Above ground pool question which one to purchase

[yeahdisney]

We have a deposit down on two pools, we need to pick one this week. Already have the permit and other stuff. DH liked the second pool after we had one picked out. So just tell us which is the better pool if you know. I checked BBB both companies fine. Looked online for reviews found none for one and two for the other. Thanks a ton!

Pools are oval 18x33x54. Either American Sales Impulse brand
or Great Escape Influence brand. One side of the pool will be 18" dug into a slope.

Each place is of course telling us their pool is better and the others is not, and that the prorated life for warranty says life but the other salesman says the other is lying it is 7 years at 100% then prorated warranty. Gads I feel like I'm dealing with --- salesmen.

 

[Anthony1971]

No advice on the brands
I would look into the reviews of the store selling them as I have heard some bad things about some places like missing pieces poor install...
Also keep in mind the price of the chemicals they ain't cheap!!!!!!
In fact refilling your pool year to year is starting to be a cheaper option

 

[BSil]

I don't think you are going to find much difference in above ground pools. They are all basically some sheet metal, slipped into a metal track, with a liner. As long as the install is good (they get the area nice and level, use the proper bricks on the post areas, and put the liner in without it becoming all wrinkled), then you should have fairly good results. I only saw one type of pool in my search which was made out of a different material, and that was because you could actually install it in the ground. It was a different style metal apparently which was supposed to stand up to being in the ground.

I put up an above ground 4 years ago. I make sure to keep the outside scratch and dent free (so it doesn't rust prematurely). I am cautious with the liner, so it doesn't rip, and I take the time to clean the filter out, so it stays clean, and I don't overwork the motor. I think the actual pool will last quite some time, but I can see replacing the motor/filter/liner at some point before the metal pool has any issues. I am really not expecting to get much more than 10 years out of it, so a lifetime warranty would not be the deal breaker for me. I would go with the best price, and best install I could find. I would take the time to get some references from the installers, and call the customers to see how everything went. I would also open the pool boxes, and look at the install instructions. I remember back when I was a kid, I worked for a pool installer, and we were forced to use materials for the install which did not satisfy the install instructions. The first thing the owner of the company would do, would be to grab the install instructions, and put them in his truck, so the owner of the pool didn't see them. Very shady stuff. When I asked why he did that, he told me it was because the actual blocks the uprights sat on needed to be a specific size, and he didn't want to pay the money for that size.

Good luck with the search. Just be thorough, and remember that all these places want business, and work. Make them earn it, because it is a sizable investment.

 

[dumbodame]

I have owned an above ground pool for 25 years. Installed my own pool and pools for 3 of my friends and my sister. All of us own different pools, and all of us are happy with them.

I am on my second pool (I moved and did not take my first pool with me) and my 4th liner...2 liners in the 1st pool, and I am on my second liner in the pool I currently own.

My first pool was a Doughboy. I cannot recall the name of the pool I own now but I love it. The top caps, rails and upright supports are resin instead of metal. I never have to worry about it rusting, and there are no metal screws to install except for where the side wall bolts together.

The MOST important thing is that the pool be installed correctly. I would be more cautious about WHO was installing the pool rather than which brand to buy.

As someone else said, above ground pools are all basically the same. Check the references of the contractor that will be doing the install very carefully.

 

[DebMcDonald]

We bought our above ground at Namco last year, all said and done for the entire pool, electric, install, water, etc, etc. etc. we probably spent about $7000 for a 24 ft round with plastic supports. We also visited several "speciality" pool places and they were so much more expensive than namco and after talking to my parents who have only owned namco pool and get about 20 years out of them and also taking with our pool installer, all pools are the same, sheet of metal and sides, you pay more for the speciality pool places because they have a relatively very short season to make their money. Namco also ownes a chemical company so they don't have a huge mark-up on pools because their money is made off of chemicals (per our private pool installer). We were told that round pools are better than oval because of the pressure of the water being round is natural, being oval, not so much) - whether it's true or not, I'm not sure, I honestly think it's a matter of opinion.

 

[yeahdisney]

I am going to call to ask for a prior owners name so I can ask about the install. The sales manager from the second offer- stated he would send Sergio (seriously that is his name) to install our pool. He stated this is who he had install his pool and that he is the best in our STATE. And that Sergio is very particular with the install and only installs one pool a day. The first store told me they would be done in 4 hours. Each of the pools do have the resin uprights and top rail is resin too. We are hoping for 10 years of use for the pool.

 

[TeaForTulips]

No brand recommendation, but I can tell you my mother purchased the salt water converter for her above ground pool and it was the best thing ever!

 

[DebMcDonald]

I am going to call to ask for a prior owners name so I can ask about the install. The sales manager from the second offer- stated he would send Sergio (seriously that is his name) to install our pool. He stated this is who he had install his pool and that he is the best in our STATE. And that Sergio is very particular with the install and only installs one pool a day. The first store told me they would be done in 4 hours. Each of the pools do have the resin uprights and top rail is resin too. We are hoping for 10 years of use for the pool.

Our pool was installed in about four hours also, it's amazingly fast. After they were done we were instructed to put about a foot of water in the pool and let it sit for a couple of days and then we had the remailing water trucked in after that.