OT: Pool Man

Westy82 · #1 05/30/2007, 04:43 PM

I figured reef central would be a nice sample group and give me a general idea of how many people on here use a pool man to take care of their pool? Also are you satisfied with what they charge and the results? Im curious to see how many people do as im thinking about getting into the pool maintenance service industry as i have taken care of several family members and friends pools from maintenance to repairs.

thanks in advance for your input.

tmorey · #2 05/30/2007, 05:13 PM

I have a self clean "pop-up heads" style pool with a salt system for chlorination. My pool pretty much takes care of itself. I don't have to do very much maintenance. I've owned pools for 15 years though and have never used a pool service.

Good luck though if you get into it!

Westy82 · #3 05/30/2007, 10:30 PM

thanks for the input tmorey. the floor systems are nice my parents have that in their pool and love it. although alot of the newer pools have the floor system some people still use a pool man to keep their chemicals balanced and make sure their equipment is functioning properly.

any other members have input?

to begin with i think it will be my buddy and i until we get a good client base going then possibly expand. nothing to lose if you dont try out an idea.

ipwizard · #4 05/31/2007, 01:33 AM

Yeah the pop-up in foor cleaners are good until you have to replace them. I just had to replace all 15 of mine $877 later my pool is nice and purdy again.

I take care of my own pool, but sometimes it would be nice to have someone take care of it for me.

Good luck..

Westy82 · #5 05/31/2007, 01:56 AM

yeah pop ups are a pain to replace, on my parents pool ive replaced everyone as well but luckily they are all under warranty through shasta. the one thing you have to worry about when they build a pool with pop ups it to make sure there are no "dead" spots which will collect debris. also even though you have pop ups its always a good idea to brush the pool down. like you said its defintely nice to have someone take care of your pool, especially with alot of the winter visitors and their second homes.

thanks for the good luck ip

Elliott · #6 05/31/2007, 09:03 AM

I have floor pop ups and do the maintenance myself, although after a summer monsoon storm it can be quite a choir to clean up.

Elliott · #7 05/31/2007, 09:05 AM

chore, not choir

ipwizard · #8 05/31/2007, 02:06 PM

The monsoons reek havoc on pools around here with those huge dust storms. It always seems that EVERY leaf from EVERY tree in the neighborhood ends up in my pool!

I have a lovely shasta pool, and they are so nice as to not transfer their lifetime warranty. So I have to pony up the dough when something breaks. They did do a lifetime warranty on the pop-ups when I bought all of them at one time.

Westy82 · #9 05/31/2007, 02:42 PM

i defintely agree with you ipwizard, the monsoons sure do reek havoc.

as for shasta i take it you bought a home with a shasta pool already built? i know when my parents had shasta build their pool they discussed how the lifetime warranty is not transferable. kind of a bummer, even if you could pay a fee to be able to transfer the warranty it would be worth it.

Fliger · #10 05/31/2007, 03:42 PM

I had a salt system put in this winter - BEST thing I ever did. I paid about $1K, they have come WAAAY down in price. Now my pool guy comes once a month and charges me $25 each time. No more chemicals, no more shock, no more floating tabs. I used to constantly watch my pool and still always had problems and every time I came home from a week away I always had a green tint. Now I've been on a 2 week vaca, two 1 week vacas and several small trips - crystal clear.

I also found that rather than buying big things at the store, often the "pool guys" get you a way better deal. I'm switching out DE for cartridges and my pool guy will save me $400.

I use a Hayward Vac which breaks all the time but its super efficient. I think that G4 is better from what everyone tells me but its big & ugly & looks like a mop in my small-ish pool. Edit - I've been told that now that the pool is more stable, the Hayward should be as well. We'll see.

Thats about it man - I love this salt system so far. The systems seem way more stable than just a couple years ago and for much less. I paid $1,100 installed with all the startup salt.

Westy82 · #11 05/31/2007, 05:01 PM

not only is the salt system more stable its alot better on your skin. my parents have had a salt system for probably 6 years now and love it. i still have yet to convert the pool over in the house i bought.

paljets · #12 05/31/2007, 06:17 PM

I have a salt system as well, paid $1200 for it installed..

Absolutly love it.

And I don't do "Anything" to my pool @ all.

Except once in a while brush down the sides, clean the skimmer / pump baskets, and add the occaisional bottle of acid..

--paul

azhunter · #13 05/31/2007, 10:00 PM

westy, you have PM

Westy82 · #14 05/31/2007, 10:03 PM

thanks mike, sent you a message back

ipwizard · #15 06/01/2007, 12:20 AM

We were thinking about switching over to a salt system. But in talking with the guys at Pool Supply Warehouse they told me that it costs form 1-1.5k to install, and every 4-5 years you have to replace the element that converts the salt water to chlorine?

For you guys that have had their salt system for a few year how has yours held up have you had to do any maintenance on the salt system?

Yeah I bought the house with a shasta pool, I tried to purchase the warranty since the pool was less then 1 year old when i bought the house but they wouldn't let me.

Westy82 · #16 06/01/2007, 12:46 AM

yep thats the downfall and the catch with shasta's lifetime warranty

Fliger · #17 06/01/2007, 01:12 AM

As cheap as I am, I didn't really do the break-even for cost for going SW. It was more about my time in the summer - and having the pool swim ready 100% of the time. I asked my friends with SW systems for a long time & replacing the elements wasn't too frequent - and didn't cost very much. Plus now that most new builds are SW, the costs have come down due to economies of scale.

Just think - no $4 bags of shock, no calcium lines for when your pool gets out of hand, no $35 bottles of Phos-free, no floating turtle in your pool with tabs

and you save a lot of money in chems. Many pool stores won't advocate SW systems because it means less money for them. I haven't been back to Cactus Pool in 3 months - and my pool guy is only $25/month. That includes cleaning of the salt cell which will make it last.

But mostly it was the time, I have a 5 year old monkey/dolphin for a son. Plus my dogs like to get wet. The water doesn't burn your eyes and definitely feels nicer & softer. My pool guy installed mine & I'd bet he would do it cheaper if you went direct & not thru a LPS (local pool store, lol).

tmorey · #18 06/01/2007, 02:53 PM

I've got this Poolex SW system on my pool.

http://www.poolexproducts.com/PoolEx.html

I've had it for 3 years now and have had no problems, only cleaning the electrode every 3 months or so by letting it sit in an acid bath over night. Their prices were very reasonable, $700 installed 3 years ago. I got mine free because the pool company was running a special. I love the SW pool system and will never go back to chlorine! This company is local too. I don't think they are a big name brand, but it's been working fine for me. Plus, if any of my sw fish get to big for my tank, I can just throw them into the pool...!!! JK...