Rusted corners in top railing of 32'L x 16'W x 52''H above ground pool

[doesmybest]

Hello everyone,

I maintain a Bestway Power Steel Frame rectangular above ground pool: 31.3'L x 16'W x 52"H and 13,798 gal.
The pool has been standing since Dec 2019. We have never taken it down. I live in coastal Queensland, Australia, in a subtropical climate. It's similar to Florida but less humid.
There is significant rusting at all four corners of the top railing. It's particularly bad in one corner. Note that the corner piece itself isn't rusted; what's rusted are the ends of the side pieces that the corner piece slides into, behind the white plastic sections that the side pieces are tipped with.

I have attached pictures.

May I ask what you all think? Is the rust a structural liability?

 

[PoolStored]

May I ask what you all think? Is the rust a structural liability?

This is certainly at risk of failure.

 

[doesmybest]

Oh... So what would happen? Are we talking sudden collapse?

 

[PoolStored]

Oh... So what would happen? Are we talking sudden collapse?

hmmmm...yes, but when? Do you know how far the corner elbow sticks into the cross member? I'm guessing, from the visual, 5-6" or 13-15cm insertion. There is significant deterioration of the connection. 1 year...3 years...5 years? Who knows. But with the gap that is showing, it will happen.

 

[doesmybest]

Yes, the corner piece slots into the side piece by about 13cm/5'' starting from the side piece's plastic rim. I went and measured after reading your response. While I was measuring, I could see how far back the side piece has degraded from its plastic rim. There is a gap between the side piece and the corner piece. The corner piece isn't slotted into the side piece; it is now floating.
I have attached a picture to demonstrate.

 

[Newdude]

You have 123,785 pounds of water that wants to leave your pool. When it does, 14,842 gallons will rush towards your house, with damaging force. (Assuming the worst spot fails) Forget the flood part, the impact of that much water will likely be far worse than the wet part.

If anybody was in the pool or in the flood path, it would cause serious injury or worse. These pools rock considerably being a 'bag full of water' (like any liner pool) when kids play like kids do. That rocking stresses the corners which are compromised beyond where I'd be comfortable with.

 

[doesmybest]

You have 123,785 pounds of water that wants to leave your pool. When it does, 14,842 gallons will rush towards your house, with damaging force. (Assuming the worst spot fails) Forget the flood part, the impact of that much water will likely be far worse than the wet part.

If anybody was in the pool or in the flood path, it would cause serious injury or worse. These pools rock considerably being a 'bag full of water' (like any liner pool) when kids play like kids do. That rocking stresses the corners which are compromised beyond where I'd be comfortable with.

Noted. I think we'll drain and discard.
I've been doing some research on this wonderful site, however. Apparently, when pools like mine are full, there isn't much pressure on the corner railings. It's when they're not full and the sides start to bow that the corner railings become important. Knowing that, what do you think? Can I drain safely or would the corners collapse because of the compromised railings?

 

[VinnyinNJ]

Just my opinion but any time you have major rust issues and a component is compromised the best thing is to play it safe, I would drain. You can't guarantee that it won't get bumped, leaned on or whatever else could happen to it. I use a sump pump to drain the pool cover, pool and hot tub; it's relatively inexpensive and works kind of quickly but I've never drained 14,000 gallons.

 

[Newdude]

Apparently, when pools like mine are full, there isn't much pressure on the corner railings.

Not directly. But wiggle those rails up/down and in/out from the pool swaying and you are putting extra stress on the rusted collars.

It's when they're not full and the sides start to bow that the corner railings become important

My goodness what a good catch. I've seen plenty of these being filled and the sides bow in a couple of feet. My guess is that the corner is less important at that point with water halfway to rail height.

 

[doesmybest]

Just my opinion but any time you have major rust issues and a component is compromised the best thing is to play it safe, I would drain.

Opinions are EXACTLY why I came here

My goodness what a good catch. I've seen plenty of these being filled and the sides bow in a couple of feet. My guess is that the corner is less important at that point with water halfway to rail height.

