My wife has finally convinced me that the kids are old enough and their swimming lessons have progressed far enough that they are outgrowing our current seasonal pool. We will use it for one more season and I am looking to put up a permanent pool next spring. So... I am out in the boonies. The only code requirements I have from the county are an IGP needs a minimum 4' fence with a gate that has an automatic lock on the pool side. An AGP needs either a removable ladder or if there is a deck a gate with same requirement as IGP. The IGP is outside of our budget. I am an experienced DIYer and can do plumbing, electrical, etc. If I were to buy a kit, is installation that difficult? I am loosely planning right now to pull 60A out to the pool for pump, etc. Will that be enough for the pump and a chlorine generator? That leads to the next question... the chlorine generator makes the chlorine from salt... when the chlorine breaks down, it turns back into salt no? So do I now have a salt water pool or is a salt water pool different with a higher PPM of salt? I've read vaguely about salt water pools. Are they different or just pools that have chlorine generators? Should I plan for a water line to the pool, or after it is filled will a hose be enough for cleaning filters, etc? I am on a well with iron in the water. This is a constant issue with the current pool. Should I add a water softener? I will probably get the water trucked in to fill the pool the first time.
Planning an AG Pool
- Thread starter crokett
- Start date
multiple questions, and only a few answers...
water softener- if you don't already have one or planning one, I'd use a metal filter instead; someone can recommend a good one, maybe
water line- if you're doing yourself, I'd do it and just add a fauce on a tee for a hose for cleaning and such...
Salt water pools are SWCG, all same thing...
water softener- if you don't already have one or planning one, I'd use a metal filter instead; someone can recommend a good one, maybe
water line- if you're doing yourself, I'd do it and just add a fauce on a tee for a hose for cleaning and such...
Salt water pools are SWCG, all same thing...
Installing an above ground pool is a very reasonable DIY project. A few of the steps are fairly physical and benefit greatly from having helpers, but nothing is really challenging to figure out.
60 amps is more than enough.
There are two different usages of a "salt pool" going around. One is a pool with a salt water chlorine generator (SWG). The other is a pool with ocean water. Ocean water has about ten times as much salt as is typically used with a SWG.
Most people don't run a water line. Generally running a garden hose out to the pool a couple of times a year is plenty. On the other hand, if it is a substantial distance, having a permanent water line can be handy.
A water softener isn't usually a great solution for a swimming pool. They are not designed to handle the volume of water used by the pool, though they can be gotten to work with lots of pauses for regeneration. The best place to start is to get your well water tested for both CH and iron and see just how big an issue you are likely to have.
60 amps is more than enough.
There are two different usages of a "salt pool" going around. One is a pool with a salt water chlorine generator (SWG). The other is a pool with ocean water. Ocean water has about ten times as much salt as is typically used with a SWG.
Most people don't run a water line. Generally running a garden hose out to the pool a couple of times a year is plenty. On the other hand, if it is a substantial distance, having a permanent water line can be handy.
A water softener isn't usually a great solution for a swimming pool. They are not designed to handle the volume of water used by the pool, though they can be gotten to work with lots of pauses for regeneration. The best place to start is to get your well water tested for both CH and iron and see just how big an issue you are likely to have.
Just the pump itself should draw no more than 10 amps for those first brief few seconds on startup. The SWCG is negligible.
Thanks everyone.
Another question.... assuming the new pool is a metal frame, are there grounding/bonding requirements for the frame? If so, is it a separate rod from the house or does it get tied back into the ground rod at the house? I won't have lights in the pool itself. I might someday do some kind of lights on the deck. At the moment I am thinking of a small sub panel with 2 or 4 circuits in it and a main shut off. I have installed sub panels before so am familiar with those requirements. I'd like to have a shutoff at the pool rather than back at the panel. I figured the pool pump will be one 220V circuit and the CG/lights/other stuff will be another 110V circuit.
Another question.... assuming the new pool is a metal frame, are there grounding/bonding requirements for the frame? If so, is it a separate rod from the house or does it get tied back into the ground rod at the house? I won't have lights in the pool itself. I might someday do some kind of lights on the deck. At the moment I am thinking of a small sub panel with 2 or 4 circuits in it and a main shut off. I have installed sub panels before so am familiar with those requirements. I'd like to have a shutoff at the pool rather than back at the panel. I figured the pool pump will be one 220V circuit and the CG/lights/other stuff will be another 110V circuit.
Bonding is not at all the same as grounding. No grounding rod.
The rules for above ground pools vary from place to place. Some regions count them as temporary, where bonding is not required. Others it varies by size, and the boundary line size varies from place to place. If the pool is "permanent" it needs to be bonded.
The goal of bonding is to connect everything metal of any size together with a long piece of #8 bare copper wire and also run the wire in a loop around the pool. In some areas you also need to bond the water, which requires a special fitting on a pipe/hose.
The rules for above ground pools vary from place to place. Some regions count them as temporary, where bonding is not required. Others it varies by size, and the boundary line size varies from place to place. If the pool is "permanent" it needs to be bonded.
The goal of bonding is to connect everything metal of any size together with a long piece of #8 bare copper wire and also run the wire in a loop around the pool. In some areas you also need to bond the water, which requires a special fitting on a pipe/hose.
I asked the question poorly. I usually do. 
The panel will have 2 hots, neutral and a ground that will run back to the main panel where the neutral and ground are bonded. They are not bonded at the sub, which will have a ground rod. Assuming the frame is metal I will make sure all the metal parts are bonded, if they aren't all connected together already. After that, as per your post I don't need to run the bonding wire back to the ground rod at the sub? Just burying it in the ground around the pool is enough?
The panel will have 2 hots, neutral and a ground that will run back to the main panel where the neutral and ground are bonded. They are not bonded at the sub, which will have a ground rod. Assuming the frame is metal I will make sure all the metal parts are bonded, if they aren't all connected together already. After that, as per your post I don't need to run the bonding wire back to the ground rod at the sub? Just burying it in the ground around the pool is enough?
The bonding wire gets buried in a ring around the pool, and connected to the frame, and connected to the pump, and any of the other electrical equipment or large pieces of metal that touche the water (metal ladders, underwater lights, heater, SWG) that you might have. The wire around the pool should be 18 to 24 inches away from the pool wall and 4 to 6 inches below grade. In the US, you don't intentionally connect it to electrical ground, though most of the time it is in fact connected to electrical ground because the pump usually connects bonding and ground together. In Canada you do connect it to electrical ground.