Smith Wesson in your video, you say you're in the Northeast. I'm in the Northeast, as well, and would love to not take down and set up my pool each season, as well as add a skimmer like you did, but am reluctant. Any issues or advice to sway me one way or the other?
I live in north east Ohio and we kept our intex pool up all year long. I never had any structure or liner issues at all. We put a cover on and so much nicer not having to set it up every season.
Rick Kelley I have the Intex 12x24 Ultra Frame. This is our 5th or 6th summer with it and we've never taken it down. We live in Michigan. Never had a problem. I drain the pool just enough to take out both valves and winterize it and then cover it with a winter pool cover. I also added the skimmer like smith Wesson but the widemouth one. I regret it only for the reason like Smith said that you lose pool water height. More than 2 inches in our case. The best advice I can give you though is to get rid of the Intex pump and buy a Hayward pump. Had the most powerful Intex one and it still wasn't strong enough to work the vacuum good. Bought the 1.5 HP Power Flo XL I think it's called. This ones also much quieter. Much quieter.
The skimmer you used is that the hayward Sp1091 LX? I will be doing the same to my pool. I will also hard . Pipe the connections Pvc. And put valves on everything.
i would use the old inlet for vacuuming the pool,hook up a tee and shut off valve so you can turn the skimmer off then open old valve when vacuuming pool
Good video Smith Wesson, I need to upgrade my daughters new (2015 Walmart) 22' x 52" Intex pool to a sand filter with recirculating vacuuming. She has well water and cannot keep filling the pool after the Intex method of vacuuming, not to mention the better cleaning sand filters offer. I'll be (hopefully) installing the same skimmer along with a Proline sand filter and a Hayward 3/4 HP pump. I'm good at any project thrown at me but I'm leery of measuring and cutting the liner and housing for the skimmer. I also need to adapt all the hoses to the various size inlets and outlets on the pool, filter and the pump. Any recommendations? thanks!
Thanks for posting the video. It seems that the skimmers are all the rage on the above ground pools, especially the ones that mount outside the pool. I'm looking into getting one as I just purchased the same pool, an Intex 22' x 52" because the 24' x 52" was no longer available. If I may ask, Where did you get your skimmer?
How about using the secondary intake line for an Aqua bug which you will need an adapter for. Folks hate swimming with a vacuum hose all in their way. So you can remove the bug and go straight skimmer, or you can close the skimmer and go straight bug. You will need to split your intake plumbing with either a 3 way valve or with a set of gate valves for your selector apparatus. This is the setup I am doing. It also allows you to easily submerge the bug hoses before connecting to remove all air! Like that??
Ari, that is a good idea. I did think about the aqua bug but then I saw some videos of the bug flipping over while it was supposed to be cleaning. Have you tried the aqua bug yet or do you know anybody that has done it?
Intex 2650 Saltwater Sand Filter unit works oh so much better! Crystal clear water, no adding chemicals anymore, and the water is "soft"... I add about 1 bag of pool salt a year to my pool to keep the salinity level right. You know your water is crystal clear when the surface is perfectly still and you look down and can't tell there's even any water in the pool! Question on the side-skimmer though... why didn't you put it 1 inch higher up? It looks like there was room for it to be installed a little higher than you did without getting into the overlapped stitching at the top.
I'm looking into getting that same pump and I have the intex 22ft ultra frame pool. Can I hook up the pump without cutting the liner? Also is your electric bill a lot higher
We just got an Intex pool (15x48) and it has 1.25" inlets. Did you have to replace your inlets to 1.5"? If so, where did you purchase and what Brand? I bought a 16" Hayward Sand filter with a 1HP pump and I think the flow (60GPM) is way too strong for 1.25". Thanks
why didn't you use the top for the skimmer intake an the bottom where the original line runs that you just cut off an use that for the out put seems like it would push a lot of the water closer to the bottom an the skimmer on top could clean it better. the reason i am asking this is bc it would have solved the extra valve line sticking out the pool. i had a kayak pool 12 x 24 an it had the skimmer on top an the return was about thigh high so thats why i asked thanks
I am in New England too. Maine to be exact. I left my Coleman pool (which is identical to your Intex) up last winter too and I ended up with a rip in the liner where the return to the pool port is. I am pretty sure I know why. So we bought a new Coleman and are waiting for water now. I have the same skimmer sitting here waiting to be put in. I have a question for you... what do you do to prep it for winter? I did the recommended chemical treatment for the winter and what water was left in the pool was crystal clear, so I am not worried about the chemical aspect of it if I leave water in it. I am more concerned about the liner part of it. I am thinking of draining the water, taking the 18 legs off, and letting the liner just collapse and cover it with a tarp for the winter. My concern is moving and storing the liner. When I am ready to open it, just put the legs back on and add water. You thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Hi, sorry to hear you had a tear. We never even covered the pool. Just drain the water to halfway, take pump & lines off & good to go. I'm southern New England so maybe it's a little trickier up north where you are.
