newbie -- looking for a long lasting above-ground (AG) pool

[doburkett]

Hey I am a newbie here! I am looking to talk to some above ground pool experts before I take the plunge!

[Watermom]

Welcome to the Pool Forum!

Not sure if there are any "above ground pool experts" but people here will certainly try to help. Do you have specific questions?

[doburkett]

looking for a decent above ground pool that will last for yrs. Does anything have any brands you highly recommend? or a post that I can read that goes in detail about selecting one

[PoolDoc]

Intex Ultra pools seem to have a 5+ year life, if cared for. The longest lived AG pools I've heard of are 25 - 30 years old; the only brand name I've seen associated with that has been Doughboy.

Doughboy has been a high end brand that has been sold in the South. FantaSea is another high end brand, but it may be available only in the Northeast. Other than that, long lasting brands seem to be somewhat regional.

Part of the problem is that many AG pools do not reflect 'stable' brands, with one company making pools in one location using a consistent set of methods over multiple years. I would avoid any Asian / Chinese made products that does not have a strong US brand presence (Intex is the only one I know of). From what I've been able to gather, Chinese made products are handled by a Chinese aggregator or importer located in the USA, who takes orders from US companies, and jobs out the work to 1 or more Chinese manufacturers. A single product might be actually made by 4 DIFFERENT manufacturers, and there is often almost no quality control. When there IS quality inspection in the US, the reports I've heard say that the Chinese importer ALWAYS tries to lower quality standards. A friend of mine, employed by a US auto parts distributor, worked almost full-time combating this problem! He said that the importers would sometimes agree on quality requirements, and then come back 2 weeks later and try to lower them.

Not all Asian made pool gear is junk -- Intex offers tremendous value and acceptable, if not great, quality -- but from what I can tell, all Chinese product, not overseen by a LARGE US company or a major Chinese brand, it is INCONSISTENT in quality. So, if you want consistent quality, look for US made products.

One other possible marker for a long lived pool: significant use of stainless steel or aluminum in the pool's construction. Going through Doughboy's video FAQ's may give you some things to look for:
http://www.doughboy-pools.com/Videos/VideoFAQ.aspx

[CarlD]

Kayak is similar to FantaSea. My FantaSea is now 12 years old and I expect it, with maintenance and routine repairs to last indefinitely, although a new liner is on the near horizon....

You may want to look at Splash pools as well, probably the highest of the high-end soft-sided pools. I have not seen many people that have them but have not seen problems with them. They ARE expensive....

[doburkett]

what are your thoughts on this pool deal?? http://www.embassypools.com/content/specials/

[PoolDoc]

Judging from the address on that site (Embassy Pool Co, 315 N Sebastian Street, West Helen, AR 72390), Embassy Pools is an Internet only OR low-end brand of Hoffinger Industries, which is the Doughboy parent company.

The fact that Hoffinger appears to own the company would suggest that the warranty actually means something, and this page,http://www.embassypools.com/, indicates that the pools are US made, which is good.

[pratzert]

Hi Ben.

Do you know if the Old Home and Roam Pool are being made anywhere?

I'm looking to replace my old Aurora 27'/54" Round. The pool was very nice.

The Laputka's are around, but I don't know if they are making pools anywhere.

Thanks.

[PoolDoc]

I've never installed an AG pool, other than an Intex. The only things I know about AG brands are a few bits picked up at the supply house and similar locations, stuff I learn here . . . and whatever Google knows.

So . . . to answer your questions, I don't remember ever hearing of those brands, even though they may be rather common.

[pratzert]

I've never installed an AG pool, other than an Intex. The only things I know about AG brands are a few bits picked up at the supply house and similar locations, stuff I learn here . . . and whatever Google knows.

So . . . to answer your questions, I don't remember ever hearing of those brands, even though they may be rather common.

Thanks Ben.

Actually, that Home and Roam company has been out of business for about 14 years. I heard that Artesian Pool bought the pool business, and then it was bought by Wilbar.

The Aurora Pools were a special Resin type sub-business and when Eastern Mfg went belly up, Joseph Laputka started to mfg those pools in NY/NJ. After that, I lost track of them.

[bobct1]

@dorburkett --

I'm in the same boat you are. I've been researching pool for a while now and am just about ready to take the plunge - no pun intended.

Here is a link to the deal that you posted... only a little better --> http://www.shop.mightypools.com.KILLED-LINK/24-x-52-Centennial-Pool-Package-0000001.htm

I was leaning towards this one... --> http://www.poolsupplyworld.com/sharklinematrix.htm
The 24' round is $1602... and has decent reviews from what I can find.

[PoolDoc]

@bobct1

Hi Bob,

I have mixed feelings about user-posted links that go to product vendors (as opposed to manufacturers, like Hayward or Pentair).

Your links illustrate some of the reasons. The last link, to poolsupplyworld, I don't mind so much. But I killed the link to mightypools. Let me show you why.

