AGP fact or fiction? Just curious.

[dattia]

When I was young, my mother would never let us make a 'whirlpool' in the above ground pool in her yard. She said the pressure would basically make the pool 'explode' for lack of a better word.

Last night, I had 8 teens in the pool having a blast making a pretty substantial 'whirlpool' in my 27' AGP. I was smiling as I watched them... but in the back of my mind, my mothers words starting ringing loudly in my brain. It was all I could do to not utter those same words to the kids.

Is there any truth to my mother's warning or is she just a killjoy? On the bright side, my steps were moving during this 'whirlpool', so I know there was some good water flow through them for probably the first time ever.

 

[woodyp]

This could be serious! Were they making clock............ or counter-clockwise circles?????????? I don't know if that makes any difference being in the northern hemisphere or not. I.E. I don't think it makes any difference!

 

[dmanb2b]

Killjoy

 

[dattia]

Definitely counter-clockwise... those non-conformist teens!


Killjoy, eh... I suspected as much.

 

[Bama Rambler]

If they spin yours opposite of what our GK's spin ours, things will balance out and it won't be a problem.

Seriously, it was probably something she was told and was concerned. You're not going to hurt anything by whirlpooling it as fast as you can go. Whirlpooling won't put near as much pressure on the wall as a big ole cannonball will.

 

[cramar]

You've got what, something like 80' of rolled solid corrugated steel that is is connected together with what, 30 bolts or something like that.
That steel ring is going to withstand a lot of pressure.
Most people incorrectly assume that the uprights are holding all the water in, that's not true. The uprights are for primarily for top rail support.
There's one major pool manufacturer that has a video showing a backhoe using it's bucket slamming into the water, and that's with an oval pool which has un-proportionate stress on the sides.

I wonder what the rate of actual AGP "explosion" is, I'm thinking very very low, and even then I'd like to know if defective installation was the factor. I'd wager that the most AGP pool failure starts with something becoming out of level (for whatever reason) leading to the water finding a way to leak out.

PS: I agree with Bama, my first swim in my pool was a huge cannonball and when I came up I couldn't believe the waves it made, put water right over the sides, I'm thinking the round shape magnified it. And the pool withstood it.....and I was VERY relieved.

 

[Patrick_B]

If true, my little pool would have blown up a long time ago. I love how it gets debris to the center for easier vacuuming.

 

[NWMNMom]

The only time I have seen an AGP explode was on Funny Home Videos bc simeone drove a lawn mower into the side or something

 

[MNPoolDreamer]

Thinking it is fiction. We have a tradition at my sister's house. We aren't done swimming until we made a whirlpool and then swim in reverse! The kids love it. Her pool has stood over eleven years of doing it and it is way out of level...still standing. Plus it is and oval. If any pool was going to give out, I would think hers would!

Hope the kids had fun! We can't wait to do it in ours!