SWG & Gas heater that will work on temp & long term pool?

[Mermaid Mama]

Hello everyone!
Hoping for your advice on the pool we just ordered for the summer with grim possibility of not having community pools for summer. We have plans on building a nice gunite pool by next summer so don't want to buy anything unnecessary twice like heater or SWG.

Temporary Pool Specs:
Intex Ultra XTR 16' x 32', 52" deep 14,364 gallons
110-120 V "Krystal Clear" Sand Filter Pump w/ 2,800 GPH pump flow and "hydro aeration technology"
In picture the pool will run with gravel driveway a couple inches from edge as this part of driveway is very rarely used and end where the board and tree are marked with flagging tape.

Long Term Pool
Gunite probably under 40,000 gals and salt water system with smart system that everyone seems to love.

So gas heater? It will be mostly shaded even though we are taking down the two big trees. The flagged one and the tall one behind the Holly trees. The gas to the house is only 40-50 feet away from main pool hook up location going under gravel driveway. Also will need some kind of extension electrical source to run under gravel. Was thinking a thick pvc pipe and an outside rated extension cord?

SWG? The system doesn't come set up this way but it's my understanding that I would just need an SWG? So just like the heater hoping for one that will work with Intex and Gunite...if that's possible?

Is there anything else I am not taking into consideration that we will need? I really appreciate your advice or any thoughts? I have been learning about gunite for the last year but not sure if things are interchangable? Also we are going to get a professional to level the ground for us.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My advice - buy the cheapest Intex pool you can get away with right now and minimal equipment with it, run it for the season using manual chemical additions and then take it down and sell it on Craig’s List at the end of the season. Do not try to mix & match inground pool equipment designed for larger volumes with a soft-side pool. The gas heater you would need for your future pool will be too big for your Intex pool. Just bite the bullet and go cheap and easy on the Intex. Don’t waste a lot of time and money on it.

As for an extension cord, that’s a big no-no with pools. Have proper electrical work done (conduit and wiring to your electrical service panel) for safety. Shock hazards are real and dangerous.

 

[Mermaid Mama]

My advice - buy the cheapest Intex pool you can get away with right now and minimal equipment with it, run it for the season using manual chemical additions and then take it down and sell it on Craig’s List at the end of the season. Do not try to mix & match inground pool equipment designed for larger volumes with a soft-side pool. The gas heater you would need for your future pool will be too big for your Intex pool. Just bite the bullet and go cheap and easy on the Intex. Don’t waste a lot of time and money on it.

As for an extension cord, that’s a big no-no with pools. Have proper electrical work done (conduit and wiring to your electrical service panel) for safety. Shock hazards are real and dangerous.

My advice - buy the cheapest Intex pool you can get away with right now and minimal equipment with it, run it for the season using manual chemical additions and then take it down and sell it on Craig’s List at the end of the season. Do not try to mix & match inground pool equipment designed for larger volumes with a soft-side pool. The gas heater you would need for your future pool will be too big for your Intex pool. Just bite the bullet and go cheap and easy on the Intex. Don’t waste a lot of time and money on it.

As for an extension cord, that’s a big no-no with pools. Have proper electrical work done (conduit and wiring to your electrical service panel) for safety. Shock hazards are real and dangerous.

Great, thank you for all that advice will definitely do all of that and wait. Above ground pools are sold out everywhere right now so wasn't alot of options. How do you suggest we warm this thing bc with the shade it will be cold?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Are you sure there isn’t a sunnier spot you can put the pool in?? It’s an easy-set pool so it can really go anywhere....you will definitely want a bubble cover to keep on it as that will stop overnight evaporation which causes the majority of the water and heat loss. If you have a sunny spot, you might see if you can buy some black plastic coil heaters or price out some ground based pool heating coils to capture heat from the sunlight. If you have a southwest facing roof line that’s unobstructed then you could plan to put solar coils up there for the future in ground pool. Solar heating is a cheap and easy way to get heat for a pool.

 

[Mermaid Mama]

Are you sure there isn’t a sunnier spot you can put the pool in?? It’s an easy-set pool so it can really go anywhere....you will definitely want a bubble cover to keep on it as that will stop overnight evaporation which causes the majority of the water and heat loss. If you have a sunny spot, you might see if you can buy some black plastic coil heaters or price out some ground based pool heating coils to capture heat from the sunlight. If you have a southwest facing roof line that’s unobstructed then you could plan to put solar coils up there for the future in ground pool. Solar heating is a cheap and easy way to get heat for a pool.

