Running cost for pool

Hi, doing your own maintenance you'd be looking at the initial cost of getting your pool "swimmable" ie doing chemical analysis and buying whatever might be needed which isnt that much tbh.

You can buy and have installed a heat pump to extend the pool season both early and late, we've yet to test and get use/enjoyment from the near €2000 investment that partner made about 6 months ago, what I'll just say is that if you come across an ad that promotes pool heat pumps that allow you to swim in up to 28-30 degree pool water 365 days a year be very sceptical !!.

We moved in partners villa late March and she was swimming mid May, not via the heat pump, that was grin and bear it temps which of course as the ground warmed up and the sun beamed, the pool temps got so much better, now we know what to do with the heat pump we're really looking forward to getting full use.

Anyways to get back to pool costs, these will be directly related to the condition of the water in your pool.

Most people run pool pumps for around 4 hrs a day, electricity is cheaper am than pm.

You can buy chemicals to stabilise the water quality from ferretarias and supermarkets most everywhere, theres various pool maintenance companies that offer regular maintenance and cleaning in most free magazines but then again there are probably just as many if not more how to videos on youtube as well. A pool test kit will set you back around €6-8.

I wouldnt say it costs that much to run a pool over the normal may to september season, pool covers can add a couple of hundred euros to the equation but collect and trap the suns heat/energy and are very much worth the outlay. Everyone will quote you differently, our pool is an average 8metre by 4 metre.

We used to have an automatic pool lever filler but have recently discarded it as we had a skimmer line leak, (something you need to check) which altho it seemed a good idea to leave running cost partner two horrendous water bills of around €350 and €450 before I fixed the problem.

It might be a good idea to get your pool professionally cleaned, scrubbed, jetwashed, tiles regrouted pool filters and drains checked pumps etc then refilled before pool season but after the shock to your wallet you'd be good to go for quite some time.

An average 8x4m pool holds around 45,000 litres which is a heck of a lot of water.

I as well as you look forward to reading any information from someone who has the mental capacity to sit down and do a statistical analysis of the actual cost that includes all the factors listed above.

Till then I'd say the answer might follow on from "how long is a piece of string" given as above that everyones circumstances are different. Including all the different fixes for water heaters from hundreds of metres of coiled pipes to solar panels.

Well what can I say.... let me tell you about my piece of string, my pool is 9 x 5 meters, I have my pool filter on for about 6 hours a day , 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening, I hoover and backwash once a week, I use chlorine powder once a week and test chlorine & PH levels once a week, I use farm water to fill it (cheap as chips).

I live in a six bedroom home with my wife and 6 children & 7 dogs, my electricity bill is a constant 120 (give or take a tenner) per month and water bills are a quarter of the cost back in UK, that includes filling pool and topping up and running of pumps. Chlorine is 20 euros for 5kg and lasts approx a month or two, test kit is as Chevy said. 

To be honest, the biggest investment in the pool will be your time, if you leave it or take your eye off it over summer for too long you will soon have an expensive pond, some of our kids have eczema and do not tolerate hard water and abundant chemicals, so we are looking to convert over to a salt water, where maintenance is minimal and the water is a lot more skin friendly, salt pools also help keep the pesky wasps at bay, or if you cant be bothered to clean and keep on top of all the chemicals and balancing of the water etc, you can get someone to do it for you. When we first moved over, I had a chap come round to show me how to look after it, he did it for a month, I paid him and he showed me, if you would like his number, his website is http://www.natxomantenimiento.es/ his name is "Nacho" and he is a super decent bloke.

Hope that helps

regards

Ossy

The Guru of Web Design

Hi Ossy

Does your electricity bill include a pool heater? And do you cook on electric?

Many thanks 

Steve

StevH Urcal

I am an Australian and an ex. Chef for 35 years, we don't use Pool Heaters and we don't cook on Electric, I grin and bear it for the pool and electricity removes too much moisture from the food, you dont get a great "Maillarding" on the meat and veg in an electric oven, so Gas all the way on top and in the oven. 

Hope this helps.

Ossy

The Guru of Web Design

Hi, interested in your post as we may be moving to a house with a pool. Can you please tell me what is involved in changing the pool over to saltwater as I have heard before it is much better for you. A very rough idea on costs to do it would be great as well.

Thank you,

Paul.

Our Spanish neighbour did it 2 years ago and has said the time in upkeep is a lot smaller than before, no more money spent on chlorine chemicals, but there are a lot more things to be replaced as time goes on but I believe both costs of salt and chlorine pool types are most probably equally balanced, the changeover is not unfortunately an overnight process, for the most effective changeover the water needs to meet certain factors and takes a lot of balancing to do this but the guy that does it for you will know the best process for you and your pool.

So the cost for my neighbour was approx. €1400 that included fitting etc. I believe her pool is a standard 4 x 9 with shallow and deep ends, that was 2 or 3 years ago, so I am allowing €1800 for ours.

Pros:

• No more buying chlorine – A salt system manufactures natural chlorine. That means no more buying chlorine tablets, shock or liquid chlorine!
• No more manually adding chlorine – On a salt system you dial in your chlorine production and that is it. This is a major benefit over traditional chlorine where you have to make sure to add your chlorine to the pool each week and if you forget or go on vacation then you are faced with issues. I have to admit this is my favorite benefit of a salt pool.
• No chlorine smell, red eyes or itchy skin – The negative effects of chlorine like the chlorine smell, red eyes and itchy skin are all due to chloramines. The chlorine that is produced by a salt pool does not have chloramines. This means all of these traditional side effects of chlorine are eliminated. This is the reason why many people who swim in a salt pool think that it is a non-chlorine pool.

• High pH & calcium build-up – In salt pools the pH level of the water likes to rise. If you don’t keep your pH levels in check then this can lead to calcium scaling in your pool or your salt cell. This is easily maintained by testing your pH levels weekly and adding muriatic acid if you need to lower your pH.
• Salt cell replacement – Every 3-7 years you will need to replace your salt cell which costs between €200 – €700.
• More parts – On a salt system there are more parts which can become faulty like the circuit board, salt cell, flow sensor or flow switch.
• Corrosive to pool and equipment? – This topic is open for debate as many pool people feel salt water is perfectly fine for your equipment and others feel you need special equipment.  If you are adding a heater to your pool you may consider a cupro nickel heater as this heater has a heavy duty heat exchanger which is supposed to hold up better to salt. The last item you may consider is a sacrificial zinc anode. You place this zinc disk in your skimmer and the anode absorbs all the corrosion.

Hope that helps

regards

Ossy

The Guru of Web Design

Many thanks for a really helpful reply. If we get the house I think this will be high on the list.

Best wishes,

Tony.

Great help cheers