No More Maintainance Pool Shutdown?

[nimblemotors]

I've had enough of paying to keep my pool up, we rarely used it and I plan to rent this house
and don't want to have to deal with the pool or charge the tennants either.

I've looked high and low for a way to just forget about the pool without destroying it,
and I've not found any existing options, other than fill it with dirt, which isn't really an option.

But I've come up with what I think is a viable method to 'shutdown' the pool
with no maintainance or ongoing cost, but also be able to return it functioning later.
(btw, this is truly a trouble-free pool! no trouble at all once shutdown!)

I'm wondering if there are others looking for a solution like this, such that it is worth
the effort to make a product/service to do this? In my search for a solution,
I found lots of others wanting to do it and no good option,
but would they(you) pay $1000 to do it? I figure I spend at least $1200 a year to keep the pool operationals,
so $1000 one-time expense doesn't seem to bad.

What do you think?

 

[jblizzle]

What is possible is greatly dependant on the pool type and soil / ground water conditions. There is no one size fits all solution.

In some places, you could drain a plaster pool completely and build a floor/deck over it and it should be fine indefinitely. In other places, the ground water would be too high to this.

Liners will be ruined if drained and damage may occur to the walls and floor.

I don't think a fiberglass pool should ever be drained.

 

[nimblemotors]

Right, you can't just empty them, that is the problem, and if they have water in them,
you can't just ignore them like you can a pile of dirt.

What is possible is greatly dependant on the pool type and soil / ground water conditions. There is no one size fits all solution.

In some places, you could drain a plaster pool completely and build a floor/deck over it and it should be fine indefinitely. In other places, the ground water would be too high to this.

Liners will be ruined if drained and damage may occur to the walls and floor.

I don't think a fiberglass pool should ever be drained.

 

[bdex]

As Jason said, if it is a plaster pool, you may have a shot. Any other type, probably not. If concrete/plaster you may be able to drain it and deck over it. But if you are renting be careful what you do. Insurance companies will not like a big empty hole in the ground.


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[nimblemotors]

I have the solution to this problem.
I can't tell you exactly what it is until I get a patent,
but won't get a patent if there is no market for the solution.
Seems to me there is a market, but so far nobody says they want it on this forum..

 

[jblizzle]

That is because we know how to maintain our pools with minimal effort and expense

... Certainly no where NEAR $1000-$1200 per year as you claim at the start.

Admittedly I am curious what you are proposing and for what pool types.

 

[nimblemotors]

Yes my partner told me pool companies would be the last people interested in promoting my product.
But I'm not asking you, I'm asking pool owners.

What do you estimate the cost to keep a pool clean? No free-labor either, I might be out of the country and can't do one bit of work.
I just replaced my pressure pump,
and then the robot broke, and I just replaced the recirculation pump, and my pool cover disintegrated last year,
and the cracks in the coping, well I just left them alone, and the loose tiles, well, not worry about those for now.

That is because we know how to maintain our pools with minimal effort and expense

... Certainly no where NEAR $1000-$1200 per year as you claim at the start.

Admittedly I am curious what you are proposing and for what pool types.

 

[jblizzle]

I am not a pool company. I am a lowly pool owner who volunteers my time to help others learn how to maintain their pool on this forum ... just like ALL the other mods and admins here.

There may very well be members here who would be interested, but not without knowing what you are selling. Too many have been burned by various pool company gimmicks. Although you would then be starting to encroach on the strict no selling/advertising policy of the forum.

There is no one-size fits solution for maintenance cost. Depends on your pool size, climate, length of season, debris/use load, etc.

 

[nimblemotors]

I'm not 'selling' anything, I'm doing a 'market survey' to gauge demand for the product/service
to semi-permanently close a pool that is then equivalent to a patch of dirt but can be restored back
to a working pool later.
And thanks, appreciate all the advice here.

I am not a pool company. I am a lowly pool owner who volunteers my time to help others learn how to maintain their pool on this forum ... just like ALL the other mods and admins here.

There may very well be members here who would be interested, but not without knowing what you are selling. Too many have been burned by various pool company gimmicks. Although you would then be starting to encroach on the strict no selling/advertising policy of the forum.

