This is an update to a previous post on the Piranha PowerPole found here. This write-up will compare a Power Pole used for 10
months to a new never used Power Pole to see how they hold up over time with
regular use. Over the ten months, the
pole was used for a swimming pool maintenance route that included at least 4
days a week of use, with 10-14 pools cleaned each day. Written by www.WCPandS.com
The two main reasons for replacing a swimming pool pole are that
the end of the pole where you connect attachments becomes cracked and/or
thinned, so that the attachments are too loose or they will not connect at all.
Or the mechanism that locks the inner pole to the outer pole (to extend the
length) wears out so the inner pole no longer locks in place.
To start, here is a general comparison picture of the two
poles next to each other. The used pole is scratched, scuffed, and dented
around the entire pole.
Most swimming pool poles have two holes at the far end of
the handle where you can attach cleaning tools. Since the Piranha Power Poles
have two sets of the two holes, each set gets used about half as much over the
same amount of time as a regular pool pole. This is meant to reduce wear and
tear.
As seen in the picture, so far this has worked exactly as
intended. The holes in the used pole are about the same size as the holes in
the new pole, and still hold attachments firmly in place.
Even when viewed from the inside, these two sets of holes
look to be in good condition. (Used on top and new bottom)
The locking mechanism for the inner and outer pole is a
different story.
The Power Pole locks the inner pole to the outer pole using
round indents along one side of the inner pole. This the first time I have seen
this type of locking mechanism used on a swimming pool pole. A twist type lock
is what every other pole uses.
On the used Power Pole, the indents are no longer round,
they are oval shape from repeated use.
This means there is a chance that while pushing or pulling
on the extended pole, the inner pole may collapse into or pull out of the outer
pole. Currently, this is an issue that occurs with the used pole about 1 out of
10 times.
Another issue with other poles is over time the handles
become loose, fall off, or just move around the end of the pole. Piranha did something
to prevent this problem, and used two bolts through the handle to hold it in
place.
This has worked as intended, at least so far, since one bolt
has already broken loose, leaving a single bolt to hold the handle in place.
The far end of the handle has worn off, which is normal with
these types of poles and, the power pole was no different.
It seems that the Piranha Power Pole was made to address
certain common problems with swimming pool poles. Overall, it has held up with continued
use, considering the amount of punishment it was subjected to. For the average home pool owner who is cleaning
his or her own pool once a week, the power pole would make for a good one-time
purchase because of its durability.
I have noticed even after 10 months, these poles are still not widely available
for purchase, I can only assume it is because of the extra cost (2 to 3 times
more) for these compared to budget swimming pool poles. These are definitely worth the cost for anyone looking for quality swimming pool pole.
