So many issues

[mawickham86]

So we got a Intex 12x24 above ground pool. And there are so many issues I don't even know where to start.
1. The pool is not level. We need to empty it and relevel.
2. The cover it came with ends up getting water through the holes and falls into the water, doing little good.
3. The pump is my nemesis. It does not work well (sand) when on filter it has little output pressure. If we take it apart and backwash several times, it will finally push out what we refer to as pool diarrhea. And then works ok for a bit. Then back to it's BS.
4. MY #1 ISSUE. Because I need to drain it and level it, I'm at a loss of when is best to do this. Right now it's currently cloudy. And I can't seem to get it back to clear no matter what I do.
So do I drain it now, level it and refill? ( On a well so we pay for water fill (($250))
Or do I chemical the heck out of it. Let it sit for the winter, then drain it , clean it and level it?!
I'm worried about it over winter/fall because it's cloudy now and I don't know how to get it happy. And I would hate to do fresh water just for spring it to be green

 

[derekm]

Why are you paying $250 for water if you have your own well? I've had a couple of liner changes over the years with my 25,000 gal. pool and refilled it from my well without issues. Not sure how long your season is in Illinois, but here in Canada I'd just leave the water as is and drain/level/refill in the spring. You can certainly do a SLAM to clear it SLAM - Shock Level and Maintain - Trouble Free Pool, but it will likely take a week or so (and a lot of chlorine and time) and you may not use the pool much after that due to weather.

 

[PieterS]

Assuming you won't get much more use out of the pool this year, I'd lean towards starting fresh in the spring. I'd add enough chlorine to keep things from spiraling out of control, and then dump, do a good scrubbing of your liner, and fill clean in the spring. Sounds like you're not contemplating taking down/storing the pool, but if you need to empty it anyhow to re-level, why not empty it now and store it for the winter?

As for your other 'issues' - the Intex Sand Filters are notoriously small and slow - so it's not unusual for them to struggle getting water crystal clear. I've had some good luck adding a bit of DE or filter fiber to them to help filter out smaller particles. I've never used the cover that came with my Intex - didn't seem sturdy enough to even try messing with.

 

[Selenap]

Why are you paying $250 for water if you have your own well? I've had a couple of liner changes over the years with my 25,000 gal. pool and refilled it from my well without issues. Not sure how long your season is in Illinois, but here in Canada I'd just leave the water as is and drain/level/refill in the spring. You can certainly do a SLAM to clear it SLAM - Shock Level and Maintain - Trouble Free Pool, but it will likely take a week or so (and a lot of chlorine and time) and you may not use the pool much after that due to weather.

$250 is cheap. It costs me $1500 for water. I’m on a well. A 20+ year old well. It’s cheaper for me to truck in than risk burning up the well pump. I can’t pull 250 feet of line myself to change it. Plus. Iron. I imagine that’s why they truck it in also.

 

[derekm]

$250 is cheap. It costs me $1500 for water. I’m on a well. A 20+ year old well. It’s cheaper for me to truck in than risk burning up the well pump. I can’t pull 250 feet of line myself to change it. Plus. Iron. I imagine that’s why they truck it in also.

Interesting. If I remember correctly, my 36-year-old well is 160' deep. The only thing I've ever replaced on the submersible pump was a bad wiring harness, which the plumbers did, but wasn't expensive (glad they pulled up the hose, not me!), the control box, which is only $99 and I did myself, and the pressure gauge ($10). I guess I've been lucky. I also added (myself) a "vermin-proof" cap to the wellhead after the neighbour ended up with earwigs clogging the wire mesh filter at the end of his kitchen tap!
I haven't tested for iron, but I didn't bypass the filter when I filled the pool and there was only some sand in it, although our sand, our soil, and iron are all the same red colour, so it's hard to tell. No sign of liner stains though.

 

[cj133]

Interesting. If I remember correctly, my 36-year-old well is 160' deep. The only thing I've ever replaced on the submersible pump was a bad wiring harness, which the plumbers did, but wasn't expensive (glad they pulled up the hose, not me!), the control box, which is only $99 and I did myself, and the pressure gauge ($10). I guess I've been lucky. I also added (myself) a "vermin-proof" cap to the wellhead after the neighbour ended up with earwigs clogging the wire mesh filter at the end of his kitchen tap!
I haven't tested for iron, but I didn't bypass the filter when I filled the pool and there was only some sand in it, although our sand, our soil, and iron are all the same red colour, so it's hard to tell. No sign of liner stains though.

There's plenty of issues, bad issues, that can happen trying to fill a 12,000-20,000 gallon pool from a typical residential well.

All of that aside, running a well pump certainly isn't free.

 

[derekm]

There's plenty of issues, bad issues, that can happen trying to fill a 12,000-20,000 gallon pool from a typical residential well.

All of that aside, running a well pump certainly isn't free.

Water table is certainly a huge issue. I wouldn't do it in a drought, and I had a recovery day in the middle due to a holiday. The other trick when filling is to always use two hoses , which runs the pump continuously, which pumps are good at, as opposed to starting and stopping, which causes issues.

 

[Woodstock1234]

So we got a Intex 12x24 above ground pool. And there are so many issues I don't even know where to start.
1. The pool is not level. We need to empty it and relevel.
2. The cover it came with ends up getting water through the holes and falls into the water, doing little good.
3. The pump is my nemesis. It does not work well (sand) when on filter it has little output pressure. If we take it apart and backwash several times, it will finally push out what we refer to as pool diarrhea. And then works ok for a bit. Then back to it's BS.
4. MY #1 ISSUE. Because I need to drain it and level it, I'm at a loss of when is best to do this. Right now it's currently cloudy. And I can't seem to get it back to clear no matter what I do.
So do I drain it now, level it and refill? ( On a well so we pay for water fill (($250))
Or do I chemical the heck out of it. Let it sit for the winter, then drain it , clean it and level it?!
I'm worried about it over winter/fall because it's cloudy now and I don't know how to get it happy. And I would hate to do fresh water just for spring it to be green

Depends how unlevel the pool is. If it's 2 inches or more off, I would drain and re-level. Or you can drain and store it for the winter.

 

[Selenap]

Water table is certainly a huge issue. I wouldn't do it in a drought, and I had a recovery day in the middle due to a holiday. The other trick when filling is to always use two hoses , which runs the pump continuously, which pumps are good at, as opposed to starting and stopping, which causes issues.

I can run one hose. My pump is a beast. I don’t know how many gpm it pumps but on full throttle from the well head, the water won’t hit the ground for 15 feet. When I top off my pool, I run it at a quarter. The pump stays on and I don’t need to worry about draining down the well. We are atop a mountain and it’s along ways down to good water I reckon.