Hi everyone,
As noted in my profile, I bought and installed the Intex 24ft X 12ft X 52in Ultra Frame Rectangular Pool Set with Sand Filter Pump & Saltwater System last summer. We made it through the summer with a few issues but as noted in my Amazon review i am struggling with the skimmer and pump power:
Since we hit 90° here in central Texas (Austin) last weekend, I went ahead and uncovered the pool to start getting ready for the swim season. After one hour of fighting with the skimmer and pump again, I am ready to do something to upgrade the system. I have seen lots of posts (from the Sticky) for hard-plumbing the system with a new Hayward pump and that looks ideal. Unfortunately the images on most of those posts are missing due to issues with the image hosting provider. So I am a little stuck on how to move forward without good pictures and guides on exactly what I need to do. Plus, some of those posts are rather old and I am wondering if there are some new devices to consider.
My questions:
Thanks everyone!
As noted in my profile, I bought and installed the Intex 24ft X 12ft X 52in Ultra Frame Rectangular Pool Set with Sand Filter Pump & Saltwater System last summer. We made it through the summer with a few issues but as noted in my Amazon review i am struggling with the skimmer and pump power:
- The skimmer attachment clamps on the side of the pool but often comes loose causing the skimmer to float up and the pump to take in air. I am having a daily battle fighting with it to stay in place and considering hanging a brick on it or going all out and replacing it with an in-wall unit. See my latest attempts at holding it in place in Pic 17 below.
- The pump in the product specs here on Amazon indicate it is a 0.3HP pump. My pump is very clearly labeled 0.2HP. Unfortunately, whether it is 0.2HP or 0.3HP, it is seriously underpowered. The skimmer won't actually skim unless you block the second intake hole. And the vacuum won't actually vacuum unless you block the second intake hole. But if you block one of the intakes, the pool isn't able to cycle the water well enough to stay on top of filtering it. So now I am looking to spend another $330 on a larger pump (but I am a little leery as there are comments that the pump is also misrepresented).
- Because of the pump and skimmer issues, the pool can't be left alone for more than twelve hours without having to adjust or fix something. I went out of town for two days and returned to a floating skimmer and a green pool. I know maintaining a pool takes effort but this current setup requires a lot of monitoring and action.
Since we hit 90° here in central Texas (Austin) last weekend, I went ahead and uncovered the pool to start getting ready for the swim season. After one hour of fighting with the skimmer and pump again, I am ready to do something to upgrade the system. I have seen lots of posts (from the Sticky) for hard-plumbing the system with a new Hayward pump and that looks ideal. Unfortunately the images on most of those posts are missing due to issues with the image hosting provider. So I am a little stuck on how to move forward without good pictures and guides on exactly what I need to do. Plus, some of those posts are rather old and I am wondering if there are some new devices to consider.
My questions:
- How does hard-plumbing work with the Ultra Frame movement on the sides? Does there need to be some flexible aspect to the hard plumbing line?
- For my current system which has the sand filter, pump, and salt water generator in essentially two units, will I be able to keep any of it or will I be starting over?
- Can anyone point me to any recent threads with good pics?
- Anything I can do to help with those great resources that are missing the images?
Thanks everyone!