This is the sunniest spot in my yard unfortunately. The southwest roof line faces the backyard woods so massive trees hover over the house on that side. The south facing roof line is pretty unobstructed. This is also the side of the house where we are putting the above ground pool. Thank you for all your help.

 

[jimmythegreek]

The problem is you are comparing apples to oranges. What you need to heat and SWG a gunite large pool iant gonna work for that pool. The heater amd swg coat more than that pool amd theres the hookups. Then moving them to where the permanent pool is gonna go. Its just not really feasible. A solar cover is gonna be the biggest help you will be ok to swim with just that. Juat maintain you pool balance with chlorine

 

[Mermaid Mama]

The problem is you are comparing apples to oranges. What you need to heat and SWG a gunite large pool iant gonna work for that pool. The heater amd swg coat more than that pool amd theres the hookups. Then moving them to where the permanent pool is gonna go. Its just not really feasible. A solar cover is gonna be the biggest help you will be ok to swim with just that. Juat maintain you pool balance with chlorine

Yes, you're right. Being a newbie I assumed...wrongly. Doh. There is one spot that's sunnier after thinking about it but it's on top of that gravel. Any suggestions on what I could put underneath it to keep it from ripping? There is a liner that comes with it but pretty sure that won't be sufficient protection.

 

[Mermaid Mama]

Yes, you're right. Being a newbie I assumed...wrongly. Doh. There is one spot that's sunnier after thinking about it but it's on top of that gravel. Any suggestions on what I could put underneath it to keep it from ripping? There is a liner that comes with it but pretty sure that won't be sufficient protection.

I found this product and was thinking about putting it over gravel with orangish red side facing down on the gravel. And maybe of I need something rigid underneath this maybe 4x8 wind blocking boards. They are coated in wax to give it a bit of water resistance. It's all synthetic materials so thinking it may work but this is definitely not my wheelhouse. Thank you.

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[JoyfulNoise]

The gravel should be removed and the pool set on a graded and level surface. Many people simply use foam insulation from the hardware store (the pink kind you put up on plywood walls when building a house) between the ground and pool to act as a smooth barrier. You can cut the foam exactly to the shape of the pool and tape it together using Gorilla tape. The weight of the water will compress it down and hold it in place. That will give you the best chance of having a smooth surface that will protect the pool from punctures.

Remember that every 10,000 gallons of pool water weighs 83,400 lbs (or 41.7 tons). Even the smoothest looking tiny piece of pebble/gravel will be like a razor blade on a vinyl surface with that kind of force involved.

 

[Mermaid Mama]

The gravel should be removed and the pool set on a graded and level surface. Many people simply use foam insulation from the hardware store (the pink kind you put up on plywood walls when building a house) between the ground and pool to act as a smooth barrier. You can cut the foam exactly to the shape of the pool and tape it together using Gorilla tape. The weight of the water will compress it down and hold it in place. That will give you the best chance of having a smooth surface that will protect the pool from punctures.

Remember that every 10,000 gallons of pool water weighs 83,400 lbs (or 41.7 tons). Even the smoothest looking tiny piece of pebble/gravel will be like a razor blade on a vinyl surface with that kind of force involved.

We are going to dig out tomorrow. Wondering how much gravel we are going to find bc the house is 30 years old (we have been here almost a year). We marked the area today. Thank you so much for your help.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Dont go too far down that's a good base. Get the loose stuff off and get it level amd throw some concrete sand down about an inch thick and have at it. Some thin foam board wouldnt hurt

 

[Mermaid Mama]

Dont go too far down that's a good base. Get the loose stuff off and get it level amd throw some concrete sand down about an inch thick and have at it. Some thin foam board wouldnt hurt

Thanks Jimmy! So we couldn't get to the bottom of this gravel. We spend 4 hours digging and just barely scratched the surface. Used 40 foot of tubing to determine the slope we needed to dig out and it's 5.5 inches. We are renting a walk behind skid steer on Wednesday to dig the rest out. My husband and I own a property management business and our handyman volunteered to help us bc he knows how to operate the skid steer. He used to work for pool installer and was very familiar with setting up above ground pools. But wanted to run his recommendations by you guys to tell me what you think. I have tried explaining to him this pool is different than most above grounds in the sense that legs fold out with Intex XTR rectangular. So he is telling us what we need to do
1) Level the ground with walk behind skid steer
2) Make rim with railroad ties. They will need a little perimeter trench to sit in bc 7 inches high.
3) level to the top of the railroads with 4 inches of playground sand.
I told him maybe we should top sand with tarp to prevent any sand from washing out when kids splash around but he seems to think the railroad ties are fine.
4) put half cinder block solids on the outside of railroad tie rim for each of the 24 legs to sit on that are level with sand
This picture is what ground looks like AFTER digging out 3-4 inches by hand still rocks. Everywhere has rocks here at our new house.

