Building Pool Questions

[klikster]

We're nearing completion of a build in Khon Kaen Umphur Muang and "sort of" thinking of adding a pool. Even though the land has not flooded in recent history we added 1m of fill.

When we drove 9m piles for the house they got really stubborn at about 8m. Some wouldn't go flush with the fill even with 100 or more pops.

The pool I'm envisioning would be 3m x 10m (is that a semi-optimum ratio?) and 1 - 2m slope depth. Nothing fancy -- unless a small (2m high) waterfall feature doesn't overly complicate the design and build.

After owning pools in 2 houses in the U.S. I'm not concerned about handling liquid/powdered chlorine or acid. I'm not very savvy about SWC.

One of my potential concerns is operating cost -- not initially, but for my wife after I pass on. (I suppose if it got too bad she could fill in the pool)

The site would get morning sun (assuming trees on neighboring land are cut), partially shaded by house and trees in afternoons.

Any thoughts, recommendations, comments appreciated.

[jacko45k]

Operating costs for me are not small.

I think the pump adds 500 baht pcm to my electric bill.

I have a cleaning service for 1,500 pcm although of course easy to do yourself ... not maybe for your wife alone though.

Dry season it adds maybe a few thousand baht to my water bill.

Why not consider a salt/chlorine system... it is a big up-front hit (instrumentation and electrolysis etc) but saves money in the longer term with chlorine costs.

I never need acid or alkaline additives, just the algae and clearing agents.

Most of the expense is that those using it like to raid my fridge.....

[fabphil]

If she decides to fill it in after u pass on..she can save funeral expenses by putting u in the pool first

[HUAHIN62]

I would go for a salt system, we have a 12x6m and the salt cost around B 360 pm (3 bags) on average. In the raining season we use more salt due to rain water filling the pool. The electricity cost is +- B 600 pm depending on your running time. I would suggest that you look at an automatic pool cleaner. In my home country they cost B 4500 and save me the B 1500 to pay someone to clean. If you consider a automatic poolcleaner consult a specialist before hand to help you build the pool correctly. Also look at a cleaner without too many working parts.

[klikster]

The wife is actually pretty handy. She works hard and would, I'm sure, take good (better than me) care of the cleaning aspect of the pool. She is certainly not afraid of work.

Not sure if she would grasp the technical aspects of water quality, but then I'm not all that great on water quality either. She is an "old maid" with a uni degree in agriculture, but some "hi-tech" scares her.

I read in one of the other threads in this section that 12 m is a more swimming friendly length than is 10 m. The 3 m width would allow us more garden area. Our plot is 3 ngan inverted "L" shaped. The house is built across the front 40 m wide bu 20 m deep. The "leg" is a 20 m rectangle.

As far as the pool service, not sure Wife is very reluctant to have male strangers in the house when she is alone.

I read all sorts of controversy about SWC.

[menorah]

I'm guessing the pool is something you personally desire, rather than your wife, since Thais are reluctant to swim without T shirt and denim shorts as standard attire !

However, if she's as keen on swimming as yourself, I'd advise the simplest effective water treatment system with the least technology that could go wrong.

Assuming your wife does outlive you and doesn't fill in the pool with you in it, to save on funeral expenses, then she may be happy to retain a pool which is inexpensive and reliable. If it's unreliable and breaks down most Thais have little motivation to effect repairs with money they could be spending on a new car !

I've no experience of pool economics but if you were able to use solar panels in the design this might help slash costs and even provide excess supply to the household.

[thailandbeachisland]

Are most of the pools using salt system here ? I hardly smell any chlorine ?

[Muhendis]

You might like to consider drilling a borehole for your pool water. The water will be high in magnesium and ferric minerals which will be quite a deterrent to algae etc. It is quite safe to swim in and you can forget about additional chemicals and a circulation pump/filter. This is something I did once which worked very well but it would be advisable to change the water every few months young children being what they are. The cost of a borehole is about 30k Baht plus pump.

[Benmart]

If she decides to fill it in after u pass on..she can save funeral expenses by putting u in the pool first

Somehow, I missed the OPs question on funeral arrangements.

[iamariva1957]

Yes, I do have a suggestion....don't do it! I have one back in California and between cleaning it (I have a guy come 2 times a week maybe 3 depending upon how much family is in town at great expense... that is IF you can even find someone like that here), the cost of running the filter motor, the heating (if needed), the cleaning out of the filter when it is really windy (between cleanings), the general maintenance, and the replacing of expensive items that break... it is a pain in the ass. Oh, it is nice to see in the mornings and I am always saying "Today I am going to go swimming" but somehow I never wind up doing it. So here in LOS add the fact that you will have to buy a cover for the thing when it rains, find the chemicals that will not burn the skin off your body to keep the algae from taking over, a good repair man who actually knows how to take care of a pool and all of its parts, and let us not forget an electrician who can actually ground the electrics (and not just say that he has) or the contractor who actually knows what they are doing and builds the thing better than the roads here that take on average the same weight as the water in the pool (and you know what happens there!).