There is no one-size fits solution for maintenance cost. Depends on your pool size, climate, length of season, debris/use load, etc.

 

[n240sxguy]

Are you gonna fill it with gelatin and algaecide?

 

[Tepelus]

Fit an opaque cover over the pool. It will reduce drastically the amount of light available for algae growth. It will also keep the water free of debris. Install a UV-C lamp in the return line. Have it ON together with the circulation pump. Add 0.5 ppm copper sulfate to the pool water. At this concentration it will inhibit algae growth and it will not stain the pool as long as the pH is kept under 7.6. The lamp may cost 600-800$ and a replacement bulb 40$ a piece every three years. Cooper sulfate is cheap and should be added to times a year. Your pool will not be well sanitized, but when you decide to start to use it, just add chorine or bromine according to the recommended method. As long as the UV lamp is working (one turnover per day in summer and less in winter) the water will be without algae and patogens). With this method you have to invest 800$ in a UV lamp, but the running cost of the pool is small.

 

[jblizzle]

And how do you propose to keep the pH low with no access to the pool?

 

[nimblemotors]

Having to run/power anything is a non-starter, and having to actual do anything is also pretty much out.
The house is empty for 3-5 years is the situation, power likely turned off, I'm in Panama.

Fit an opaque cover over the pool. It will reduce drastically the amount of light available for algae growth. It will also keep the water free of debris. Install a UV-C lamp in the return line. Have it ON together with the circulation pump. Add 0.5 ppm copper sulfate to the pool water. At this concentration it will inhibit algae growth and it will not stain the pool as long as the pH is kept under 7.6. The lamp may cost 600-800$ and a replacement bulb 40$ a piece every three years. Cooper sulfate is cheap and should be added to times a year. Your pool will not be well sanitized, but when you decide to start to use it, just add chorine or bromine according to the recommended method. As long as the UV lamp is working (one turnover per day in summer and less in winter) the water will be without algae and patogens). With this method you have to invest 800$ in a UV lamp, but the running cost of the pool is small.

 

[Tepelus]

Then put much more copper sulfate in the pool water and let it be. The pool might get stained but you will have to deal with that when you reopen the pool. Later on you will have to drain and refill when you restart the pool. Copper is an excellent algaecide and is very effective against fungi as well. The pool cover is a must anyway as you need to keep debris out of the pool. If you can ask somebody in the area to service the pool from time to time, then it is wise to try to keep the pH down as well and maintain the water level. I do not think that you can simply abandon the pool and hope to start it later with no trouble. You must remember that your pool must not become a safety hazard. One hour maintenance a month is not much.

 

[pooladdict]

Still scratching my head over this lol.

Empty for 3-5 yrs, fill the sucker with sand, suction out in 5 yrs and install a new liner?

 

[Shirker]

Filling with sand would be difficult to patent (though unfortunately, not impossible to patent). It has to be a "product" of some sort. A silica bead maybe? Either way, I think a pool should either be filled in with dirt and forgotten or maintained properly. But that is just my opinion.

As far as expenses, using the Trouble Free method is a whole lot cheaper than what the pool store was trying to sell me when I bought my pool. Had a great year! I don't know what the labor would cost if I could not do it my self though. Are there any professional pool people out there that use the TFP?

 

[JVTrain]

Still scratching my head over this lol.

Empty for 3-5 yrs, fill the sucker with sand, suction out in 5 yrs and install a new liner?

My 30K gallon pool would require roughly 150 cubic yards of sand. I would likely be able to get fill sand for about $8 a yard. $1200. Would have to put a small cover over the main drain to prevent sand from filling that line. "Winterize" the rest of the plumbing, pumping station. Likely would want a cover over the pool that prevented water from getting in as much as possible. Would also need to winterize skimmer buckets and prevent water seepage into those.

Removal of the fill would likely be much more expensive than putting it in... or lots of manual labor.

Interesting to think about...

 

[pooladdict]

Old rubber tires?

 

[n240sxguy]

Turn it into a huge McDonald's ball pit.


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[n240sxguy]

Let algae take over and dump in some catfish. Now it's a pond with no need for maintenance.


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