inner blue cap on the plug creating a very good seal. Problem solved.

 

[Rdsknsfan]

A friend of my wife's gave us their 18' X 48" Intex Easy Set pool after only using it one summer. They decided that a pool wasn't their thing...lol. We put it up in the back yard last summer and absolutely loved it. We patched a couple of holes in the ring, but nothing major. This summer however, we experienced the elusive leak that could never be found, and dumped over half of our pool on three different occasions in only 5 days. I sprayed soapy water, I used wet Saran Wrap dragged along the ring and I even walked around and would slowly push a small section of the ring under water and look for bubbles. We were having to pump up the ring every morning before work and every evening before bed......and then pray that it was enough to get it through the night. I searched the internet and found this site and was at least glad to know that we weren't the only ones having this problem.

I considered the pool noodle idea, but only as a last resort. I contemplated stuffing the ring with shipping popcorn....beanbag chair beads....even pillow stuffing....anything light weight that would keep the round shape and keep the water in.

Being in the HVAC industry for several years, I can't believe that the fix took me so long to figure out. This is what I did.

I roughly measured the diameter of the ring, which was 8" on our pool. I estimated that I would need 45-50' length of flexible duct to go around the pool. Flexible duct has an inside liner of coil wire like a slinky, with a mylar coating inside and out of the spring. I then went to our local HVAC supply house and bought two 25' boxes of 8" flexible duct. The cost was about $30 a box. I removed the inside liner of the flexible duct and scrapped the insulation. You may be able to use 6" flexible duct and keep the insulation on, but I opted not to, as the insulation could get wet and too heavy to keep the ring up.

Our pool was full of water, so I asked for the assistance of my wife and brother to hold the ring up and keep the water in, while I pulled the flex through the blow up ring. I initially made a large flap cut on the outside of the ring I---------I with a razor knife to start fishing the flex into the ring. I then would go about every 2-3' and make another cut on the outisde of the ring, that I could fit my arm in and continue pulling the flex around the ring. I continued this process all the way round the ring until I ended up at my initial flap cut. This is where I stuffed the remainder of the flex into the inside of the other end of the flex. I purchased some dark blue duct tape and went around and taped all my incisions.....lol. It's been two weeks with no leaks.....and no pumping up of the ring. Hope this helps you all out!

 

[rayzerrman]

I also had this same problem on my 15' Intex, but I went the cheap and simple way to fix it. Basically, I've abandoned the air ring as the means for keep the walls of the pool afloat. Instead I bought four 1/2" PVC (10 foot each), four 1/2" PVC couplings, and about 9 pool noodles. I joined all the pipes together with the couplings, put noodles over the length of it, and connected it into a circle (while in the pool) that fit tightly under the deflated air ring. Since the air ring is sort of a lip that hangs over the water, this noodle ring constantly floats and pushes it up. The diameter of the noodle ring also pushes out a little so it fits very snugly and securely. I spent a total of about $20. And since I didn't have to use any PVC glue, I can take this apart pretty easily if and when the time comes to store the pool.

I've attached a couple of pics - one shows the noodle ring in the pool (this is the only part w/ exposed PVC, because this is where I "closed" the circle. In the other pic you can see the noodle ring bulging against the outside a little (it's kind of low because I needed to add a few inches of water). Anyway, this has been working for several weeks now, and it even made it through a rowdy Father's day party! I hope this helps anyone looking for a cheap and easy way to keep swimmin' this summer!