So do not do it. Save the money and buy a new 4X4, a vacation, a really nice hotel on your next visa run (might think of flying 1st class even), a really BIG flat screen TV with good Sat channels, and have that extra Tea Money on hand when those times sneak up.

[iamariva1957]

Oh and solar panels... tried that. I had the house in CA wired to run on them. I am now my own power station. In the States the energy you do not use from them you sell back to the power company through a separate meter/clock... so that is a good thing. But use it to do anything for the pool and my savings go down the drain. The draw is too much, unless I add more panels. It is a good idea, but in practice it does not really work or save you much. Coupled with the cost of the installation of panels... you are better off here just plugging into the house feed and for heating letting the sun do its job all alone. Oh one more thing. Do not think about using a heat exchanger either (the black pipes running across your roof adding heat to the pool) They have a terrible habit of breaking if not installed correctly. As for a salt water pool... easier on the chemicals, but another pain in the ass maintenance wise. I doubt that you will find anyone here that REALLY knows what they are doing anyway regarding either of these 'systems'.

Buy gold instead!

[PeterSmiles]

I would go for a salt system, we have a 12x6m and the salt cost around B 360 pm (3 bags) on average. In the raining season we use more salt due to rain water filling the pool. The electricity cost is +- B 600 pm depending on your running time. I would suggest that you look at an automatic pool cleaner. In my home country they cost B 4500 and save me the B 1500 to pay someone to clean. If you consider a automatic poolcleaner consult a specialist before hand to help you build the pool correctly. Also look at a cleaner without too many working parts.

2 questions.

Why would you need 3 bags of salt per month as salt doesn't evaporate. I have a salt water pool about the same size as yours, and I use 10 -15 bags a year, mostly during the rainy season because the pool flows over, but in the summer months may 1 bag every 3 months.

Can you give a link to that auto pool cleaner for 4500 Baht, because at that price I would consider one right away, as I see that at the pool doctors the cheapest version they have is 53.000 Baht up to over 100.000 Baht.

[PeterSmiles]

As for a salt water pool... easier on the chemicals, but another pain in the ass maintenance wise. I doubt that you will find anyone here that REALLY knows what they are doing anyway regarding either of these 'systems'.

Buy gold instead!

A salt water pool is virtually maintenance free compared to a chlorine pool . You actually have any idea what you are talking about in both your posts in this thread ?

[HUAHIN62]

I would go for a salt system, we have a 12x6m and the salt cost around B 360 pm (3 bags) on average. In the raining season we use more salt due to rain water filling the pool. The electricity cost is +- B 600 pm depending on your running time. I would suggest that you look at an automatic pool cleaner. In my home country they cost B 4500 and save me the B 1500 to pay someone to clean. If you consider a automatic poolcleaner consult a specialist before hand to help you build the pool correctly. Also look at a cleaner without too many working parts.

2 questions.

Why would you need 3 bags of salt per month as salt doesn't evaporate. I have a salt water pool about the same size as yours, and I use 10 -15 bags a year, mostly during the rainy season because the pool flows over, but in the summer months may 1 bag every 3 months.

Can you give a link to that auto pool cleaner for 4500 Baht, because at that price I would consider one right away, as I see that at the pool doctors the cheapest version they have is 53.000 Baht up to over 100.000 Baht.

I fill up the swimming pool with borehole water and that causes the higher salt use. You should not get confused between a automatic poolcleaner and a robotic one. The one I use comes from South Africa and is the kreepy hug bug. You can search for the product online (buy mine from makro south africa and my son is bringing a spare one in next week).

[PeterSmiles]

I would go for a salt system, we have a 12x6m and the salt cost around B 360 pm (3 bags) on average. In the raining season we use more salt due to rain water filling the pool. The electricity cost is +- B 600 pm depending on your running time. I would suggest that you look at an automatic pool cleaner. In my home country they cost B 4500 and save me the B 1500 to pay someone to clean. If you consider a automatic poolcleaner consult a specialist before hand to help you build the pool correctly. Also look at a cleaner without too many working parts.

2 questions.

Why would you need 3 bags of salt per month as salt doesn't evaporate. I have a salt water pool about the same size as yours, and I use 10 -15 bags a year, mostly during the rainy season because the pool flows over, but in the summer months may 1 bag every 3 months.

