I live in El Paso, Tx, and we have very fine sandy dirt here. I recently set up a 15' x 42" above ground pool, but had some windy weather and alas, the bottom of my pool has a layer of this dirt on it. My pool came with a simple "vacuum" that is the type that uses water pressure from a garden hose. The bag that comes with it does not trap the dirt, and I'm looking for suggestions. I bought some nylons today, and will try to layer those inside the original bag, but I'm not sure if that will work. I am also thinking about getting some skimmer socks and adapting those to the "vacuum".
Fine sandy dirt in AG pool
- Thread starter Tommcgtx
- Start date
Is this an Intex or "bag pool",
a steel pipe frame with vinyl,
or a full steel walled AG "Doughboy"?
If you have a hard walled pool you should have standard AG fitting and you can read about differnt filter options here:
pool-school/pool_filter_comparison
If you have an Intex soft-walled pool (the first two), you likely have Intex "custom" fittings that mean you need to stay with Intex filters, or change your fitting to work with standard AG equipment. Some people have changed the skimmer frame to a standard AG body.
a steel pipe frame with vinyl,
or a full steel walled AG "Doughboy"?
If you have a hard walled pool you should have standard AG fitting and you can read about differnt filter options here:
pool-school/pool_filter_comparison
If you have an Intex soft-walled pool (the first two), you likely have Intex "custom" fittings that mean you need to stay with Intex filters, or change your fitting to work with standard AG equipment. Some people have changed the skimmer frame to a standard AG body.
It's a Summer Escapes pool, very much like the second picture, a steel pipe frame with vinyl. It has a skimmer type cartridge filter that's attached to the wall of the pool.
To run any kind of automatic cleaner you will have to have a larger pump filter setup which would actually make your time spent working at the pool less but I understand if you don't want to spend that kind of money to get a duifferent kind of setup. This is the kind of cleaner I am talking about just for image purpose not trying to promote buying from anyone. http://www.poolsuppliessuperstore.com/p ... MgodhgcAWQ
I looked at your setup and based on what I understand you have the Type A or Type C cartridge in the bottom of the skimmer frame with the pump below. This pump doesn't have the power required to run the AquaBot suggested by edavis.
IMHO this is essentialy the same as the Intex filters. They barely have enough power to turn the water over in a single day of 24/7 pumping. I had several Intex type bag pools with the same pump or collection of pumps. I was always fighting the pool.
If possible, I would consider craigslisting a standard AG pool pump/filter setup from someone looking to dump an AG pool. Buy the pool to get it's pump and filter and then sell the pool or recycle the walls. It will require you change the fittings and the skimmer but you can find how here. I just found one locally $250 for 16x24 oval with pump filter and all the stuff needed.
I would stick with a good brand Hayward, Pentair...
IMHO this is essentialy the same as the Intex filters. They barely have enough power to turn the water over in a single day of 24/7 pumping. I had several Intex type bag pools with the same pump or collection of pumps. I was always fighting the pool.
If possible, I would consider craigslisting a standard AG pool pump/filter setup from someone looking to dump an AG pool. Buy the pool to get it's pump and filter and then sell the pool or recycle the walls. It will require you change the fittings and the skimmer but you can find how here. I just found one locally $250 for 16x24 oval with pump filter and all the stuff needed.
I would stick with a good brand Hayward, Pentair...
Here is an idea...
I just got a pool similar to yours, but I had a "blob" pool before. The blob pool pump {500gph] failed, so I got a 1500 gph pump at my local Lowes store.
I saved that pump when I junked the pool, and plan on adapting it to the Intex vacuum wand as a stand alone cleaning pump. Surely the integral A/C cartridge would filter out the sand better than the standard cotton bag?
1500gph pump was about $50 at Lowes last year...
I just got a pool similar to yours, but I had a "blob" pool before. The blob pool pump {500gph] failed, so I got a 1500 gph pump at my local Lowes store.
I saved that pump when I junked the pool, and plan on adapting it to the Intex vacuum wand as a stand alone cleaning pump. Surely the integral A/C cartridge would filter out the sand better than the standard cotton bag?
1500gph pump was about $50 at Lowes last year...
f3justusc
Well-known member
You could toss a tiny bit of clarifier/floc in the pool, follow the instructions on the bottle, and then vacuum. I have the Intex 14x48 that hold 3500 gals and I toss in less than a teaspoon. A bottle is not cheap but it will last for several years.
Thank you everyone for your responses! I tried the nylon combination I mentioned in a previous post, and while it worked (until it came off because I didn't secure it well enough), it was super slow and would have taken me hours. I went and bought a vacuum hose, which I discovered does work with the little vacuum head that came with the pool. One of the reasons I didn't want to try it is that a person at the pool store (imagine that) told me it wouldn't work, and that I needed to buy a better filter (imagine that). I hooked it up, and had 1/4" layer of dirt vacuumed in a little over 1/2 hr. I had to remove and clean the cartridge filter twice, but it worked nicely.
Post a picture of the setup - there's lots of people with the same setup and they don't want to make the plunge and end up wasting money if it doesn't work. Plus I'm sure the pool store told them it wouldn't work, too.Tommcgtx said:
Tom ,
Great to hear the nylons helped. I have been trying them in my skimmer.
Can I ask that you update your signature and profile this the information from this thread. It really helps when we are reading your thread to know exactly what you have.
Great to hear the nylons helped. I have been trying them in my skimmer.
Can I ask that you update your signature and profile this the information from this thread. It really helps when we are reading your thread to know exactly what you have.
Techguy,
What information exactly should I add to my signature? I want it to be as helpful as possible. Also, I didn't mean to leave the impression that my nylon "fix" was what ultimately worked the best. The vacuum head can either be used with a garden hose that uses the bag, to which I added the nylons, or a vacuum hose can be attached to it and the filter. While the former worked, it was slow. Connecting it to the skimmer filter with the adapter, an no nylons, is what worked out the fastest and best. When I get home later I will post pictures of each.
What information exactly should I add to my signature? I want it to be as helpful as possible. Also, I didn't mean to leave the impression that my nylon "fix" was what ultimately worked the best. The vacuum head can either be used with a garden hose that uses the bag, to which I added the nylons, or a vacuum hose can be attached to it and the filter. While the former worked, it was slow. Connecting it to the skimmer filter with the adapter, an no nylons, is what worked out the fastest and best. When I get home later I will post pictures of each.
I understand about the nylons. Any tool to help. Sometimes they help, sometimes they hinder.
Is this the skimmer filter you have?
Signature idea: Summer Escapes 15' x 42" (4000 gal) AG steel framed vinyl pool with cartridge filter/skimmer 80 watt 2.2 amp 1075 GPH pump
Is this the skimmer filter you have?
Signature idea: Summer Escapes 15' x 42" (4000 gal) AG steel framed vinyl pool with cartridge filter/skimmer 80 watt 2.2 amp 1075 GPH pump