Can a in-ground pool be turned into an endless pool???

[BiG H3rB Tr3E]

okk,,,lately ibeen seing alot of ads for these new endless pools,,, which
you can swim in like the ocean and build swimming strength by swimming against the current..

so being the person i am,,, i figure hey,,, i got a pool and i have setup pumps and irrigation >>not saying im an expert,,, but it seems that these "endless pools" are nothing more than a fancy-shmancy free standing pools with a strong pump on a valve blowing water pressure at you imitating a current...

>>>please correct me if i am wrong???

so i decided to check out there webside::::

Residential Endless Pool
Endless Pool Standard System includes everything required to swim. $20,400*
The Endless Pool Standard System includes an 8'x15' free-standing pool (7' x 14' x 39" swim area), 5 HP Water Propulsion System, luxurious thermoformed acrylic interior bench system, Water Quality System (cartridge filter, circulating pump, timer, 5.5 kw electric heater, pool water purifier), Floating Thermal Cover, Dark Blue Liner, Pool Vacuum, and Aqua-Aerobics Exercise Bar.

so im thinking,,,,5 hp "propulsion system">>>i know they aint got rockets
from nasa in these pools,,, so im guessing that is a fancy term for water pump

looking around the internet i found a 6.5 hp pump for under $500>>>

http://www.nextag.com/Alton-6-5-HP-619321531/prices-html

seems to me i would be able to pull water from the pool and affix a tube at one side of the pool to release the water,,,creating a current,, and in theory recreating the "endless pool" in a fixed in-ground pool...

does any of this seem correct,,,or i been hittn tha hash pipe too long???

 

[zingablack]

they make kits for it. ive seen them in some mag before. my bro in law owns a pool store so i will ask him.

 

[Don Cotyle]

HA for 20 grand they can keep it!!! Hell you coud probably hook up one of the largest electric trolling moters to get that effect and have variable speed control built in! HA FOR LESS THAN $600

 

[thekingofNY]

BHT, what about the pressure? I dont remember jack shit from physics, but would it create more pressure in the pool or specifically on the opposite wall that u were blasting all that water towards? If not I can imagine any other reason why this wouldnt work, if u had a round or oval shaped pool bro, u wouldnt even need to put anything on the opposite end recirculating the water, u could just have a badass really fast lazy river type idea.... get what i mean? I think this would work best with an oval shaped pool.... u could just blast water and one corner *picture an ice rink and how they send the puck around behind the goalie*

Yah i'm stoned too... good luck!

 

[BiG H3rB Tr3E]

they make kits for it. ive seen them in some mag before. my bro in law owns a pool store so i will ask him.

thank you zinga,,,that is much appreciated. please let me know what your hear.

HA for 20 grand they can keep it!!! Hell you coud probably hook up one of the largest electric trolling moters to get that effect and have variable speed control built in! HA FOR LESS THAN $600

and that is the rinky dink version>>> you start adding length,,width,depth
along with all the extra little add ups>>>some them pools will cost 80k+

your talking about motors for boat///sailboats yes??? never even crossed my mind,,, seem like it would be easy enought,,, build a fixture to hold the motor at one end...

but disturbs me a little,,,to be swimming in the direction of a motoirized blade

 

[teddybud]

multiple pumps maybe?

 

[BiG H3rB Tr3E]

well,,, i looked around more,,,

and a recreational retreat in sw.france has something very similar to my idea


they have a pool much larger than mine,,theres is 20'x45' whereas my pool
is only 13'x25'. and they employ 6hp. so if i can rig some sort of presssure valve to the pump without damaging the pump,,hopefuly i can recreate the same system in my pool,,,with a much lower $$$tag.


i heard another user say there is a kit already marketed for this idea,,, and im suprised it isnt advertised more,,,because with the # of pools in so cal,,,, you sure would get ALOT of customers.

its hard because im avid surfer,,, and now we are distanced from the beach>>> and i was afraid id lose alot of upper body strength. with this system i SHOULD have enough force to not only keep up with active regimens,,,but hopefully if tha pump is powerful enough,,, over build swiming strength...

still hoping some pool experts will drop in with some advice,,,as im really just tinkering around with theories at thee moment,,,

 

[Stoner4Life]

I beleieve the pump you selected is more for emptying a pool or a basement flooded with water, the inlet or outlet pictured on that pump is no more than 3 inches, I'm not a physicist but I'm taking an educated guess as that will not sustain resistance swimming at all. It is quoted as being 4000rpm, my guess is that the Endlees pool pumps have more torque and run at lower rpm yet moving more water, again just a guess. I've used that pump you have to drain flooded basements as a volunteer fireman (part of our duties to eliminate possible electrical fires for distressed residents). You'd need to find out what pumps they use in the 'Endless Pool' line bro and design it from there. There's no reason that if you've found a similar pump that you couldn't design a 'drop in' model or mounted unit of sorts.

 

[G. Sensi]

But how are you goin to get around not having a "luxurious thermoformed acrylic interior bench system"???

