Lifespan of our vinyl liner?

[Steverino]

We built our in-ground 29K gallon vinyl liner pool in spring of 2009 - so it is now over 15 years old. The original dark blue is now pretty faded, but other than a very short (maybe 8" section) where the liner has pulled slightly from the coping, it is functional and seems leak-free.

Based on the Google, it would seem we've surpassed the average lifespan of many liners, but I don't know if that's reality. We are trying to decide whether to get on our pool company's new liner schedule for 2025. Obviously we'd rather replace it before it fails, as we are unlikely to get timely replacement in the middle of the year after a failure. But it will be a pretty significant expenditure, so one ought to be prudent as well...

Curious as to the general consensus / experiences of this group... how long have your liners lasted? For reference, we are in Central PA, so our pool is uncovered / open from mid April through mid October.

Thanks!

 

[wireform]

Your liner has outlived most liners lifespan. If it isn't leaking and functional that's what's important. The older the more brittle the vinyl gets. Trying to get it back into the track may be at its limits as it won't stretch like a not so old liner. Sometimes knowing the liner is almost done and ordering a new one so it won't happen on a planned pool party weekend but then again it's your call. If you do it now your subjecting it to an extra winter and besides the sun needs to be good and warm as it helps with the liner install. Maybe be on the early 2025 install list and have a worry free season.

 

[Steverino]

Thanks @wireform - that's helpful perspective. The part that's out of track isn't new - probably at least 2 -3 years old, and I've not been able to get it to stay in at any point. Leaning toward spring (or whenever) 2025 at this point.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Liners can be ordered and stored until needed. As long as you trust the pool company that would do the ordering to properly store the liner for you, then you can order it now, get them scheduled for early spring and get a new one in place. You can even take delivery of the liner and store it yourself if you have the room.

I don’t think it’s being financially imprudent to change it BEFORE it catastrophically fails … in engineering we call it “preventative maintenance” or PM. You do PM on consumable items because you know that the minimal cost associated with buying and warehousing spare parts is a lot less expensive than having a critical part fail and either cause catastrophic damage or excessive downtime or both. It is wise to prevent a failure.

 

[wireform]

You need an item called bead lock where by design it takes up the extra room in the bead track and the liner can't back out anymore.
This is the product and comes in various lengths. I've used it many times.

 

[Steverino]

Thanks @JoyfulNoise! And @wireform, thanks for the bead lock suggestion. Will save that for our new install for sure!

 

[wireform]

Ask your installer to quote you on a FULL CONTINUOUS BEAD LOCK install and not some cut up short pieces here and there in the suspect places like corners.