How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Hello everyone.


We are now thinking about how/whether to bring our swimming pool into use - on the cheap, as after all the work we've had to do to make the house habitable we don't have any pot of cash left, just our pension incomes.


It's an above ground pool, concrete built, tile lined, 18,000 litres capacity, and appears to be in good condition. We are totally off grid. We have a bore hole and petrol generator for the pump which (as we know from the previous owners and neighbours) is more than adequate to fill it - and there's an inlet pipe and drain which goes off into an unoccupied and unused field in the campo beyond our fence. We have solar electricity only - it would certainly be possible to run a pump during at least part of long cloudless days, but we're limited to 3kw overall at any one time.


We're only there spring and autum and probably wouldn't want to use it for more than 3 or 4 weeks during either of those periods.


Anyone in a similar position, or just knows about pools generally? We've never had a pool and are clueless - if anyone could give us an idea of (roughly) upfront costs and weekly running costs for chemicals etc, we'd be glad of any info. If it's all too expensive, we'll just forget it (we're only 5km from the beach!)


Thanks all.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

You would need to keep the pool pump running for about an hour a day and keep it topped up with chemical all the time, all year round. Otherwise, you will start your holiday with a pea soup of a pool. Alternatively, you could empty/refill it every time, but that would be a shocking waste of 18 tonnes of water, which an increasingly valuable commodity in Spain.


The beach might be a better bet.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Fred is right, keeping it full and running the pump intermittently isn't an option, and discharging a pool full of chlorine chemicals into a neighbouring field twice a year is at best highly unethical.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

We were thinking of filling and emptying it twice a year, so my question really relates to the cost/feasibility of running it for about 4 weeks at a time, with our limited solar electricity, and funds. True, it would be a waste of water, and that has occurred to me, and I'm not entirely comfortable with that. (I also hate buying all those plastic bottles for our drinking water).




We may well not bother. It certainly wasn't a consideration when we bought the place. In fact I thought it was just a waste of space at the time. But it would be nice to have some facts/figures to add into the mix, so we can consider it further.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Fred is right, keeping it full and running the pump intermittently isn't an option, and discharging a pool full of chlorine chemicals into a neighbouring field twice a year is at best highly unethical.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Another good point Pulaski, which again I have considered. But it is just waste land, and seems to have survived during our predecessors' 13 years during which they filled and emptied it for holidays. The olives, carobs, agave, prickly pear and wild flowers are as plentiful there as everywhere else, right up to the fence. Our neighbour shares the bore hole and he has no issue with the pool, in fact he's surprised that we haven't used it yet. But, again, I do not take it amiss you pointing it out.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Hola

A while ago I looked after an 8X4 pool without any electricity at all as the Electric company cut the house off.

I used to use a generator to clean the pool only. I simply put two chlorine tabs in the pool - one week at the shallow end and at the deep end and when they disolved, one either side.

The pool had a tiled bottom and was always pristine

Davexf

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

What time of year was that? In winter, it's just possible, but at the moment when the pool is at 30c we use about 6 tabs a week.

The OP isn't going to be there and hasn't mentioned having someone to do it for him so I can't see how it will work. A pool cover might help.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Hola

The electricity was cut off permanently; therefore all year round - if you have the correct amount of stabiliser then simply adding pure chlorine tabs works all year round. You have to have the correct Ph but it is not rocket science.

Davexf

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

That's fine if you are there to do it - the OP isn't. Incidentally, it would be preferable to use a floating dispenser rather than chuck the tablets in the pool as you get more control that way.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Have you thought about using salt? I'm not an expert but I think you might find advice from the homesteading types. Maybe on youtube.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

angiescarr, I have heard of salt pools. I'll look into it, thanks. And thanks everyone else, too. I'm still undecided about the whole thing, but at least I now have some information to consider.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Salt pools generate chlorine from the salt, which requires the motor and associated electronics to be running.

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

Hola

Having looked after a salt water pool from new can I simply say that the recommendation was to run the pump for four to six hours a day in summer and a minimum of two hours a day in winter - that was to generate sufficient chlorine. The catalytic converters only last four years and are expensive.

If you are off grid then I suggest that salt water pools are a no-no

Davexf

Re: How to bring our pool into use - off grid
 

The salt cell will generally last 2-3 years if run at full capacity 24/7. Yes they are expensive to replace.

The normal recommendation is to over-size the salt cell for a larger pool so it doesn't need to run continuously. If it doesn't run 24/7, the cell will last longer.

I have an 18,000 gallon pool in the Florida sun and have a salt cell rated for a 40,000 gallon pool. I run it at 50% for around 6 hours a day (equivalent of 3 hours at 100%).

The OP has an 18,000 litre pool (around 5,000 gallons) so with a 40,000 gallon cell could probably get away with less than an hour per day run-time.

An alternative may be a stenner chlorine pump which could potentially run off batteries.