Hi , everyone I'm New hear.I've been trying to do some research on the best above ground pool to get. I'm torn between Coleman intex and best way for a reasonable price. I'm also wondering what does SWG mean, I see it in all of your guys comments. Does anybody have any advice on what the best brand would be for a first time pool? I'm so scared to get one because every time I look at the reviews for pools. They say that the liners are leaking or something's wrong with it. And that's a big problem to have, especially when you're gonna put 3 to 5000 gallons of water in it. And? Your bill goes up and to have to empty all that and start over.I'm not trying to do that . And also i hear about pumps being to small for pool. Any advice will be helpful
Best above ground pool
- Thread starter Bonbonbme
- Start date
Hi and welcome to TFP! Maddie got the SWG question so I will work on the other concerns.
Either brand of pool will work to enjoy having a pool. Just like there are Ford and Chevy lovers there are lovers of both brands of pools. Yes there can be problems so your job will be to care for your pool the best you can. That means getting and using your own test kit as seen here: Test Kits Compared
As for the pump size, yes the one that comes with those pools is quite small as are the filters. All that means is you may need to run the pump longer and clean the filters more often.
The biggest thing about getting any above ground pool is the prep done to the area you are going to put it. It HAS to be level. That can take a bit of work as even if the area looks level as soon as you put a pool on it and add the water you find out real fast it is not as level as you thought it was. You will have to take up any and all vegetation before you put a pool up. The vegetation can grow up through the bottom of the pool thus causing leaks.
Good luck in your search! Ask and all questions you might have to we can help you enjoy your pool!
Either brand of pool will work to enjoy having a pool. Just like there are Ford and Chevy lovers there are lovers of both brands of pools. Yes there can be problems so your job will be to care for your pool the best you can. That means getting and using your own test kit as seen here: Test Kits Compared
As for the pump size, yes the one that comes with those pools is quite small as are the filters. All that means is you may need to run the pump longer and clean the filters more often.
The biggest thing about getting any above ground pool is the prep done to the area you are going to put it. It HAS to be level. That can take a bit of work as even if the area looks level as soon as you put a pool on it and add the water you find out real fast it is not as level as you thought it was. You will have to take up any and all vegetation before you put a pool up. The vegetation can grow up through the bottom of the pool thus causing leaks.
Good luck in your search! Ask and all questions you might have to we can help you enjoy your pool!
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,775
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I would pick the one you like & can afford! I have had a bestway (which is what coleman is), summerwaves (polygroup), & intex & noticed no difference in quality between them.
Inspect it real well before filling it as manufacturing defects do happen sometimes. Like around the seams or something accidentally getting sliced.
You want to make sure its level & properly set up which requires some prep work
www.troublefreepool.com
As for the pump/filter if you can find one with a sand filter that’s the way to go instead of a cartridge.
Most here love swcg’s as it feeds your pool chlorine for you every day on a schedule!
You want one that’s rated for at least 2x’s the pool’s volume so it will make plenty of chlorine for you. So if you’re looking at a 6k gallon pool as an example go for the 15k gal rated swcg instead of the 7k one.
Factor in a tf100 or taylor k2006 test kit into your budget so you start off on the right foot & can adequately follow
FC/CYA Levels &
www.troublefreepool.com
Inspect it real well before filling it as manufacturing defects do happen sometimes. Like around the seams or something accidentally getting sliced.
You want to make sure its level & properly set up which requires some prep work
How to level above ground pool - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
As for the pump/filter if you can find one with a sand filter that’s the way to go instead of a cartridge.
Most here love swcg’s as it feeds your pool chlorine for you every day on a schedule!
You want one that’s rated for at least 2x’s the pool’s volume so it will make plenty of chlorine for you. So if you’re looking at a 6k gallon pool as an example go for the 15k gal rated swcg instead of the 7k one.
Factor in a tf100 or taylor k2006 test kit into your budget so you start off on the right foot & can adequately follow
FC/CYA Levels &
What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?
Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.
www.troublefreepool.com
Would that be a Chem connect dispener that feeds it the chlorine cause im looking at an 18×48 best way that has thatI would pick the one you like & can afford! I have had a bestway (which is what coleman is), summerwaves (polygroup), & intex & noticed no difference in quality between them.
Inspect it real well before filling it as manufacturing defects do happen sometimes. Like around the seams or something accidentally getting sliced.
You want to make sure its level & properly set up which requires some prep work
How to level above ground pool - Further Reading
As for the pump/filter if you can find one with a sand filter that’s the way to go instead of a cartridge.
Most here love swcg’s as it feeds your pool chlorine for you every day on a schedule!
You want one that’s rated for at least 2x’s the pool’s volume so it will make plenty of chlorine for you. So if you’re looking at a 6k gallon pool as an example go for the 15k gal rated swcg instead of the 7k one.
Factor in a tf100 or taylor k2006 test kit into your budget so you start off on the right foot & can adequately follow
FC/CYA Levels &
What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?
Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,775
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
No - its not a dispenser for Trichlor pucks - we don’t recommend that.
SWG How It Works - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
How to Chlorinate Your Pool
Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.
www.troublefreepool.com
A chemical dispenser uses pucks or sticks to add chlorine to your water, you don't want that.
Here is the 30 second overview of pools and chlorine.
1) Pools need chlorine. It sanitizes the water.
2) You can get chlorine into a pool in a number of ways
- Using solid chlorine (called dichlor or trichlor)
- Using bleach
- Using a SWG (Salt Water Chlorine Generator)
- There are other even more esoteric methods that don't apply.
3) There is a thing called CYA (Cyanauratic Acid). You need a certain amount of this in your pool. It does three things
- Protects the chlorine from the sun. Without it, the sun would burn off the chlorine very quickly
- Makes the chlorine less harsh on your skin
- Makes the chlorine less effective as a sanitizer (this is important to understand, like most things in life, CYA has a trade off).
4) There is a recommended level of CYA where it protects the chlorine and makes it less harsh, but does not nerf it so much that it cannot do it's job.
5) For the most part, CYA does not dissipate or get used up, the more you add, the more you will have in your water. The only way to get it out by dumping water and replacing it. (REREAD AND REMEMBER THIS)
6) For all practical purposes, all solid forms of chlorine (Tablets, sticks, granules) contain CYA. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT IF YOU KEEP USING SOLID CHLORINE YOUR CYA LEVEL IS GOING TO QUIKCLY GET TO A POINT WHERE IT TOTALLY NERFS THE CHLORINE, MAKING IT USELESS. - read that again, let it sink in. This is where a lot of pools get into a vicious cycle of shocking, algae outbreaks, and other nasty thing.
7) So, in this group, the recommendation is to not use solid chlorine as your primary source of adding chlorine to your pool. Your choices are
- Bleach, aka Liquid Chlorine.
- A SWG
Bleach is just bleach, you test your pool, you see how much you need, you measure that amount, and you add it. It is not hard, it is not that time consuming, but it is a daily task.
With a SWG generator you add salt to your pool (like table salt, but pure salt made for pools, don't buy the giant bag at Restaurant Depot). The SWG generates Chlorine from the salt, the chlorine does it's thing, and then reforms back into salt (that is very simplified). The SWG makes chlorine for you. Nothing has to be added once you get the salt in there. Once you have the amount of Cl per day you need dialed in (basically how many hours a day you have to run your SWG) there is not much to do for a steady state pool. No need to add chlorine.
There are other things going on that you will have to learn and test for (pH, TA, etc) and will have to add chemicals to balance. It is not as if with a SWG it means you never have to test or maintain your pool, but it removes one of the necessary daily tasks, and makes that maintenance a lot easier.
I just want to clarify- "bleach" means PLAIN, unscented, unthickened, non-fancy technology stuff. The bottom shelf stuff is usually the plain stuff you want if you're using actual bleach.