Ha Ha! Much respect for your work ethic King... Im sure you'll figure out a way to get this done... When Im home in Lucia I swim in the ocean everyday... I'd love one of those things in my backyard... Perhaps you should go even further and build one of those Wave machines that you can surf on

Idance and Itection

-G

 

[BiG H3rB Tr3E]

I beleieve the pump you selected is more for emptying a pool or a basement flooded with water, the inlet or outlet pictured on that pump is no more than 3 inches, I'm not a physicist but I'm taking an educated guess as that will not sustain resistance swimming at all. It is quoted as being 4000rpm, my guess is that the Endlees pool pumps have more torque and run at lower rpm yet moving more water, again just a guess. I've used that pump you have to drain flooded basements as a volunteer fireman (part of our duties to eliminate possible electrical fires for distressed residents). You'd need to find out what pumps they use in the 'Endless Pool' line bro and design it from there. There's no reason that if you've found a similar pump that you couldn't design a 'drop in' model or mounted unit of sorts.

that is reason i did not purchase it,,, unfortunatly they do not reveal RPMs of
their pump,,,or their """water propulsion system"""

we got a retailer in the city,,, gona drive down there in the next couple days and snoop out the unit,,, maybe i can get a view of the motor//engine that powers it....

 

[SomeGuy]

The propulsion system is a 1/2 horse hydraulic adjustable pump driving an approx 10" fan type propeller inside the pool through a 36" x 36" x 2" diffuser that looks like a box of drinking straws more or less.

The pool itself is just a big galvanized tank with pad on the bottom and a plastic swimming pool liner to cover it up with standard filter/pump/heater like a normal pool.

I've supervised an installation of one and have seen every part involved. Pretty much trouble free till you turn it up too high and blow a hose or sling a fan blade, both of which have happened to the one I dealt with over a 4 year period. Both times caused by kids playing in it.
Interesting that the hydraulic fluid is actually industrial grade vegetable oil. I suppose because if leaks formed in the pool then you wouldn't be swimming in petrol products.

strong pump on a valve blowing water pressure at you imitating a current...

If I was going to try a DIY, I'd look at a big ass jet ski pump connected to a hydraulic setup blown through a diffuser, though the jetski pump is designed to concentrate the flow. Maybe the diffuser spreads it out?
Bet you could find a jet ski pump cheap enough out of a wreck or blown engine and hydraulics are cheap enough if you shop it. Just need to know what RPM the jet pump can take.

 

[BiG H3rB Tr3E]

bubbles,,,

what are the chances of putting together a system from repair parts straight from the MFR. who does it for endless?

 

[Stoner4Life]

If I was going to try a DIY, I'd look at a big ass jet ski pump connected to a hydraulic setup blown through a diffuser, though the jetski pump is designed to concentrate the flow. Maybe the diffuser spreads it out?
Bet you could find a jet ski pump cheap enough out of a wreck or blown engine and hydraulics are cheap enough if you shop it. Just need to know what RPM the jet pump can take.

K+ genius bro.......

Those jet skis run @ VERY hi rpm, w/o any gear box to go through we hear those bastards just screaming across the lake. I'll bet a pair of those jet ski pumps side by side would be strong enough, and having it as either shaft or cable driven to the submerged drive you could keep any motor out of the water.

They run man and machine across the water so damned fast that at even perhaps 1/3rd power the two of them might be enough to sustain resistance swimming.

 

[SomeGuy]

bubbles,,,

what are the chances of putting together a system from repair parts straight from the MFR. who does it for endless?

I had to order replacement fan from them, hydraulic hose I had made local. Fan/propeller was pretty thick, high impact nylon looking thing that mounted right to the hydraulic pump. I'll get you the names/models off the pump tomorrow but the fan is all sealed and underwater so I cant get info off it.

I've talked to endless 4 or 5 times and first question they ask is name of the pool owner, great customer service. So I don't know about getting parts from them without info. I was able to get Napa to cross reference the oil so I didn't have to pay shipping on a 5 gal bucket and all the other pool parts are standard gear for pools and spas. I'm sure 90% of the rest is off the shelf but figuring out where would be a bitch.

This thing moves ALOT of water so everything is pretty well made. This pool is 12' long and will push water up and over the 6" back wall, found that out the time the kids broke it.

having it as either shaft or cable driven to the submerged drive you could keep any motor out of the water.

On this the hydraulics are in the water. Just a 6" or so across box with 2 hoses coming out. I see tons of older jet skis rotting away in yards and the boat places have tons of older models laying around.
But yeah technically with the proper RPM connected to it they can shoot a 4-6" jet of water anywhere from 0-60 mph. Trick would be to match it with hydraulics with enough RPM and torque to get like 10mph max and then spread that out into an area big enough to swim in. I think the diffuser is important as it creates a "tunnel" of water for the swimmer.

 

[easyskanking]

When i first read the title to the thread I thought this would be "Can an in-ground pool be turned into a grow room like in Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams. =]
hahaha
I don't know if you could do the pool thing or not. Let me know how it goes.