Why thank you. Hm, good to know. I'm thinking I'll either drain slowly by garden hose OR I will call my local pool service for a professional drain because I think they set up frame bolsters while they do it. They're closed until Monday, however, so until then, I'll be presenting the bad news to my mother.

I'd like to keep this thread open, if I may. One, because all this input is extremely helpful. Two, because I can update the thread with my progress, which might be educational for others in my position.

 

[Newdude]

I'd like to keep this thread open, if I may.

Your thread = your rules. (Within the general forum rules of decency, of course)

You also may get more opinions, be they for or against, in the meantime. Hang tight.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

You can buy a sump pump in the US for around $100, not sure how much by you. Put a flexible hose on it for another $20 and it's relatively cheap possibly compared to a service. It should be fine assuming you don't use that corner for anything.

 

[doesmybest]

Your thread = your rules. (Within the general forum rules of decency, of course)

You also may get more opinions, be they for or against, in the meantime. Hang tight.

Thank you

You can buy a sump pump in the US for around $100, not sure how much by you. Put a flexible hose on it for another $20 and it's relatively cheap possibly compared to a service. It should be fine assuming you don't use that corner for anything.

That's a good idea; I'll look into that as well! I have four rust-compromised corners though; I only showed you all the worst one.

 

[zea3]

You can look into finding replacement parts if you want to keep the pool. Some people have made new frames with sturdier, more rust resistant metal pipes. Making a new frame would involve a doing a bit of research to identify the correct parts to use. Cost of buying replacement parts or building a new frame may cost more than a new pool.

 

[doesmybest]

You can look into finding replacement parts if you want to keep the pool.

I actually thought of draining the pool and replacing the rusted lengths of pipe with Bestway replacements. But what if there's rust elsewhere? What if, as you say, I end up spending too much on replacement parts? I doubt they'll be covered by warranty, but I've emailed the situation to Bestway and my pool supplier just to check.

For the drain, I'm thinking of pumping water out of the pool as quickly as possible. At least for the first half. This is to shorten the time the corners are stressed while the pool drains and the sides bow. My local council permits pool backwash into street stormdrains so long as I don't do so around heavy rain periods, I don't inconvenience the neighbours, and I allow the chlorine to degrade first.

 

[doesmybest]

Update:

So we're draining soon. Maybe this week.

Professional pool draining services aren't available in my town.

The sump pumps available in my town drain too slowly for a 50000L pool. They take a couple of days and I need it done within a few hours to avoid prolonged strain on the rusted corners.

So, I've bought an additional 50m of 32mm pool hose. My plan is to do something that's generally advised against: use the filter pump to drain the pool.

Now I've used the filter pump before to vacuum my pool after floccing. I've found that so long as I take the paper cartridge out and ensure that there is no large debris in the pool to cause clogging, I can vacuum to waste quite effectively. I just have to avoid air pockets and I can do that.

The additional 50m of pool hose is so I can extend the waste hose all the way to my street's storm drain. This is permitted by local council.

Then I turn the filter on.

The rate at which the water is pumped out should drain the pool within a few hours. While it does that, I'll recruit who I can to hold the pool's top railing to keep the frame square. This shouldn't be for very long: just until the water level gets below ~50% and the major danger has passed.

I've tested this out in small scale already.

I'll upload pictures and progress on the day we do it for real

Oh and Bestway don't have the spare parts in stock to replace the rusted ones. Even if they did, another part of the pool may fail next anyway. I contacted another member directly who had exactly the same pool and rust problem as I do. He said his liner started to degrade soon after his corners rusted. And I've read elsewhere on this site that the liner can 'melt' and stick to the top rail under prolonged sun exposure, making it virtually impossible to pull them apart.

So we will be discarding the pool after draining

My mum is devastated. But I’ve committed to drive her to the beach 20min away three times a week to swim instead.