We live in northern Ohio and never had a pool. Does this pool need to be taken down for winter? Would a deck on 2 or 3 sides help w/ maintenance?
1959717
My pool is in Florida, so I have no idea how the vinyl liner would hold up under a lot of freezing temperatures. I would check out vinyl lifespans under extreme temperatures. As for maintenance. I have no deck around the pool and believe maintenance is easier without a deck. I believe kneeling down to scoop leaves off the bottom or surface is more stressful than standing. I do not plan on a deck for my pool.
1959718
We live in ks so winter's are cold and Icy and some snow. We have kept ours up and seems to be in good shape. My husband built a deck on one side and it makes getting in and out much easier. He took one side of the ladder and the full top part and drilled holes in the top of the deck to secure the top part of ladder and then the ladder part sites in the pool. It's great. As far as the deck helping with Maintenance it doesn't help or hinder
1959719
We live in central Ohio. I set the pool up in April and take it down late September. While it might hold up thru a winter it would likely take a butt load (that's appox 480 L) of chemicals to clean the water in the spring. Compare that to about $50 for fresh water to fill it. I generally spend less than $30 a year on pool chemicals. I also built a deck on one side so we can sit and enjoy seeing in to the pool. It's no help in cleaning. In fact it sort of gets in the way. I also have an over sized ABS plastic ladder and don't trust the index ladder to hold up well. I aho also say while it takes aday to set up, it takes about three sunny days to take down and its a two person job. However I only use my wife or kids for about 30 minutes each time
1625760
You have to use sand. Our pool is also about 6 inches below our deck. We used sand and have never had a problem.
1980076
This is my first winter to own this latter so I can't guarantee it but if your pool doesn't freeze, I don't see a problem leaving it in the pool under water.
293616
Depends I suppose on how hot you want the pool. WE keep ours at 83F without any trouble. Your location also has a bearing on it's suitability, we live around the Great Lakes. The heater is designed for outdoor installation, you should make a sun shield for the control panel as they will fail eventually due to exposure to direct sunlight
2099818
We live in Sacramento, mild winters. But, we still clean & put the pool away when fall arrives. We clean & fold the cover & store in garage during winter. Your things will be cleaner & last longer. Besides, doesn't it SNOW in Chicago? You definitely put your pool & cover away in shelter during fall until end of spring!
1425004
I Installed the unit before I opened the pool from winter. We had a lot of snow and ice this winter so it had pushed water out when it thawed. The water was just below my return line. I don't think you would want to change this with water in the pool. The water will get behind the liner and may cause problems. I would recommend lowering the water below the return line. Other than that it was a piece of cake. My kids love it for swimming after dark. Highly recommend but haven't had for very long so time will tell on durability!!!
1425005
I installed mine before I opened my pool for the season. The water was below the return and made the install quite easy. IMO, it would be worth the time to drain your water level before installation. The manual describes how to do it with a filled pool, but it seems like it would be a pain.
765247
We have removed the exterior ladder for winter & reattach in spring.. We do not use that interior ladder, we use the "wedding cake" ladder from our previous pool.
482898
you need the water. Otherwise you just roll down. Also, the bottom of the pool in not padded at all so you want the water in there to soften the landing!
5803
It says to take down if temp gets below 40. It can ruin the liner being in the cold. We took ours down for the winter. It's not very hard to set up and take down. About 1 to 2 hrs to set up.
5800
It is recommended to disassemble the pool in climates that go below 36 degrees. For obvious reasons. If the water freezes, your pool will stretch and tear.
2059741
We're in the Northeast and have taken the pool down for three years now. I can say that we haven't had any issues with holes in the liner. Taking it down is something of a hassle since you need to ensure it is as dry as you can get it and it will invariably be muddy. We've found that a wet/dry vac helps tremendously with cleaning much of that off.
1220103
I have had a version of this pool for 4 years. I put it up on Memorial weekend and take it down Labor Day weekend. It is in a level spot. I cannot use it another year because the seam along the bottom and the walls is leaking water in several places and I had to add water every 4 days last year so the water was high enough for the pump to function properly. So, for me it lasted 3 seasons. It was worth every penny even though it only lasted 3 seasons.
1814262
In my area deep east Texas some do. I don't. If the temps get past freezing you could end up with a damaged pool. My pool has lasted 5 yrs because of taking it down every year. Once it was down all I did was fold it into itself with the outside facing up then covered it with a trap for the season. It's to heavy for just one person to move by themselves
62387
I have been using the solar blanket to serve that purpose as well as heat the pool. However, now that temps are much hotter, I do not use the solar cover at all. I would suggest using a regular pool cover if you want to cover the pool while in not use. I have not found it necessary to cover my pool to protect it from debris. The water stays very clean. However, if you have your pool near trees that will drop leaves, etc. into the pool, you may want to use a cover
151582
Unfortunately, I am from New Hampshire so I would not be the best one to answer this particular question. I don't see the temperature issue being a major one, other than the water would become quite warm, but that would happen with even in-ground pools in your part of the country. You might have to use a little more in the way of chemicals and have to "top off" the water every few days due to evaporation (but that would also keep the pool water cooler). In any event, we bought our intex easy set pool for $200 and for that money, we felt it was worth the experiment of trying an above-ground pool. It was a definite success. Good luck with your decision.
1066725
We have it attached to a round intex ultra frame pool. I did have to drill holes, as one of the previous answers stated, but it was no problem. We took the pieces down over the winter and are now using for the second season with no signs of breakage. It has worked really well - we had previously ended up with nasty stuff from the ground in our solar blanket and trouble putting it back on without two adults. Now I can do it cleanly all by myself. It's great, because that solar blanket adds a month or more at the beginning and end of our swim season.