Pool tear at inlet

Jump to latest Follow Reply
A

Aleksey

Member
Mar 6, 2021
17
Saratoga Springs, NY
Pool Size
6450
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hello everyone!
My wife Kim and I are new pool owners. We were gifted a Coleman 16’x48” used above ground pool last summer and we love it! Sadly with the NY winters not being very kind to us combined with our complete lack of knowledge of proper winterizing, we ran into a big issue. The pool tore right at the suction side of the pool.
I’ll give a little background info first:
When winterizing, I drained the water a few inches below the suction inlet of the pool, attached a pillow and draped a tarp over it. The tarp was then attached to the sides by bungee cords. With all that done in the early fall, I hoped for the best and left it as is.
Unfortunately we had a whole lot of snow and rain in the past 4-5 months, coupled with many nights of sub-zero temps. This ended up with the pool filling right back up to the top, layered with 3 ft of snow on top of the cover and it all turned to a thick slab of ice.

Coming into the present day; temps are warming up...and all of a sudden there is a 2 ft long horizontal gash in the side of my pool and the suction inlet component is right in the middle of the gash. Looks like the ice shifted and took the pool with it.

So my question is as follows: what are my options? The damage is fairly extensive so is a replacement liner even an option?
Any recommendations are truly appreciated. Thanks everyone!
Aleksey and Kim
 
Post some pics of your pool and the tear. I am not sure what you describe can be patched.

@Casey
 
Thank You AJW! I was hoping that wasn’t the case but assumed the worst.
Now again I’m completely new to this so this may be a stupid/silly question: am I able to purchase a new liner to replace it and keep the original legs and pump, or does everything need to be replaced at that point? I just want to know what my options are.
Thanks again!
 
I doubt you will find the liner being sold alone. Most of those pools are sold as kits and are considered disposable when things start breaking.
 
  • Like
Reactions: thefloatqueen and Casey
Just saw this. I dont have tons of time working OT but...

I would look for someone who's selling their pool. Intex liners are probably not going to replace in a timely manner or fashion. I'm sorry but that is just not going to survive any patch.
 
Thank you everyone to your input and suggestions! I didn’t think a patch could save this either :ROFLMAO:. Found a bestway pool on eBay that I’ll probably buy, but I did also seesome pool liners being sold that go on top of the original liners. What are your opinions on those and given my current damage, are those even an option?
 
Putting an overlap liner in the old one has been done by a few people. The problem you have is that the old liner really has lost all strength vertically in that 3’ area. Also, the tear is so long that the new liner will push its way through and out the tear. You could try to reinforce the tear and stitch it closed then put a big vinyl repair patch over it to protect the new liner.
At some point the trouble, cost and risk of the fix out weight getting a new pool. If the stars align correctly you might get it to work but in the end it may just not be worth it.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Thank you Teald024! That makes sense. I’ll have to look for a new one then.
Now I need to figure out what I did wrong when I winterized this one to cause such apocalyptic damage so I don’t repeat that mistake next winter.
 
I believe the tear came from the control valve still being installed. At some point water got in it and then froze. Then as the pool thawed & froze around the edges, water got pushed out. As the ice came down, it took the valve with it. At some point the liner couldn’t hold the force and ripped, possibly on a really cold day.
Next year, remove all valves, returns so if water wants to come out it can.
My brother down near Troy always leaves his Intex pool up all Winter, no cover. He just pulls out the fittings that go through the wall, and drains the water. Equipment goes in his basement.
 
Thanks to everyone for your input! It’s been priceless in our decision making! Now we are in search of a replacement pool and to my surprise we found that intex 18x48 is significantly cheaper than 16x48. The only concern I have however is that the legs are made of PVC instead of metal. I’m sure it’s strong enough to do it’s job but how well would pvc stand through harsh winters?
 
PVC will likely last longer any not rust away.
 
Aleksey said:
Thanks to everyone for your input! It’s been priceless in our decision making! Now we are in search of a replacement pool and to my surprise we found that intex 18x48 is significantly cheaper than 16x48. The only concern I have however is that the legs are made of PVC instead of metal. I’m sure it’s strong enough to do it’s job but how well would pvc stand through harsh winters?
Click to expand...
Wait... you found an Intex pool with PVC legs? I didn’t know there was such a thing. Can you share a link?
 
  • Like
Reactions: magiteck and Mdragger88
ajw22 said:
PVC will likely last longer any not rust away.
Click to expand...
I found it here. The info wasn’t 100% clear in the description but there was a question about what the legs were made of and the and a customer answered with PVC. I ended up biting the bullet and buying this exact one:
www.academy.com

INTEX Prism Frame 18ft x 48in Pool Set | Academy

Enjoy hours of outdoor fun with the Intex Prism Frame 18ft X 48in pool. It is constructed with puncture-resistant 3-ply durable material. It features all of the gre...
www.academy.com www.academy.com
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply