The INTEX Ultra XTR Pool is a top-of-the-line above ground pool
designed for those who want to enjoy a fun and relaxing time with
family and friends in their own backyard. The pool features a
beautiful blue tile print and elegant graphite exterior that adds
style to your backyard. With a set-up size of 24 feet X 52
inches, this spacious pool has a water capacity of 12,481 gallons
(90%). The pool comes with all the necessary components including
a ladder, cover, and Krystal Clear Sand Filter Pump (part
#26647EG).
Review: Seriously the best investment I've ever put in my
backyard - Update 05/27/2022: This pool has now been in operation
for a couple seasons, and it's still doing GREAT. I had to
replace the plates in the chlorinator, and refill the sand in the
filter once, and that's it for the heavy maintenance. The water
is still crystal clear, the FAFCO heating pad is still kickin,
and my kids are still loving the pool. Still absolutely no
regrets with this purchase. I was leary at first. Above ground
pools are something the Uncle Eddie has in Xmas vacation, that
you could imagine him jumping off his RV into. But I live in the
South West, where the sun doesn't care if your pool is below
above or levitating - the heat spares no one. Instead of
investing $80k or more in a fancy pants pool, I spent a fraction
of that on a 24' diameter Intex pool and it has been the best
money I've spent that I can remember. Super easy to setup - I did
it with one person. I already had a flat large area to place it,
so all the real hard work was done. Filled it up (took about $350
in water), and then realized that it was going to need two more
things to be perfect. I picked up a Chlorinator - also made by
Intex - so I wouldn't have to deal with chemicals. I mixed in the
salt as directed, and it's been producing chlorine ever since
(one and a half seasons later). You can't tell there's salt in
the water, and you can't tell there's chlorine either - but my
test kits always put it in the proper range (2-3ppm). The second
item was a heating mat. I setup the pool at the end of the
season, so the sun was already losing some of it's potency here.
But at the start of this season, I REALLY noticed it. I have the
4' x 20' heating mat you can get here on desertcart, and it works
great. Since the sun started cooking the southwest, my pool has
been a steady 80-85 degrees all day long. Maintenance is
extremely low. I added a skimmer (the one where you have to
actually cut the liner to put in - a littte nerve wracking BUT
VERY worth it!!!) and it keeps the surface spotless. I've gone
through a couple of pool vacuums (stay away from the Intex one!)
and I've settled on a rechargeable one that you just drop in the
pool. It takes care of all the big and medium debris that lands
at the bottom, but the fine debris has been more of a challenge.
A brush with a suction port that ties into my skimmer has solved
that problem - I put the pump into bypass and just let it go into
the planter. Really the only thing that takes a bit of attention
is maintaining the pH level. I find I'm constantly adding the pH
lowering chemicals to keep it around 7.6 - 7.8. Not difficult, I
just need to not forget to do it. Overall, I probably spent about
3k on everything (pool, pump, chlorinator, heating pad, light,
vacuum - x2, did I mention not to get the Intext one? - skimmer,
misc hoses and stuff)... and it's been worth every cent. My kids
and I absolutely love it, and it's made living in a hot climate
so much more tolerable.
Review: Beats $10,000 for “real” above ground pool - This is our
3rd Intex pool. Started with the “bubble”, then had 15’ metal
frame, now this 26’ ultra frame. This is a HUGE pool! The box
that it came in was delivered by freight truck (400+lbs).
Trucking company dropped it at the end of our driveway, thank
goodness we have a tractor so we were able to move it, but
something to keep in mind. We were already familiar with setup
from our other pool so it was fairly straightforward. The most
difficult part of assembly was getting the final piece of top
rail locked in. Please do not believe the listing when it says
“ready in hour”. It will take you days unless you have a crew,
and even then at least a day before you even start adding water.
My husband and I did it ourselves. I’m going to give you some
tips to help with installation, but the number one tip is find
the You Tube video from Pawpaws Place. It’s about an hour long
and he takes you from beginning to end. Follow every step and you
will be good! Helpful hints: 1. Level, level, level. Make sure
your site is almost perfectly level. Any deviation will skew how
the water sits in the pool. You have about 1” that you can be
off. Any more and it won’t be good. 2. Get liner as wrinkle free
as you can before you put on legs, this will make it easier for
you later when you start adding water to get the rest of the
wrinkles out. 3. If you’re planning to leave up year round, put
something under each leg. Pawpaw recommends 12x12x1” blocks, but
to be honest, that’s way more digging than we wanted to do. I
ended up going to a metal fab shop and have them make 8x8x1/4”
plates (26). I think they’ll hold well. 4. This does not come
with a backwash hose. Purchased backwash hose and clamp from
Lowe’s and we had to buy some PVC fittings to make it work. 5.
They don’t come with a skimmer basket anymore. Highly recommend
purchasing one to get the surface crud. 6. The supplied ground
cloth is pretty thin. We had some geo textile cloth that we put
under the ground cloth for added protection. 7. Use a level and
keep checking legs both side to side and front to back as the
water goes in. This is where the ground leveling comes into play.
If your ground is not level, liner with push out on some legs,
and cause others to move inward. Fill slowly and check, check,
and recheck. We are on a well so I had to go slow with water -55
minutes twice a day. I checked leg level before each addition.
Got pool filled to about 4,000 gal then had another 6,200 trucked
in. We went around and around with level as water was going in
and made adjustments. They will reach a point where you cannot
move them anymore . All in all, I think it’s worth the time and
money. Pool company wanted over $10,000 for metal walled pool and
installation. I just couldn’t fork over that much. With pool,
water, and misc. things, I’d guess we have about $2500 in it. The
seller was great, I had a couple of questions and they responded
immediately. Would definitely recommend if you don’t mind some
hard work. Watch the video by Pawpaws Place!
