new 18x52'' pool...........will not be using SWG!

[jsf0656]

my 16x48'' intex pool that i put up in 2010 has rusted severely to the point that i had to take it down. it would not have lasted another year. i was using the intex SWG and while it works great i have come to the conclusion that the salt is the culprit. i will post some pics soon of the damage but meanwhile i will be upgrading to the 18x52 for the grandkids who have gotten bigger anyway. i will use traditional methods to sanitize the pool but the salt is out. the pool was only 3 years old and i have several neighbors who have the intex ultra frame pools but did not use the SWG and after 3 or 4 years of use they have no rust issues at all. my next door neighbor has the 20x48 blue intex frame pool and this will be his 7th year with almost zero rust only minor spots that i have seen. i thought i would post this to inform fellow intex owners of my experience and my plans going forward.

 

[linen]

The saltwater sure sounds like it was your problem

On the brightside, I bet your grandkids will like the new bigger pool, and I bet they won't notice the missing salt

Just a reference though, we have intex users on here that have reported no problems after years of swg use. Maybe yours had a bad paint coat?

 

[jsf0656]

whatever caused it i will not take the chance. i've read enough pool school to take another route. after watching the youtube video from aboveground pros concerning the question of using salt vs chlorine to sanitize your pool it looks like my pool fell right into this same catergory of after 3-4 years of using a salt system the metal is prone to rust and your pool will be ready for the dump!

 

[joshuaberman]

This answers my question I had about using a SWG in conjunction with an Intex Ultra Frame.

I think I'll just upgrade to a sand filter and use the BBB method.

Thanks!

 

[CeeElGee]

Not that our old Intex blue rusted out but we just never could get the SWG to do the job properly. I was putting as much effort into it as if I was doing a traditional chlorine method. And last summer, after just two seasons, it began to get pin holes that had to be patched. I don't know if the salt had anything to do with that, but we're going a different direction with our new Ultra Frame.

 

[Safetybob]

I am just about ready to decide which way to go too. For the past three years with constantly bigger pools each year, this year I am really considering NOT using the salt. Why, my Swimmax electric pool heater is seeping a bit of water out of it due to two years of salt. Truth in advertising I should mention that Swimmax now does not reccomend using their electric heater with salt pools. Looking into a Liquidator.....that seems reasonably simple, effective, and somewhat automated without going crazy with the injection pump stuff.

I did notice last year the frame on my metal frame did have rust, big time rust on about a third of the upright polls. So it seems there may be quality control issues in China.

Bob E.