Here's the domain registration WHOIS info for poolsupplyworld.com:

Domain Name: POOLSUPPLYWORLD.COM
Registry Domain ID: 603685925_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.tucows.com
<SNIP>
Registrant Name: Eric Brophy
Registrant Organization: Pool Supply World, Inc
Registrant Street: 1382 Blue Oaks Blvd Suite 200
Registrant City: Roseville
Registrant State/Province: CA
Registrant Postal Code: 95678
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.9167404550
Registrant Email: eric@poolsupplyworld.com
Let's compare that to the registration for mightypools.com:

Domain Name: MIGHTYPOOLS.COM
Registry Domain ID: 1832990352_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.wildwestdomains.com
<SNIP>
Registrant Name: Registration Private
Registrant Organization: Domains By Proxy, LLC
Registrant Street: DomainsByProxy.com
Registrant Street: 14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Registrant City: Scottsdale
Registrant State/Province: Arizona
Registrant Postal Code: 85260
Registrant Country: United States
Registrant Phone: +1.4806242599
<SNIP>
Registrant Email: MIGHTYPOOLS.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Pool Supply World has done what you'd expect a legitimate Internet merchant do do, and have made their location, and their contact information visible. This means, if something goes wrong, you can track them down.

By contrast, Mighty Pools has done everything they can to hide their real identity and location from their customers, by using an anonymous proxy registrar. What's more, it's a brand new domain, less than a year old:

Update Date: 2013-10-29 11:00:00
Creation Date: 2013-10-29 11:00:00
This is NEVER a good sign, and pretty much guarantees that there will be no after-sales support, much less warranty support. I did check their website, and they have also omitted their location and contact information there, as well. Consequently, as I have down with other anonymous Internet companies, I would strongly recommend against purchasing any products from them. You *might* get what your order, and it *might* be a good deal. But if it's not, and you buy from them, you are out of luck!

Before buying online you need to do 'due diligence' to make sure the company you're buying from actually exists, as something other than a temporary 'marketing stand' for some fly-by-night sleaze ball pool company:

1. Do a WHOIS search on their domain name. This is a 2 second process, if you have a Linux box available to you, but it's a little harder via Windows. Here are links to two sites, returning full records on both domains:

http://www.whois.com/whois/mightypools.com
http://www.whois.com/whois/poolsupplyworld.com

http://www.whois-search.com/whois/mightypools.com
http://www.whois-search.com/whois/poolsupplyworld.com

2. Do a BBB search for the company. Caution: an A+ rating does NOT guarantee that the company is OK; there are some pretty shady A+ companies. But a poor rating DOES guarantee either that the company is shady OR not taking care of customer complaints OR brand new.

Here's Pool Supply World:
http://www.bbb.org/northeast-california/business-reviews/swimming-pool-equipment-and-supplies/pool-supply-world-inc-in-rocklin-ca-47003956

Not surprisingly, there is NO record for Mighty Pools. So, while I can't offer any recommendation one way or the other for Pool Supply World, I can offer a definite recommendation regarding Mighty Pools: Stay away, far away from them, and all other companies that try to conceal their location and identity!

Good luck with your purchase!

[PoolDoc]

@doburkett
My apologies for hijacking your thread. I wanted you and others to see this, since it's somewhat relevant, but I'll spin it off into a separate thread within 24 hours, so you can get back to your 'regularly scheduled' discussion. ;)

[bobct1]

Thanks Ben... I appreciate your thoroughness!

[KPROMERO]

Have you looked at a Radiant Metric pool? I am installing one this weekend and has a lifetime warranty, not prorated. 2 inch walls, made from aluminum. They are a little pricey and i paid $6800 for mine. 27' round and will be installing semi inground which you can actually install completely inground if you prefer.

[pratzert]

Have you looked at a Radiant Metric pool? I am installing one this weekend and has a lifetime warranty, not prorated. 2 inch walls, made from aluminum. They are a little pricey and i paid $6800 for mine. 27' round and will be installing semi inground which you can actually install completely inground if you prefer.

That does look like a nice AG pool. I'm still looking to replace my 27' round pool. I'll have to see who in the Baltimore, MD area carries that pool and get some pricing.

Do you know much about the company that manufactures that pool ? Good reputation, good warranty service ?

Thanks.

[KPROMERO]

I am starting my install tomorrow morning myself on my Radiant Metric pool. It has a lifetime warranty and not pro-rated, aluminum walls with foam in between which are 2" thick. Called technical a couple times for questions and were very helpful and polite and told me to call them anytime. So far all +'s for them. Paid $6,600. Will be installing semi inground which you can actually install completely inground if you want to also and does not void warranty. Even a SWG will not void.

[PoolDoc]

Take pics . . . and share them with us!

[KPROMERO]

I sure will Ben. I will create a new thread not to highjack this one of the process. I guess the hardest part is pretty much done with it being dug already and level from old pool. :)

[PoolDoc]

Thx