We have a 24' round pool AGP - Sentinelle brand made by Aqua Leader. Purchased and installed two years ago. Now starting its third season in Maryland. All parts of the pool are resin with the exception of the main wall. We have an Aqua-Trol SWG that has was purchased about 6 weeks after the pool was installed, and it has worked very well for us.
With the pool we purchased a 13' x 5' three segment, "fan tail" deck. The deck uses a lot of vinyl and resin, but the under-structure that supports the deck as well as several small braces that are used to stabilize the entire structure are painted steel. I just spent a very significant portion of this past weekend repairing the paint system on this deck. It was awful - huge chunks of paint would peel off. Most of these chips had rust and metal that peeled off with the paint. Rust stains had developed on the top rail of the pool where the deck had overhung the pool. I sure was disappointed to see such a massive paint system failure after only two seasons!
Today I called the local pool store/supplier - punt. They are under duress - closing all their stores in Maryland and several other states. Their corporate headquarters basically said that after one year they can't help us. They referred me to the Canadian company that manufactured the deck. So that was my next call.
The story from the deck builder was that they do not warranty any of their products that are used with pools that use a SWG. He went on to claim that the use of SWG was a ticking time bomb in the industry. He told me that I should carefully inspect the pool walls and especially the closure bars/seam that completes the wall system. He made it sound as if our continued use of a SWG with an above ground pool was putting my family and friends at risk. He even emailed me a copy of their current warranty page where they decline all responsibility for rusting if their products are used in pools "utilizing salt generation for water stability." Many of his comments were a disturbing - suggesting types of injuries and then describing sudden failures of major structural components of pools and of products that they make. In-pool ladders was one of his major concerns - claiming that the stainless steel fasteners they use will/could degrade and fail over time.
So - is there any real hazard using a SWG with an AGP? Am I putting people and property at undo risk? Or is this just a scare tactic to encourage me to go away?
With the pool we purchased a 13' x 5' three segment, "fan tail" deck. The deck uses a lot of vinyl and resin, but the under-structure that supports the deck as well as several small braces that are used to stabilize the entire structure are painted steel. I just spent a very significant portion of this past weekend repairing the paint system on this deck. It was awful - huge chunks of paint would peel off. Most of these chips had rust and metal that peeled off with the paint. Rust stains had developed on the top rail of the pool where the deck had overhung the pool. I sure was disappointed to see such a massive paint system failure after only two seasons!
Today I called the local pool store/supplier - punt. They are under duress - closing all their stores in Maryland and several other states. Their corporate headquarters basically said that after one year they can't help us. They referred me to the Canadian company that manufactured the deck. So that was my next call.
The story from the deck builder was that they do not warranty any of their products that are used with pools that use a SWG. He went on to claim that the use of SWG was a ticking time bomb in the industry. He told me that I should carefully inspect the pool walls and especially the closure bars/seam that completes the wall system. He made it sound as if our continued use of a SWG with an above ground pool was putting my family and friends at risk. He even emailed me a copy of their current warranty page where they decline all responsibility for rusting if their products are used in pools "utilizing salt generation for water stability." Many of his comments were a disturbing - suggesting types of injuries and then describing sudden failures of major structural components of pools and of products that they make. In-pool ladders was one of his major concerns - claiming that the stainless steel fasteners they use will/could degrade and fail over time.
So - is there any real hazard using a SWG with an AGP? Am I putting people and property at undo risk? Or is this just a scare tactic to encourage me to go away?
