(about to be a) new Indoor Pool Owner..what would you do?

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C

czoog

0
Sep 8, 2015
2
Cinnaminson, NJ
Hi All,

My wife and I finalizing the purchase of a building lot that we will eventually build our dream house on. It was part of much much larger estate, (the dorrance estate of Campbell's soup fame) that has been subdivided and sold off over the past 100 years. Why am I posting this here? Well because the lot comes with an in-ground indoor pool attached to a small 105 year old pool house (which was a servant's quarters, most likely). Both are sold AS IS, so i am not expecting the seller to fix anytthing. We settle in two weeks, so I don't have much information about it at the moment. I am posting here because I want to get it up and running, asap, because my kids are super excited about it. Plus its a unique situation in that we won't be living on the premises for quite some time, so automation and remote contol are high priorities, and I need some guidance. The original owners will still be our neighbors, so he'll be a good reference for me as he's been taking care of it for 20 years. Ok so here is what I know so far, i will update this thread as i know more:

Pool Material: Concrete
Pool Condition: Operational I am told, but when I took the pic the water level was below the skimmers, and obviously the pump was not running.
Age: not sure, probably the 70's, was once an outdoor pool, later enclosed.
Filter: Unknown, i only took one pic of the pump room, looks like DE to me.
Heater: Purex Triton MiniMAX 250
Building Heater: Gas Furnace
Building Walls: Metal, and sliding glass doors
Building Roof: Steel Structure, Corrugated Fiberglass panels, with power retractable sections (with screens)
Sanitation System: ?? unknown

Here are some pictures: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=d2tJUzhfcEhscWV1WDZYVFRWYkduNDJLdDgtR3ln

I was thinking of converting it to SWG, and using an automation system with remote access. We live close by, so I could come test the water weekly if not more. My family want's to use it into the winter, but i am worried about the cost of heating it, I doubt the glass building is well insulated.

SO...I am looking for some advice.....

  • What potential problems should I look for first? besides testing the water which is a given.
  • Will ventilation be an issue with this pool? there is no exhaust fan, but the doors and roof can "open".
  • Would an automated SWG system make sense for this type of use?

Sorry for the rambling first post, but i am an excited newbie, and just needed to get these thoughts written down. Thanks for any advice.
 
First of all welcome, and don't worry we can help, but there are a few things you need to do to let us help you. You need to do some reading in the pool school link in the upper right of this page if you have not already done so, if you have, giving things a second or even third pass can be surprisingly helpful. Doing this will help give you a firm footing on how we approach things here, but I suspect you have already been reading a good bit which is good. You also need one of our suggested test kits, we can have the whole debate on which one is best, or you can just click on the link for the TF-100 in my signature.

As to the pool the first step is going to need to be evaluation of the pool and equipment condition, at first glance that heater looks possibly serviceable, but first glances can be deceiving, why is the water low, are their plumbing problems, has the concrete settled due to leaks (deck looks to have settled around the skimmer). From there we of course get into the question of the condition of the water which you will need one of our suggested test kits for, then of course is the plaster finish for the pool.....

I doubt that ventilation will be much of an issue, however do expect lots of condensation and "rain" from the metal and glass if the pool is heated in the winter time. You may want to look into adding an exhaust fan at some time in the future though for better humidity control and heat removal in the summer, I know it has helped with my indoor pool particularly in the fringes of the warm season.

I too have considered an SWG system for my indoor pool, but have instead have opted for a liquid chlorine injection pump system so as to avoid the corrosive effects of salt indoors. As to your thoughts on remote control and monitoring there really are no good options for remotely monitoring chlorine level, so that will be of limited use, although remote control may be nice for heater control, I suspect the one shown in your photos is going to be a bit too primitive to support any such option to apply. What an SWG or a Chlorine injection pump system will do for you is to give the ability to get away with testing 2-3 times per week once you get it dialled in and you get a feel for the pool. This probably means needing to be on site 2-3 times per week for 10-15 minutes. As to the cost of heating, it will be considerable, just how much so is hard to pinpoint.
 
I think I remember when you were just first looking at this place. SO neat! It really looks like it will be easy as far as the water and pool goes. The equipment........that is where we will have our work cut out for us. Pics of it in total and close ups as needed will be the most helpful. The other person that used to keep it----make them something yummy and pick their brain about what they have done in the past! LOL

Kim
 
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