Intex 32'x16' XTR inside a concrete shell - need some advice

[anuck]

Hi All and happy 2024!

I went trough with my plan of putting Intex XTR into a concrete shell.

It's not possible to put legs for the short sides - not enough space between the liner and walls.

Should I add some support for these short sides?

My thinking was that the short sides are so close to the walls that all the side weight will be resting on the concrete walls.
I'm not sure about any downward pressure for the short pipes - the liner stretches at the bottom but how much will it pull the pipes down.
It's a little bit problematic to attach them to anything but I thought about couple of options:

1. Shorten the legs and make them parallel to the walls - they would have to be cut at the bottom which is not ideal (mostly because of rust). I wanted to keep these legs as spare. I could place a wooden plank and rest these cut legs on it. They would be probably felt through the liner because they will be directly between the liner and the concrete wall.
2. Put a wooden plank like 2x6 directly under and parallel to the edge so that it can rest on it for additional support. Fairly easy to do.
3. Use some kind of clamps here and there but the leg holes in the liner are not well shaped for that.

The legs are on both long sides.

WDYT?

Also, how bad of an idea is to test-fill it with sea water?
I've got a pump, it would much faster and cheaper.
Here it would cost me probably $600 to fill it full with tap water and would be very slow.

I'm planning to hard plumb it with pumps placed in that small building.
That round thing on the first photo is a swim jet (dedicated pump) that I plan to install through the liner, plus 2 skimmers (another dedicated pump).
Skimmers line will also go through solar heating mats (until I can get PV panels and a heat pump) and through a spillway on one of the short edges.

Thanks!

 

[Mdragger88]

You’re asking for us to recommend things that are not recommended for good reason. The legs of that pool are designed the way they are for a reason. The frame & liner work together in unison to keep the “bag of water” upright & safe for use.
**Any alteration to the frame risks collapse**
I suggest that you use a smaller dimension pool that can be properly assembled and still fit in your space.
Sadly you can’t know exactly what will happen with your alterations until it does its thing when filling the pool.
The 14-15k gallons of water in that size pool when full weighs approximately 120,000 lbs. thats a lot of force if a collapse occurs & can damage people & property in a hurry.

About the filling from the ocean.
Sea water has very high salinity - around 30,000 ppm vs 3,000 ppm for most salt pools. It can certainly cause issues with corrosion with equipment that’s not designed for this.
You might be able to use a portion of sea water & the rest fresh.
Here’s a thread about this exact question with detailed advice on the subject

Is a Salt Water pool same as sea water???

Hi All, This question could be so dumb perhaps I should not even ask it...here goes nothing...! I have a large salt pool and need to drain it for repair, I have the ocean 100ft away so on refilling, can I fill with sea water then get my pool back to "normal" in any way?? Thanks (for not laughing)

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[anuck]

You’re asking for us to recommend things that are not recommended for good reason. The legs of that pool are designed the way they are for a reason. The frame & liner work together in unison to keep the “bag of water” upright & safe for use.
**Any alteration to the frame risks collapse**
I suggest that you use a smaller dimension pool that can be properly assembled and still fit in your space.
Sadly you can’t know exactly what will happen with your alterations until it does its thing when filling the pool.
The 14-15k gallons of water in that size pool when full weighs approximately 120,000 lbs. thats a lot of force if a collapse occurs & can damage people & property in a hurry.

About the filling from the ocean.
Sea water has very high salinity - around 30,000 ppm vs 3,000 ppm for most salt pools. It can certainly cause issues with corrosion with equipment that’s not designed for this.
You might be able to use a portion of sea water & the rest fresh.
Here’s a thread about this exact question with detailed advice on the subject

Is a Salt Water pool same as sea water???

Hi All, This question could be so dumb perhaps I should not even ask it...here goes nothing...! I have a large salt pool and need to drain it for repair, I have the ocean 100ft away so on refilling, can I fill with sea water then get my pool back to "normal" in any way?? Thanks (for not laughing)

www.troublefreepool.com

The size is perfect becuse the short edges will rest against the walls. Not much more collapse risk than having it above ground. I'm able to reinforce it against the walls in other parts too.

I asked about TEST-fill - water that I would pump out. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to take everything out and that's my only concern.

 

[wireform]

You might be able to use a portion of sea water & the rest fresh.

 

[Newdude]

I asked about TEST-fill - water that I would pump out

The salinity won't harm the liner in any capacity. Putting the frame together scratches it by nature, especially once you're tired and sloppy. A short exposure to salt water won't destroy the frame but it's inevitable rusting will start exactly then. If it survives the test fill, I'd hose it well with fresh water.

The size is perfect becuse the short edges will rest against the walls

The frame is designed to work as a whole. The legs you will be missing also control the height along with the outward support. Yes the concrete wall will stop it from blowing out but nothing will hold it up. I see the failure happening at the corners, but I'm no Intex engineer so YMMV.