Can you give a link to that auto pool cleaner for 4500 Baht, because at that price I would consider one right away, as I see that at the pool doctors the cheapest version they have is 53.000 Baht up to over 100.000 Baht.

I fill up the swimming pool with borehole water and that causes the higher salt use. You should not get confused between a automatic poolcleaner and a robotic one. The one I use comes from South Africa and is the kreepy hug bug. You can search for the product online (buy mine from makro south africa and my son is bringing a spare one in next week).

Thanks for the tip, I just did a Google for it, and it indeed looks interesting. Will have to do some more research.

Yet about your high salt usage, borehole water has nothing to do with salt usage, salt isn't used. If you put 500 Kg salt in a pool today, there will still be 500Kg in the pool after 1 year, unless your pool overflowed or you took water out of it.

Are you sure you don't have a leak, because even when all the water would evaporate from the sun, the salt would still be on the bottom of your pool.

[HUAHIN62]

I would go for a salt system, we have a 12x6m and the salt cost around B 360 pm (3 bags) on average. In the raining season we use more salt due to rain water filling the pool. The electricity cost is +- B 600 pm depending on your running time. I would suggest that you look at an automatic pool cleaner. In my home country they cost B 4500 and save me the B 1500 to pay someone to clean. If you consider a automatic poolcleaner consult a specialist before hand to help you build the pool correctly. Also look at a cleaner without too many working parts.

2 questions.

Why would you need 3 bags of salt per month as salt doesn't evaporate. I have a salt water pool about the same size as yours, and I use 10 -15 bags a year, mostly during the rainy season because the pool flows over, but in the summer months may 1 bag every 3 months.

Can you give a link to that auto pool cleaner for 4500 Baht, because at that price I would consider one right away, as I see that at the pool doctors the cheapest version they have is 53.000 Baht up to over 100.000 Baht.

I fill up the swimming pool with borehole water and that causes the higher salt use. You should not get confused between a automatic poolcleaner and a robotic one. The one I use comes from South Africa and is the kreepy hug bug. You can search for the product online (buy mine from makro south africa and my son is bringing a spare one in next week).

Thanks for the tip, I just did a Google for it, and it indeed looks interesting. Will have to do some more research.

Yet about your high salt usage, borehole water has nothing to do with salt usage, salt isn't used. If you put 500 Kg salt in a pool today, there will still be 500Kg in the pool after 1 year, unless your pool overflowed or you took water out of it.

Are you sure you don't have a leak, because even when all the water would evaporate from the sun, the salt would still be on the bottom of your pool.

According a swimming pool guy I got in the borehole water disturb the chemical balance that must be rectified by more salt. But I will lower the salt and see if anything changes. Yes you must have good look. How far is your pool pump from the pool ? If the pressure isnt correct the apc will not work correctly. The hug bug is small but I do two cycles a day of +- 2 hours and it cleans the pool floor 100%. I had the mx 8 before but due to the construction of the pool it dont work well.

[PeterSmiles]

According a swimming pool guy I got in the borehole water disturb the chemical balance that must be rectified by more salt. But I will lower the salt and see if anything changes. Yes you must have good look. How far is your pool pump from the pool ? If the pressure isnt correct the apc will not work correctly. The hug bug is small but I do two cycles a day of +- 2 hours and it cleans the pool floor 100%. I had the mx 8 before but due to the construction of the pool it dont work well.

My pump and filter are right at the pool, and I have a 2Hp pump, so pressure should be right.

Do you ever check your salt level ? I also use borehole water for my pool and I have never heard about that.

Digital salinity meters are cheap on Ebay, and you should really check it now and then because either too low or too high salt level can damage you chlorinator cell.

[HUAHIN62]

According a swimming pool guy I got in the borehole water disturb the chemical balance that must be rectified by more salt. But I will lower the salt and see if anything changes. Yes you must have good look. How far is your pool pump from the pool ? If the pressure isnt correct the apc will not work correctly. The hug bug is small but I do two cycles a day of +- 2 hours and it cleans the pool floor 100%. I had the mx 8 before but due to the construction of the pool it dont work well.

My pump and filter are right at the pool, and I have a 2Hp pump, so pressure should be right.

Do you ever check your salt level ? I also use borehole water for my pool and I have never heard about that.

Digital salinity meters are cheap on Ebay, and you should really check it now and then because either too low or too high salt level can damage you chlorinator cell.

Will get one thanks.

[klikster]

After reading all the posts from yesterday, I think I have my answer. The wife will have to make do with her whirlpool bathtub. And she will have more room for her sala and orchids.

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to post (topic specific) recommendations.