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I have a worn out 8mil cover now, and it's pretty effective at keeping the heat in over night (we can see 40's even in the summer.) I need to replace it, and have read that because of longevity, buy the cheapest one you can, which would be 5mil. The 8mil is about $8 more for my 15x30, and the...

I was doing some research into bonding pools. I have an above ground pool that is currently installed below grade, with a 4-5' overdig, so not backfilled. The pool is effectively sitting on the ground as if it were at grade. I didn't want the pool equipment close to the pool, so I put it about...

I am building an outdoor kitchen to finish up my huge outdoor renovation. The kitchen will have a 4' retaining wall as the back in an L shape. I'll have one side that's 7' and one that's 8' (plus the corner.) I'm trying to save money and I'm going to use my pedestal mounted bbq grill (big...

I'm not sure if this is the place for this, but I don't have one of those pool cover pump covers, so I thought I'd see if anyone had any good ideas. I have a sump pump that's a bottom intake (I use this for my hot tub, and it moves a lot of water. I don't want to suck up the pool cover or all...

I used a configuration almost identical to one I found here on this site to set up my 8 2x20' solar water heater system. Since setting it up correctly, it's been awesome, and the water temperature is now actually higher than the average ambient air temp, right around 90 degrees, which is great...

My in-ground AGP (sunken, not buried) has been doing fantastic all summer. I'm running an intex SWG and a pretty large array of solar water heaters. We just had the 4th here and had a ton of people in it, and it did great. It's a 15x30 oval. We're going away for about 2 weeks, and I'm...

I put in a Wild Ride slide late last year, and finally plumbed it for this season. It has a valve that sticks up from the pool deck to turn on/off and adjust the flow. I basically T-'d off the main 1 1/2" output line from the pump with a 1" line up to the slide valve (the slide itself has a 1"...

I put in a new AGP pool last year, and thanks to a little adventure of dropping a skid steer into my pool, the liner got damaged. I patched it and it's all good from a hold water standpoint, but I don't like the little patches that happened. I also didn't really like the pattern. So, I have a...

Just thought I'd pass this along, since a lot of times, folks don't take the time to say the good things about companies. We bought a Costco spa last summer, and love it. It's made by Strong Industries, was a great value, well made, and it's been working well. We had a couple of issues with it...

I've been buying the wally world level floats, usually the ones that are under $10, but they don't last long, and seem like even water makes them leak. I've been looking at the closed cell foam ones instead, but man, they're like $80 each. Do they sell any floats that aren't so expensive, but...

We live in Montana, and this is our first spa out here. We had one in Connecticut, which gets cold, but not like here. We'll usually have a couple of weeks of -20F or more. I would love to just keep the spa open all winter long. Our electrical rates are low, so that's not a huge issue (I think...

UGH! I was doing my closing procedure in the pool, and it seems when I was pulling out the stairs, I managed to put a hole in the liner, which I didn't see for about 10 minutes, and it grew. It's actually a tear about 1" long and 1/2" wide. I managed to get a patch on it, which was so much fun...

I am building a deck around my AGP, which effectively makes the top level another 8" above where it typically be. As a result, my wedding cake steps are a little short. They sell risers for these, but man, they are $80 or something shipped. Anyone made some sort of DIY version for risers...

I found a nice 100k btu heater DSI for $200. My pool is 15x30 with a deap end, so I think I figured 13000gallons or so. My primary heating method is solar, I have 7 panels active right now, and it's doing a great job on warm days with sunshine. It's starting to turn colder at night, sometimes...

I read a thread on this, but can't find it now. I have been running 2 pumps on my system so far, a starite 1.5hp pump for the sand filter side, and an intex 2500gph for the solar (2 skimmers, opposite sides and 2 returns). The flow on the solar side is a little bit weak, which results in WARM...

I've been looking at different pictures of pool slides and waterfalls that are built out of concrete, but I can't really make out how it's all supported. I thought someone might be able to point me in the right direction in terms of HOW these are built. Is is all bermed up, then built into the...

Just wanted to pass along my results from some testing I've been doing this morning. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a pool alarm. We live out in the middle of no where (5 acres), and have the AGP configured as an IG (deck will be built in the coming weeks.) My kids are 12 and 10...

We live in an area where the dirt is very fine clay. When it's dry and all loose, it's like flour. I'm 98% sure that as I'm vacuuming, or the automatic vacuum is doing her thing, that it's simply running through the sand and back out again. Vacuuming to waste is a solution, but a costly one in...

New Sand filter owner, always used cartridges until now, so this sand filter thing has me baffled. I need to add some sand to the filter after an initial "wet run" to see that all was working. When I took the top off, the filter piping stuck a bit and pulled the spider-type assembly up and out...

I just set up the pool, and LOVE my wanda the whale, it's a great little cleaner, and my wife accused me of having an affair. ;-> The issue I'm having is that I have a deep end in the AGP, and due to the steepish angle, she's sort of just "hanging out" there, more so than other areas of the...

Just finishing up my pool install before I build the deck over it, and I am a little confused on the right parts for plumbing everything. I'm good with 2" PVC lines, elbows, etc, but where I get confused is what kind of valves I need for startup/shut down, etc. The pumps (one for main stuff, a...

Just a quick question. I have 10 panels I need to install. I have plenty of room, more or less, but I was looking at how wide these things are when all laid out side by side. With the connectors, it's like 26'+ wide. I was thinking that if I split them, and did 2 rows of 5, and connected them...

So, we're doing a major renovation of the backyard, complete with an underground AGP (covered by deck). I'm facing a delimma with what do to with the pool equipment, whether to: 1) put it under the deck and try to insulate for noise abatement (access via door to under deck.) 2) build a little...

I haven't seen a lot of discussion on these, and as a new spa owner, I'm wondering if these are effective given the relative small water volume. They are pretty expensive. The most economical appears to be the SpaPilot Spa Sanitizing System for around $300. Anyone running these effectively in...

We're doing a complete redo of the yard, with AGP in the ground and deck. We have a brand new spa as well that will be sunken into the deck. I'm designing the new deck, and trying to come up with some ideas that will allow me to extend the season a bit with the spa. Ideally, creating some sort...

I have an Intex SWG that we used for our 18' round pool (intex frame). The last season we used it (last year), I ended up supplementing with tablets (this was before I really started learning about chemistry for the pool) because we thought it might not be working correctly. The plates are...

I've been running my panels on the ground for the last several seasons, and they seem to do just fine. However, I'm now getting my new system ready, which will be "permanent." I'm wondering if I need to worry about the angle that the panel is installed? Is it okay to just leave them on the...

I've read a bunch of the other threads on heaters. I have a specific question. I'm in Montana, and am installing a 15x30 AGP in the ground (deck surround). I currently have 8 2x20 solar panels that I'll be using, roughly 90% of the surface area. Our sun intensity when it's out is quite high...

I found a smokin deal on a Laars Lite 2 Mark IV 175k btu heater ($50 for it, a solar cover real, and some otehr stuff.) It passed a full inspection last year and has just had the maint done on it. The only problem...it's NG, and we're all propane. For most appliances, I know you only need to do...

We're in Montana, so the "season" is a bit of a Crud shoot. I'm going to be heating my new AGP (insulated and covered) with solar, for the most part, which works exceptionally well as temps rise and when the sun comes out (often). We're at high altitude (4500') so the solar radiation is high...