Affordable Above Ground Pools

Check The Options Before You Buy

There are a few good ways to find affordable above ground pools. Searching the local want adds for a good used one is a good way. Sometimes eBay has the perfect pool just waiting to be picked up in your local area.

End of the season closeouts at your local pool store might be a good way to find a new pool at a good price. Searching online is another way that can save you money anytime of year.

Do your homework before making the purchase and make sure the online store will stand behind it's product and promptly ship any missing parts should anything not be included.

AmeriMerc is one of those companies that will stand behind it's products one hundred percent. Let's compare a couple of their pools. This is the Sea Breeze model. It is made by a domestic name brand manufacturer and renamed to be sold by AmeriMerc.

This is an inexpensive pool that still has some good qualities. It has a hot dipped galvanized steel wall that is 52" tall. The pool comes with a 15 year warranty. The warranty is not that great by today's standards but fifteen years really is a long time. The pool has 6" top rails, again not that great today but for over twenty five years that was top of the line. The only thing I do not like about this pool are the 5/8" bottom rails. Leveling becomes more critical with smaller bottom rails. Getting the wall into the bottom rail becomes harder and almost impossible if you have leveling issues. Overall, for the price this is not a bad pool.

I have always felt the equipment package is far more important than the pool. The fanciest pool made is not very inviting if you cannot keep it clean and the water feels just as refreshing no matter how expensive the pool. So pay particular attention to the pool accessories when shopping for affordable above ground pools.

For just a few hundred dollars more the Platinum pool is offered. The highlights here are the 10" ledge and the 30 year warranty. This pool is made by Swim N Play and in their line it is called the Paragon. This is the same pool, just renamed.

This pool has 1" bottom rails so installation is much easier. The rails are resin coated so rust should not be a problem. I have written before about the modern day above ground pools being way over designed and not so user friendly. This is a good example. The resin top connector covers and bottom plate covers can be a real pain to assemble. It's more of a time consuming thing most of the time, but when you install for a living you hate spending an hour on what should take fifteen minutes.

I love the way this store lets you build your own package. You may want to spend some time reading my comments about liners and filters because this place will let you spend your money where you think it is most important. That's a great option when shopping for affordable above ground pools.

You could do as I suggested above and go with the cheapest pool matched with the best equipment. Another way of thinking is to go with the best pool you can afford and plan to upgrade the liner and filter in the years to come as you can afford it. You could decide to do without the cleaner and steps just to get the better filter.

Heritage TA 1852GP-DXP Taos Complete Above Ground Pool, 18-Feet x 52-Inch (#ad)

Let's Take a Closer Look at this Pool

I have built plenty of this model above ground pool. First off, it is sold by Amazon, that's a good company to back the product. The package comes with everything you need to get a pool up and running.

It is not the best pool I have ever built and far from the worst. For the price it is a very good value. The pool reviews are not all that great but the negative aspects are what could be said about any above ground being installed by do it yourselfers. I could build several of these a day and never have a problem. Here are a few reviews with my comments.

The pool appears well constructed & is sturdy. Need 2 to 3 people minimum to install. All parts were provided. There are separate instructions for the pool, filter, pump, skimmer, & ladder. The instructions were very poor, covering too many models, and omitting some details. One set of instructions for the model ordered would have helped a lot. The filter instructions given didn't cover the model received. Once all leak issues were fixed with the skimmer & filter connections, appears to function well. You will have to install a nonstandard 120v outlet by the pump due to a short cord.

You need 2 to 3 people to install it, not really as I can built one myself with no help. But, 2 - 3 people are about right, any more and you may have too much help. There are always separate instructions for all the different items in a pool package, that's just the way it is. Use pipe thread dope on top of the teflon tape provided on all fittings and the filter will not leak. Skimmers are all about the same, made by just a few companies. They can all be tricky to install leak free especially for first timers.

This pool is not a GREAT product...several things were wrong. The screw holes did not match up. Some of the hardware was missing. They give you No extra hardware so if something is wrong, which there was....to bad! The rubber peices that hold the liner to the wall , (their Openings) were glued together. It just seemed like every step we got to there was something wrong!!

This just sounds like a frustrated first time pool builder, I hear this all the time with all different brands of pools. Holes not lining up, this is very doubtful. Holes not lining up are because the pool is not round or level. I seldom find packages missing nuts, bolts and screws, but I carry plenty of extras so it is never a problem for me. It's possible a trip to the hardware store may be needed, but highly unlikely. I have never seen coping glued together, not sure where that one comes from

The delivery time on our pool was pretty accurate. It arrived with all the parts, nothing was damaged, or missing. The time to set up the pool was a good 6 - 7 hours with two guys. It helps to have the ground ready & level with the sand before attempting the setup. If you had a 3rd person it would be even better. When connecting the sides and bolting them together the 3rd set of hands would be helpful. The pump setup was a little tricky, the instructions were incomplete. But thankfully I am an electrician and I was able to figure it out. The pump has good pressure and once up and going works well. The skimmer was a little difficult getting it to fit in between the wall and the liner. I ended up having to use extra sealant to make it work. Once installed it really does keep the pool clean. This wide mouth skimmer is one of the reasons we upgraded to this particular pool. We are looking forward to using our pool this summer. The pool itself is very nice looking, and very sturdy. I gave this pool 4 stars only because the instructions were at times incorrect. If not for that I would've given it 5 stars

There were several reviews mentioning poor instructions. This is very common with above ground pools, generic instructions. They give you the basics and there are sites like mine that can fill in the blanks, or you could go all out and hire me as your pool building coach. Here come some of the many good reviews.

Quality is great. Instructions are not thorough. Would have given 5 start minus the instructions.

Well made above ground pool. Like all above ground pools you must prep your yard by removing grass and leveling the area perfectly. It took a whole day with 3 people to get the ground level and install the pool. The pump and parts are of good quality the only thing I recommend is you use pipe tape on all threaded connections for the pump and pool.

I'm 4 months in and this pool is holding up well. I'm using a saltwater system along with the provided sand filter and basically have a maintenance free setup. It is sturdier than I thought it would be but I still wouldn't walk on the sides. We live on a big hill and it stood out from the homes below, so I added some camouflage net, and it disappeared. Now its looks like bushes from the street.

Great Pool! Was pretty easy to put up with three people. Happy with it so far.

This package covers all the basics and comes in a variety of sizes. The packages feature a 7" steel top rail, an overlap liner with a print bottom, a very adequate ladder and a sand filter with a 1HP pump.

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Affordable Above Ground Pools

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