Swimming Pool Pattaya

[matador]

Hi

Can anyone recommend a pool maintenance firm in Pattaya and what I can expect to pay for the monthly upkeep of a 11m X 5m pool? Is monthly maintenence necessary and what's required? The pool is relatively new and to date has been maintained to what appears to be an excellent standard.Any advice appreciated. Thanks very much.

[daveb1]

We have allways used Home and pool, 3/219-220 M00 6 NAKLUA 038 412677 very good look after our pool well even when we are not there. They charge around 1300 baht per month for that they come 3 times a week clean the pool, check the chemicals, clean out the filters etc, well worth the money!

[matador]

Thanks Dave, advice greatly appreciated.

[Padre Burgos]

Thanks Dave, advice greatly appreciated.

I reckon they must be good as we just tried them and they were fully booked.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a pool company who will come to Soi Khao Talo area?

Thanks

[jcowle]

I have just had completed a large pool with waterfall by Home & Pool and had a first class service.

Regards

JOHN

[Chaichara]

SERVICE:

Swimming pool maintenance is a Pattaya malady. It's rarely reauested elswhere in the kingdom. If you knew the huge profit margin on these 'maintenance ' visits you might be inclined to pay someone more needy for this extremely basic and easy task.

AUTOMATIC:

For a very small investment, it's possible to save :

• - The intrusion of service personnel on your property (they can't keep their mouths shut about how rich you are and what you've got).
  - The cost of all those wildly overpriced chemicals.
  - Remembering to regularly dose the pool yourself. (1 day's forgetfulness is enough to start problems).
  - Electricity costs (maybe not such a problem).
  

Pool firms don't like to promote the idea because it will lose them the 'regular maintenance' contract. , but for the cost of about one year's chemicals and service, you can invest in a better media than sand in your filter unit together with a programmable saltwater chlorinator (easily retrofitted in a few minutes), programme it, then sit back and forget about your pool worries. Even go away for a few days or weeks to return to find your water sparkling clean.

<snip>

[Naam]

"Even go away for a few days or weeks to return to find your water sparkling clean."

sure! a dead frog, some drowned mice or lizards, fallen leaves from trees or simple dust and dirt settled on the bottom does not affect any sparkling clean water as the chlorinator takes care of the debris.

[Chaichara]

So true! And those things can be fished out on the owners return, and the dust removed with the vacuum head.

Since I fitted my sw chlorinator I have never had such an easy time and saved so much money

Still need the cyanuric acid though.

[Naam]

So true! And those things can be fished out on the owners return, and the dust removed with the vacuum head.

that's correct Chaichara. even i don't use a pool service but have trained my wife's driver to vaccuum the pool twice a week. as far as disinfection and water treatment is concerned i don't use chlorine but H²O² which is dosed by a (bloody expensive) computerized setup controlling three pumps and sensors (also to adjust pH). however, i am not too impressed with the system as i still have to shock the pool at least once a month to get rid of potential bacteria which H²O² is not able to kill.

my reason not to use chlorine is that my pool is roofed and enclosed by a U-shaped house on three sides (we hate the sun that's why we moved to Thailand ). chlorine has a tendency to evaporate causing corrosive damage and of course unpleasant and irritating smells, a disadvantage that H²O² does not possess.

[Naam]

Still need the cyanuric acid though.

why that? i had to use cyanuric acid in Florida because of yellow algae bloom once in a blue moon but old thai hands told me the only problem here are green algae of which one can get rid within 24 hours with enough chlorine and muriatic acid.

[elkangorito]

So true! And those things can be fished out on the owners return, and the dust removed with the vacuum head.

that's correct Chaichara. even i don't use a pool service but have trained my wife's driver to vaccuum the pool twice a week. as far as disinfection and water treatment is concerned i don't use chlorine but H²O² which is dosed by a (bloody expensive) computerized setup controlling three pumps and sensors (also to adjust pH). however, i am not too impressed with the system as i still have to shock the pool at least once a month to get rid of potential bacteria which H²O² is not able to kill.

my reason not to use chlorine is that my pool is roofed and enclosed by a U-shaped house on three sides (we hate the sun that's why we moved to Thailand ). chlorine has a tendency to evaporate causing corrosive damage and of course unpleasant and irritating smells, a disadvantage that H²O² does not possess.

Dr, what do you think about a chlorine system (hand dosed or NaCl electrolysis) with a bromine bank, using CO2 for pH control? Also using tall, thin cylindrical cylinders full of quartz crystal as filter medium? I tried this at a Sydney CBD hotel & it was fantastic.

