Building 20' sliding pool poles out of EMT conduit (is it possible?)

[Danny D]

Over the years, I've bought & broken and finally given up on aluminum pool poles from the box & pool stores:

They bend:

They crack:

They kink:

They break:

My wife angrily threw away my prized yellow fiberglass pole after the kids complained of splinters, so I am trying to build a stronger/cheaper/more durable sliding steel pole out of EMT fittings:

But I can't seem to get the fittings right.

Mainly I need a 3/4 to 1/2 inch reducer.

Have you ever created a sliding pole out of cheap but strong (stronger than aluminum anyway) 10' EMT tubing?

What fittings would you use so that you could slide & clamp the two ten-foot steel (EMT conduit) poles together?

[RBM]

I think you're barking up the wrong tree. The 3/4 emt may be strong enough, but its too heavy. The 1/2 emt will bend way quicker than the aluminum poles. The fittings you got look really nice, but none of the electrical fittings are designed to be loosened and re-tightened repeatedly. The fittings are also not made with the ability to telescope.

[Ralph Mowery]

You may want to look at the grey plastic electrical conduit. I don't know of any coupling that will let it slide, but if you really have to have it slide, drill a hole or two about a foot down and put a bolt through it to hold them together.

[trader4]

- Hide quoted text -

+1

And if he's going through pool poles that fast, it would suggest that they are being abused. The ones I've had are nothing special and last many years. The brushes are the problem for me. They only last a season or two before the bristles get brittle and start to fall out.

Also, some of the problems with the pole, ie the cracked plastic nut, may be lessened by storing it out of the sun....

[Danny D]

I was afraid of that.

The good news is that I don't really need to telescope. The pool is 9 feet deep, so, I just need, oh, I don't know,

9 feet plus 5 feet = 14 feet (or so) of pole.

So, it's not a requirement that it manually be adjusted to size more than just once.

But, they 'do' have to fit together, so, that's why a

3/4" to 1/2" fitting would be perfect, if I could find one.

[Danny D]

That's exactly the opposite of my experience! :)

My brushes seem to last forever:

It's my NETS which fall apart in a single season!

The plastic always cracks at the center stress point:

The netting tears at the sides:

Even the aluminum nets have plastic holders that fall apart:

I'm wondering if there's a way to build our own sturdy nets too!

[Dan Espen]

I thought you were new to this stuff?

In about 15 years I've gone through maybe 4 poles. I don't think that's unreasonable.

The hardest workout they get is lifting decaying leaves off the cover. The poles get left outside year round.

If I was determined to make my own, I would not try for telescoping, too much complication. Not sure what would be good though, you want strength but not the weight. Not really compatible qualities.

[Danny D]

I must agree the sun does a LOT of damage!

For example, thermometers only seem to last a single year!

And, the strings on the floating dispensers always crumbles!

Even the vacuum hoses start falling apart in just two years!

Lest anyone say they can't make plastic last outside, witness the recycling cans, which NEVER fall apart (even outdoors every day and subject to tremendous forces when being dumped):

QUESTIONS for the problem solvers:

Q1: Do they make a thermometer that will last in the sun? Q2: What strings do you use for your floaters anyway?

[trader4]

I have one of these:

It's lasted two seasons so far.

[Danny D]

I did test the gray electrical conduit at Home Depot, and it was really light but it was too flimsy (although it may be good for an outer sheath outside the steel EMT electrical conduit because it won't get hot in the sun as much that way).

The threaded electrical conduit was too heavy; the gray plastic too flimsy; the EMT conduit just right.

So that's why I settled on the EMT conduit.

As for the threaded bolt, I've already used that for repairing the pool poles - and it is a great idea.

You can see that hex machine bolt rusted ... so I might want to go with a stainless steel or nylon carriage style bolt, cut as flush as possible.

BTW, do you guys have a rule of thumb on how LONG a pool pole should be? For example, how many feet would you add for a 9' deep pool?

[trader4]

Yeah, after cutting income taxes from a top rate of 70%, he agreed to some little tax increases here and there, mostly to achieve other things he wanted from Congress. I'll take cutting taxes by 60% once then raising them by 2% ten times any day.

When Reagan left office, taxes were still at 28%, instead of

70%. Boyyou libs are really something. It used to be all that you bitched about was that Reagan increased the national debt, allegedly because he CUT taxes. But now that Obama is increasing the debt at a rate far worse than anything under any other president, it's time to shift tactics. And with the modest deficits under Reagan, we had a booming economy, 5% unemployment, an end to double digit inflation, a rejuvinated military proud of itself and he ended the Cold War, defeating the Soviet Union. What exactly do we have to show for Obama's $6tril in new debt? He's adding another $900bil this year alone.

[Danny D]

Hmmm... a wireless thermometer ...

How does it work?

Do you stick a transmitter in the pool and it transmits to the thermometer on the deck?

Can it handle the pool & the spa?

[Danny D]

I've had the pool for 3 years. I bought all new equipment at that time as it came with nothing. So no pole in that picture is older than 3 years.

I'm amazed anyone would put up with the crummy quality of the poles I have, so, either you're not buying from Leslies and Home Depot (where I'm getting my stuff), or, there's something brutal about my environment that isn't in yours.

Mine has sun all day - no shade whatsoever - so I know that is brutal - but - not for aluminum poles. Also my pool is deep, and leaves blow in all the time because of storms, so, there's a lot of deep digging of truckloads of leaves from the bottom (since it's a supposedly self-cleaning pool, the bottom is precipitously deep, on purpose but that's a whole 'nuther story).

[Danny D]

That's very strange. Are yours the aluminum ones from Home Depot or Leslies?

[Danny D]

Hmmm.... it seemed logical.

First off, the floaters clearly have holes for this purpose. Secondly, out here anyway, we have strong prevailing winds for the summer and winter which move the floaters to one end of the pool permanently unless they're tied down.

Only the floater in the spa stays put; but the other two floaters will be in the same spot all day if I didn't tie them to the middle.

As an update, I bought a screening kit to make new pool nets out of window screen. That window screen kit came with rubber 'cord'. This black rubber cord seems to be a 'perfect' size for the floater holes; but, of course, only time (and chlorine) will tell the complete tale...

[trader4]

The transmitter floats in the pool.

Sure, just buy two.

[Dan Espen]

I had one fall apart, took me weeks to find the glass on the bottom of the pool. So, two in at least 15 years.

Strings on thermometers, never any decay. Don't use floating dispensers but the chlorine might be an issue.

Nope, 5-10 years from hoses, even when I step on them.

Ever try to get the recycling people to take away a plastic recycling can that has fallen apart? Still trying.

Mine hangs from the ladder which is on the south side of the pool so it doesn't get direct sun. It's underwater anyway, I wouldn't expect much affect from the sun.

No floaters, but it's string. Cheap to replace.

[Dan Espen]

3 years, wow, that's crazy.

HD, never.

Leslies, only when my preferred place is closed.

For brick retail, I prefer Sun Pools (Rt. 22 NJ), not a chain. Mostly I use the wonders of the internet. Great for liners. No store can even get close to the selection online.

Google shows lots of poles, some labeled "professional".

[Danny D]

Well ... other than that!?

[RBM]

In the chain link fence business they use a top rail made of steel. I'm not sure what the smallest size would be, but it comes in 20 foot lengths. If its not too heavy, you could possibly cut a 14 foot piece of that.