Digging up this thread, a couple questions for owners …
Are there options besides endless pool if you need it in a space where it’d have to go through a regular door to be installed?
Is it the general feeling that if you have relatively easy pool access that the costs and hassles of ownership outweigh the benefits?
(My interest is for even easier/anytime swim access and also for easier/more frequent video and mechanics feedback with features like the mirror or specific pace setting)
Thanks!
Eric
First off, Endless Pools makes two types of pools. The original and spa pools. The original is a modular pool that comes in pieces, and you can put it inside your home with normal sized doors. We have the High Performance which is a high-end original pool. We put ours in a finished room in our basement. And we love it! My former coach (11 time IM champ) has the same pool and loves hers too. She has clients she coaches who purchased those EP Spa pools (comes in one piece) and the current isn’t as good. Complaints are that it is hard to stay straight and keep you legs from sinking. I have never tried a spa pool so can’t confirm this myself. But will say my HP pool is very much like swimming in the open water and it’s a great swim experience. It is set up to be a pool for serious swimmers. It seems those big spa pools are more for families and light swimming. Most people on the facebook group keep their spa pools at 90F and just play in the water with their grand kids. The original pools like the HP are for serious swim training. Lional Sanders loved his HP pool until he sold it and moved to Arizona.
Is it worth it? For me it was worth it, even with broken parts discovered upon initial installation and then a slow leaking hydraulic motor where I had veggie oil in my pool for 9 months until our installer came back from PA. I live in northern VT. Luckily I could still swim and the pool was only down a few days to get the new hydraulic motor replaced.
I live 22 miles from a public pool and it’s huge pain getting to the pool in the winter as it snows a lot and we get 6 months of winter and bad weather. With my pool I have been swimming 6 x a week since I got it installed at the end of Oct 2021. Saves me so much time by not driving to a pool. And I’m an outlier where i just prefer to avoid the general public. I love not dealing with people at the pool and locker room. Have all kinds of stories of “strange denizens in the pool”.
Is it worth it to purchase an EP if you live close to a pool and only plan to use it for easy workouts and some video analysis? I guess it depends on the person. It’s a very expensive investment and you’ll end up paying much more than you planned. If money is no object, you have contractors and an installer easily available, then sure, why not. Helps if you are mechanically inclined and handy. My husband is very much mechanically inclined and super handy. That will help a ton. And also knowledgeable with electricity will help. Or access to a very good electrician.
ETA: - forgot to mention electric costs of heating these pools is very significant. I’m the only EP owner off-the electrical grid (I don’t recommend this as we had to upgrade our whole system and add another solar panel…still worth it for me). But I know that other EP owners’ eclectic bills increase by quite a bit depending on where you live. I guess it’s similar to a hot tub but maybe more depending on different variables.