How to choose an intex pool

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bunnygraham74

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Feb 13, 2013
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Hello! I am new to the forum and so excited to find it! I am purchasing an intex pool this spring and am trying to decide on the wall height. My son is 47 inches tall and I would like him to be able to stand in pool so I am considering a 48 inch wall, but would prefer a 52 inch wall for when he grows taller.

My question is has anyone ever used a 52 inch wall intex but kept the water height lower to accommodate younger children as they grow? The box states for the 48 inch wall the water height is 42 inches and the 52 inch water height is 46 inches. Would it cause a problem to keep 42 inches in the 52 inch wall only until he grows some more?


Thanks for any advice!

PS this site has been a wealth of information! :wave:
 
I don't think it would be a problem to keep a 52" pool filled to 40", however if you have an over the side skimmer you won't be able to use it. If you have a through the wall skimmer you will need to keep the water level at least 1/2 way up the skimmer opening. I would not go below 40" on a 52" pool, since the water pushing out against the walls provides the bulk of the structural support of the pool.

If you are not comfortable with the idea of him playing in shoulder deep water then it would be best to start with the smaller pool and upgrade when he is bigger.
 
The suggestion to upgrade as kids grow is what I have been doing. The other view of this is "force" the child to be confident swimmer almost immediately because they have to be able to swim because they can't depend on touching the bottom to save themselves.

I just couldn't go with option two (even though she visits lots of other pools that are deep), so here at "home" we have a pool that no matter what happens, she (and her friends that come over) simply have to stand up, and they are good to go. Not the best to force them to be better swimmers......it is the best for parents who want to guarrantee to the maximum extent possible "no issues".

Bob E.
 
I have run my pool very under-filled for several years without major issue. Two years ago I had it well under the return jet and ended up draping a flour sack towel over it to reduce the aerating effect. Other than that, it was fine and as the pool slowly filled with rain water, etc, the kids didn't even notice as it got a few inches higher. At times I'd bring it to their attention and they said they liked it a little higher than how we started and they found that walking on tip toes in the water was fine. NOTE this appears to only work on the Intex round pools - I've gotten input on this forum that the rectangular pools must be filled to full in order for the walls to push out all the way.

If it were me, I'd figure out the largest pool I'd ever want. If that is a round one (26' available on Intex), I'd level properly, get the foam for underneath, and set it up year one. Underfill as needed and grow into it. HOWEVER, if you think you'll eventually want a large rectangular pool by Intex, then doing the 48" wall year one is fine since you'll be switching it out anyway. Note, though, that leveling and buying the right foam base, etc, is not exactly without pain (both in the physical work and the money) so if you can do it correctly the first time with the largest footprint you'll ever want, you'll end up ahead of the game.

A general rule of thumb with the round Intex is that the water level will be about 6" below the top of the wall and that would be considered in "normal" range. Also depends on the type of skimmer (if any) you plan to have. I went years without any skimmer and it was fine - just get a good net to skim with. Last year I installed a through-wall skimmer at a lower-than normal height knowing that this year I'll likely cover it up and re-install it higher to allow for my kids having gotten taller. Or perhaps I'll finally get a rectangular pool if I think they are ready for water that deep (they are twins, 49 and 52" tall now). Another consideration is that the kids really do like to be able to touch, at least on tip-toes. So since a lot of our friends have younger, shorter siblings, I might keep the water about 45" to allow more fun during play dates with the shorter kids.

Good luck and ask lots of questions - tons of Intex users on here.
 
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