Easily Converting a Bestway Above Ground Pool to an EXTERNAL Skimmer. 4 Awesome Benefits!

Last year, when I was a first time pool owner, I added an Intex skimmer to my above ground pool. It worked great...when nobody was in the pool. Unfortunately, I needed something more than what the Intex skimmer could deliver, so I upgraded to a Hayward skimmer...which is an EXTERNAL skimmer...meaning I had to CUT into my above ground pool.

It was easy, and the benefits were astounding!
Benefit #1 - Just having a skimmer keeps the pool clean. It keeps most of the debris from sinking to the bottom of the pool (where it's more difficult to clean up)

Benefit #2 - It's an EXTERNAL skimmer...meaning it's on the OUTSIDE of the pool. Above ground pool skimmers like the Intex versions, usually have a bracket that cinches onto the rail of the pool and allows the skimmer to be inside the pool. They work great! Truly! The issue is that you need to take them out of the pool when anyone is in it, otherwise the water turbulence will cause the skimmer to uncinch...which makes it come out of the water...which makes it suck air into your filter. Not good.

Benefit #3 - It allows for upgraded pool vacuums. I used an Intex pool vacuum last year and it was great. The downside to it was that it was a reverse-pressure system...meaning that it attached to the pool outlet (where the water comes INTO the pool) and collected the debris in a filter net inside the actual vacuum. This allowed for decent cleaning...but only as much as the filter could hold. The external skimmer allows for a vacuum to be attached to the INLET (where the water sucks INTO the pool) and by default allows all debris to be sucked and caught in the skimmer basket for easy cleaning

Benefit #4 - Arguably the BEST benefit...it upgraded my system to a 100% 1.5" hose system. While I did upgrade my hoses last year to 1.5", the water was coming out of the pool at 1.25" pinch points and the 2 inlets on the pool connected at a T-junction...that had 1.25" pinch points. The upgrade I did last year did improve suction and it was worth the effort. Upgrading to the external skimmer however, meant that I was able to eliminate the 1.25" pinch points. The suction/pressure was TREMENDOUSLY improved as a result!

Skimmer: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hayward-A...

Intex Adapters: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Intex-Soft...