Product Notes

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

We made a special deal in order to get Swimline liner prices down – that’s the second price drop in two years.  Then, we signed a contract with an inground liner installation company owned by a friend of mine.  We can show you prices and samples.  His crews will measure and install your liner, and we will oversee your experience and happiness.

Now there is no excuse:  if you even think you will need a liner in the next few years, Do it Now!  I don’t know about you, but I can think of ten different things that can go wrong in the Mid-East that will raise oil prices.  I can’t think of a single thing that will lower them.  And guess what liners are made out of?

What’s new this year?  Lots!  The Wall Climber Automatic Pool Cleaner is a two-motor robot that quickly cleans any pool up to 1,200 sq. feet (that’s huge!), has a quick-clean function, is incredibly light for easy removal, comes with a FREE caddy cart, and is only $559.98 on sale. 

At your request, we now have solar rings (inflatable solar cover rings) for $27.98, a solar heater for $129.98 on sale, and more than thirty all-new toys, games, and floats.  LED lighting has come down in price too.  Finally, we have affordable battery-operated underwater pool lights that actually do light up a pool.  We have a new set of pool steps for only $199.98 on sale, and some multi-purpose 5-in-1 chlorine tabs in our Discount Chemical Department for only $69.98 for twenty pounds on sale.

A big change this year is a heat pump that actually works in New England.  Why did that take so long?  Heat pumps work by using heat and humidity in the air, along with a condenser, to create hot water.  They are extremely efficient, but mostly when the air is hot and humid – so that’s what everyone in Florida,California, and the entire south uses.  And that’s 98% of the market for heat pumps.  Except for one type (ours) heat pumps are really inefficient when the air is under 60°F, and shut off under 50°F.  But that’s the air temperature at night in May, late August, and September!

So, Aqua Comfort, which is based inNew England, designed a heat pump for the north.  They gave up some efficiency when the air is over 90°F, in order to make them efficient down to 40°F.  Now you can use a heat pump to extend your swimming season here, from early May to October, for way less money than gas, electric or oil.  We have been testing them in several of our associate stores for a few years now, and they are definitely up to our standards.  Not only do we know how to install and service them, their factory technicians (remember, they are local) can be here in a couple of days to back us up.  Prices start only $2,159 on sale.

You know how the PVC pipe at Lowes and Home Depot looks just like our pool pipe, but it’s half the price?  Look again at how thick the wall of the pipe is – let alone the strengtheners used in the PVC.  Pool pipe is designed to withstand the pressure caused by your pump and all the resistance in your pipes, elbows, fittings, and equipment.  Drainage pipe (like the drains in your house) just direct water flowing without pressure.  The difference?  You should have seen the photographs we saw last summer where someone’s pipes “blowed up real good” between the pump and the heater.  Having a salt-to-chlorine   generator installed in front of the heater probably added back-pressure as the generator totaled the heater (replacing a heat exchanger is about the same price as a whole new gas heater).  So, saving $5.00 on PVC piping probably cost $1,000.  And not reading installation directions cost another $4,000!