[Naam]

"Dr, what do you think about a chlorine system (hand dosed or NaCl electrolysis) with a bromine bank, using CO2 for pH control? Also using tall, thin cylindrical cylinders full of quartz crystal as filter medium? I tried this at a Sydney CBD hotel & it was fantastic."

i am not aware of this setup Kangorito. but i was for many years very happy with my pool in Florida using cartridges (in the pressure line) containing thin copper plates and dissolved silver nitrate to reduce my chlorine contents to an absolute minimum. even then a monthly shock with chlorine was mandatory. unfortunately these cartridges are neither available in Thailand nor in Europe.

http://www.aquasprite.com/about.cfm

[Naam]

what i am missing too in Thailand is my pool inground cleaning system. no rocket science but a rather simple technical setup. if properly designed a pool with this system needs vaccuuming not more than once a year but that of course applies to pools which are screened as is mostly the case in the southwest of the U.S.A. or the pools in Thailand with an allround overflow working as a skimmer to remove floating debris. the odd lizard or the drowned buffalo still has to be removed manually.

it's nothing else than a dozen pop-up jets (similar to pop-up garden sprinklers) installed in the pool bottom and connected to the return line. these jets are triggered by a simple gearbox (driven by water pressure), pop-up in pairs and rinse the bottom continously that no dirt can settle but remains waterborne and can therefore be filtered out.

cost is around 700 dollars plus installation of additional piping. i tried to explain the system to my pool contractor, planning to import the hardware, but then gave up due to communication problems.

edited for addendum:

it remains a mystery to me why mostly sandfilters and not D.E. filters are used in Thailand. i realized too late that the contractor installed a sandfilter. what i am doing is to add a pound or two of D.E. on top of the sand and backwash the filter more often.

[Naam]

it's nothing else than a dozen pop-up jets (similar to pop-up garden sprinklers) installed in the pool bottom and connected to the return line.

clarification: return line means return to pool from filter = pressure line.

[sinom]

Still need the cyanuric acid though.

why that? i had to use cyanuric acid in Florida because of yellow algae bloom once in a blue moon but old thai hands told me the only problem here are green algae of which one can get rid within 24 hours with enough chlorine and muriatic acid.

I've been told that the cyanuric acid helps to stabilise the chlorine and protects it against heat and UV degradation.

But .... don't shoot me .... I'm only just learning.

I have recently completed a 15 x 5m pool with a 5x3m kiddies pool / jacuzzi add on. Estimated water volume is about 130,000 litres running through a sand filter system with manual chemical dosing. I haven't started the maintenance contract with the pool builder yet as we haven't officially closed out the construction contract and he also hasn't proven to me that he can balance the pool. He has told me however that the maintenance contract is going to run at 3,000 THB/ month with discount if I sign a years contract!!!.

I think this is a bit high, referring also to Chaichara's mail about the "pool maintenance scam".

I think I can learn enough about the dosing and balancing to do the chemical dosing and balancing myself and just pay someone to do the vacuuming - as I will be at work most of the time.

What I am interested in getting is a decent test kit. All the ones I have seen so far are simple sample bottles / reagant solutions / tablets etc. Are threse the best ? Are there for example any simple electronic pH meters available ?

there you go that's my "bit"

cheers

[BiggyD]

Still need the cyanuric acid though.

why that? i had to use cyanuric acid in Florida because of yellow algae bloom once in a blue moon but old thai hands told me the only problem here are green algae of which one can get rid within 24 hours with enough chlorine and muriatic acid.

I've been told that the cyanuric acid helps to stabilise the chlorine and protects it against heat and UV degradation.

But .... don't shoot me .... I'm only just learning.

I have recently completed a 15 x 5m pool with a 5x3m kiddies pool / jacuzzi add on. Estimated water volume is about 130,000 litres running through a sand filter system with manual chemical dosing. I haven't started the maintenance contract with the pool builder yet as we haven't officially closed out the construction contract and he also hasn't proven to me that he can balance the pool. He has told me however that the maintenance contract is going to run at 3,000 THB/ month with discount if I sign a years contract!!!.

I think this is a bit high, referring also to Chaichara's mail about the "pool maintenance scam".

I think I can learn enough about the dosing and balancing to do the chemical dosing and balancing myself and just pay someone to do the vacuuming - as I will be at work most of the time.

What I am interested in getting is a decent test kit. All the ones I have seen so far are simple sample bottles / reagant solutions / tablets etc. Are threse the best ? Are there for example any simple electronic pH meters available ?

there you go that's my "bit"

cheers

[BiggyD]

Just finished my home and had Home & Pool build me a similar 11 X 5m pool. It is a salt water system. Unfortunately they couldn't take on the maintenace contract due to over work in my area. After 3 failed attempts at finding maintenance staff I called Steve Johnson from WET Technologies and he added an Anti Bio system to the pump system. Works great. All we need to do now is skim the top of the water when required and check for salt and chlorine content every few weeks. Pump rarely needs backwashing either. Pumps are now running at 20% of previous and water is crystal clear and feels more like drinking water than swimming pool water. Just started using this forum and not sure if I can add numbers but here goes. He can be contacted at 0848428317. Would recommend both him and Home & Pool to anyone looking for professional swimming pool service in the Pattaya area