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Never having raved about something on this web site, I thought I should start. It is always good to have something good to say about something rather than pointing out the negative things that surround us.
Only catch is, now I have to think of something to talk about that is good for us all to know. I could talk about the weather here in Arkansas but then I’d have to point out that it is HOT outside and no one wants to go there, outside that is. It’s humid and the sun is shinning quite brightly, it’s almost 2pm and already 94 degrees, I’m sure the grand kids are at the daughters house and if they aren’t in the pool, they will be inside having already exhausted themselves swimming. It’s a cheap, old above ground pool meant to be used for a couple of years and then tossed, we put it up about ten or so years ago and replaced the liner two summers ago. Maybe that should be my topic. Things that can be used for much longer than their original intended life.
Take that pool, it came with a cheap little filter pump and a flimsy metal and plastic stepped ladder. I was still in the military so was out of town when they put it up with the help of my father and brother. I had some instructions that I passed to the wife but of course they weren’t exactly followed, being a thousand miles away makes it kind of hard to be insistent. They did get it erected and filled with water so guess they did a good job as it stayed that way for five or more years.
During one of my visits, I installed a sand filter system to replace the cheap paper filter and itty bitty pump. This raised our operating costs but made the pool a much cleaner, clearer place to swim. The addition of a small deck and a new all plastic ladder a couple of years later completed the pool system and until we replaced the liner, all that has been done to the original pool.
I highly recommend that if you are going to buy one of those cheap above ground pools from Walmart or anywhere that sells them, that you go to the expense and trouble to buy a sand filter system to go with it. You will get years of use out of both. The pool will stay cleaner and last longer than if you just use the cheap paper filter that comes with them. The pump and paper filter that comes with these pools is just not big enough to keep 5000 to 7000 gallons of water clean, no matter how much chlorine you put in them. Yes I know that they cost a lot of money compared to the paper filters ($300 to $400 vs. $10 to $20 per change), but the benefits will be proven after the first few weeks. One thing you won’t have to do is change the water! Our well produces all the water we could ever use so we don’t have to purchase it or pay a fee for using a lot of water so that is not a consideration for us, just the cost of the electricity to pump it out of the ground. For those of you living in town, they cost of water is important because you also have to pay a fee for dumping it back into the sewer, even though it may never get there because water from the pool will not end up in the sewer, storm drain maybe but not the sewer.
You won’t find a good sand filter system at Walmart, you have to go to a pool store and purchase one from them, they will even install it if you pay them. Being a handy guy with tools, I do my own work and I’m sure you know someone competent enough to install inlet and outlet for the filter system in the wall of your pool. It does require some drilling and cutting and BE CAREFUL, you don’t want to destroy your new liner because you got in a hurry. Yeah, there are other considerations to take into account before you do this but I’m sure you can plan it all out before you even buy the pool. If not, find that competent handyman and slip him a few bucks to help you. He might even settle for a few cold ones while he supervises you doing all the hard work.
You are probably wondering what the rave is all about. Well it’s about taking something that is supposed to be “consumable” after a year or two and making it last many, many times that. I believe we put our pool up in 99, sand filter on before the end of that summer and a new liner (eBay) in 2007. We’ve changed the sand in the filter once (due for another this year) and other than keeping the chemicals in stock and in the water (will turn green without them), we have used it every summer since, making our investment in a “cheap” above ground, off the Walmart shelf pool a darn good one.
Teach your children to swim, if you don’t know yourself, learn, you may never get in water over your toes, but you can never know what is around the next bend.
Enjoy.