Looking to do this on our intex pool. Has it been reliable since you installed it? I'm just concerned about the lining eventually tearing at the screw holes. Thanks!
JoeRKsChannel So far, so good. That was one of my initial concerns as well. Mine has worked out just fine and I am really happy with it. Having the DE filter on the intex just gets all of the water circulated and filtered so much faster than the stock cartridge filter. Definitely worth it
+JoeRKsChannel i just asked the pool store about the same thing she said she would just build a support for it out of wood that would allow it to rest on it an that should do the trick
+gwen burkhardt I actually did it in the end. The skimmer is nicely supported by the PVC pipe that connects to the bottom of the skimmer. Also, the lining is actually harder to cut than I first though, so not really worried about it tearing. The pressure of the water seems to keep it sturdy and solid.
So frustrating I left the gasket the way it was supposed to be put around the whole after I cut the hole out have all the screw holes done and the screws in the holes just to make sure they going OK but now it’s very cumbersome getting the plate on with the screws and then into the skimmer any suggestions? I don’t have a way to cut any screws either like you suggested is there a pattern to get the screws to the plate on the inside of the pool then the gasket then the liner than the other gasket and then the actual skimmer just very cumbersome moving around etc.
I think either getting the screws cut or buying some new screws (shorter ones). Or try alternating tightening the screws to the one directly across from the one you just tightened. I think you're going to have a hard time if you don't cut them shorter.
I used the plate as a template and marked where I needed to put the screws with a pen. Then I used a power drill and drilled out the holes. I was able to put everything together, leaving the gasket intact, and hand tightened the screws.
Can u tell me what skimmer to get "size" and brand? And also what about the parts "white" on hoses did you get? Size? This is exactly what I'm looking to do I have the same pool!
It's just a standard skimmer, if you go into a pool store or online they are everywhere. Just don't buy the extra wide mouth skimmer, I don't know if that one will be too heavy. The round white plastic fitting on the left (where the water goes back into the pool) came with my skimmer as a kit so I took the old one off and put that one on. The white fitting under the skimmer is actually part of the skimmer. The black hoses are just 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" (whichever fits your fittings) pool hose that I picked up at my local pool store. Just make sure when the skimmer gets installed that you screw the plates together (with gaskets installed) before you cut the liner. Just keep it all level when you are doing it
thanks I did get all I needed. it was all self explanatory after I went to the store and shopped myself, but your video helped when it came to setting up thanks for sharing this and also replying....
I did lose a couple of inches. I did not want to risk cutting into the seam that connects the top rail portion of the liner with the remaining liner. I wasn't sure if it would hold up to all the weight & pressure of the water if it was cut into. We were ok with that in order to get the significantly better filtration.
I agree with the better filtration for sure. I will search other videos to see if it is possible to attach the skimmer higher up. It may not be advisable as you have pointed out.
tnflasher, I just kept the original valve in that comes with the pool. You can close the valve on it. It worked fine with no leaks. I drained it every winter below the valve so no freezing would affect it.
Sand is #2 on the list as far as filtration. DE filters are really the best, look at my other video, this filter cleaned up all of that nasty water in a day. Crystal clear, sparkling water all summer long now. Try a DE filter for your next one, you won't be sorry.
debbie greer DE is best at clarifying water, you can even add a small amount of DE to a sand filter to help it clarify water faster. A sand filter is easiest for maintenance though and I prefer them for that fact. If I were in a drought area, I would go with DE because you don't waste water backwashing.
I need help! I have to outlets that go to the pump where do the outlets go!?! I’m so confused. I’ve looked up so many installations and can’t figure this out.
Just a thought, why do I hear everyone doing this always cut the gasket in half? Why not put it all together cut the liner and take it apart then put the gasket on as a whole and make adjustments as needed? Is than even possible?