We are so grateful he wants to help us bc we need it...but want to make sure this is a good way to go about it. I am worried about sand washing out.

 

[Mermaid Mama]

Thanks Jimmy! So we couldn't get to the bottom of this gravel. We spend 4 hours digging and just barely scratched the surface. Used 40 foot of tubing to determine the slope we needed to dig out and it's 5.5 inches. We are renting a walk behind skid steer on Wednesday to dig the rest out. My husband and I own a property management business and our handyman volunteered to help us bc he knows how to operate the skid steer. He used to work for pool installer and was very familiar with setting up above ground pools. But wanted to run his recommendations by you guys to tell me what you think. I have tried explaining to him this pool is different than most above grounds in the sense that legs fold out with Intex XTR rectangular. So he is telling us what we need to do
1) Level the ground with walk behind skid steer
2) Make rim with railroad ties. They will need a little perimeter trench to sit in bc 7 inches high.
3) level to the top of the railroads with 4 inches of playground sand.
I told him maybe we should top sand with tarp to prevent any sand from washing out when kids splash around but he seems to think the railroad ties are fine.
4) put half cinder block solids on the outside of railroad tie rim for each of the 24 legs to sit on that are level with sand
This picture is what ground looks like AFTER digging out 3-4 inches by hand still rocks. Everywhere has rocks here at our new house.

We are so grateful he wants to help us bc we need it...but want to make sure this is a good way to go about it. I am worried about sand washing out.

Read the manual and it says DO NOT use sand where pool and ground meet so I will tell him we need to do it the way you said Jimmy. So dig out with skid steer, 1 inch of cement sand and 1 inch foam board. That is the way to go with this super rocky ground.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Concrete sand. Very specific. It's like rice under magnifying glass it locks together amd wont wash away. The support legs need to be there not sure about that style but something solid under legs you will have to dig a little depression for something. Make sure the walk behind has a tooth bucket the standard smooth front will take forever amd if ita packed hard wont do the job

 

[Mermaid Mama]

Concrete sand. Very specific. It's like rice under magnifying glass it locks together amd wont wash away. The support legs need to be there not sure about that style but something solid under legs you will have to dig a little depression for something. Make sure the walk behind has a tooth bucket the standard smooth front will take forever amd if ita packed hard wont do the job

Yes, I found the exact sand you referenced thank you. The legs on this pool fold out and sit on little cement pads. We are getting half cinderblock solids bc that's what alot of ppl on here say works best. The manual says use wood but I have read experts here say use cement not wood. Here is what legs look. We have 24 of them. And won't be putting foam board under these legs/supports.

 

[Mermaid Mama]

Tomorrow is the day! We rented the Dingo mini skid steer and it doesn't have the teeth on the bucket which is definitely going to make things harder. I made a water level today with some scrap wood to help even everything out. We may be filling up the pool tomorrow so tested my water again and getting weird TA here at new house results btn 180-200 over last couple of months. We have a community well water. Read all of Pool School and a little confused. It says you should only try to bring it down in two scenarios and bc this is new not sure yet but seems super high?

 

[Mermaid Mama]

Pool didn't make it up today but ground all set and level. Tomorrow we will put down foam board and pool. We ended up renting a grading rotary laser level and a compacter to compact the cement sand and a couple places in the ground that we had to build up a little. Also tomorrow we are having 3 large trees cut down so hopefully the sun can warm up the pool more. Thanks for everyones help.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Looks great you did the right thing. Sucks to spend some money on rentals but now you know the base is solid and I'm the end a small price to pay for good insurance

 

[Mermaid Mama]

Looks great you did the right thing. Sucks to spend some money on rentals but now you know the base is solid and I'm the end a small price to pay for good insurance

Thank you Jimmy, I have been researching the legs and what to put them on. I had planned on the 4x8x16 concrete solids but just saw a post with the same pool where you recommended against this. Was that their situation or do you think wood should be used like the manual recommends? Another problem I don't know exactly where these legs are going to land on the ground once the pool is filled and I have combed through threads. I found the pool dimensions with legs extended so I know on the long side the legs will fold out 11 inches and on short ends 12 inches but that doesn't help enough to figure out locations? Thank you so much again!

 

[jimmythegreek]

dont remember why. You have a nice prep base there. Ive also seen people try to use pavers and smaller stuff and thats not gonna hold up they crack make sure its not sitting on foam the blocks need to sit on base material