Intex Ultra XTR Frame 18 ft x 52 in Round

The 26329EH is Intex's 18-foot Ultra XTR Frame pool sold as a set: an 18-foot round pool with a 52-inch wall, a galvanized steel frame, a 12-inch sand filter pump, a ladder, a cover and a ground cloth. It holds 6,981 gallons, the figure Intex uses for a frame pool filled to 90%. Intex's own store lists it at $999.99.

What is in the box, and what is not

• The pool: a 3-ply liner, and 18 each of T-joints, vertical legs, leg caps and horizontal beams.
• The Krystal Clear sand filter pump, item 26645EG, with its hoses and fittings.
• A 52-inch ladder, item 28067, rated for one person at a time up to 300 lb.
• A pool cover and a ground cloth. Intex's manual is plain that the cover is not a safety cover.

Not in the box: the filter sand. Intex's pump manual lists the media as not included. This 12-inch pump takes 50 lb of No. 20 silica sand, with particles from 0.45 to 0.85 mm, or 35 lb of glass sand. Nor is there any pool chemistry, or glue for the patch kit.

Setting it up

Intex recommends a team of two or three people, and the pool itself needs no tools; the pump needs a Phillips screwdriver. Intex estimates 45 to 60 minutes to assemble the pool before the pump goes on.

The site matters more than the assembly. Intex's manual asks for ground that is absolutely flat and level, compacted and firm, and says not to set the pool on mud, sand, soft or loose soil, on a slope, or on a deck. Clear away St. Augustine and Bermuda grass first, because they can grow through the liner, and Intex does not treat that as a defect.

Leave room around it:

• At least 4 feet between the pool and anything a child could climb to get in.
• At least 6 feet between the pool and any outlet, and GFCI protection on every 125-volt outlet within 20 feet.
• No overhead power lines above it.

Intex's level check is to put in no more than an inch of water and watch it. If the water runs to one side, the pool is not level: drain it, level the ground or move the pool, and start again. Then smooth the floor wrinkles and fill to just below the sleeve line.

The pump's two flow ratings

Intex rates the pump twice: 2,100 gallons per hour at the pump, and 1,600 gph through the whole system, which it also gives as the turnover rate. Its motor is 0.3 HP, and Intex rates it for pools from 2,800 to 12,800 gallons.

For this pool, Intex's operating table sets the timer to 5 hours a cycle, and its manual says to run the pump no more than 12 hours a day. The timer runs 1 to 12 hours a cycle, repeating at the same time each day, or the pump can run continuously on "FP".

Day to day:

• Backwash when the pressure gauge reaches the yellow zone. Take any pool vacuum off the line first, since a cleaner on the system raises the pressure too.
• Rinse for about a minute after each backwash to settle the sand bed, then return the valve to Filter.
• Always switch the pump off before turning the 6-way valve, press the handle down to turn it, and never run the pump with the valve closed.
• Check weekly that the pool inlet and outlet are clear.
• Replace the sand about every five years, Intex says. Sand flowing back into the pool means it is too fine or has calcified.

Winter: two options

Intex's manual allows either. Not every Intex pool does: its Easy Set and Small Rectangular Metal Frame manuals say those pools must come down once it drops below 41°F. Closing an above-ground pool sets Intex's steps beside other makers'.

Leave it up. Filter and balance the water and leave it in the pool. Plug the fittings or close the plunger valves, remove the ladder and hoses, add winter chemicals, and cover it with an air pillow in the middle to take the ice expansion and snow load. Intex says this saves water, reduces the risk of liner damage from taking it down, and helps prevent ice damage. The liner stiffens below 32°F, and Intex says never to strike it.

Take it down. Drain it through the drain connector with a garden hose, taking it well away from the house, dry every part completely, dust the liner with talcum powder and fold it, and store it between 32°F and 104°F where it cannot collect water.

Either way, the pump comes indoors. Drain the tank, dry the parts, coat the O-rings and washers with petroleum jelly, park the 6-way valve on its inactive setting, and store the motor unwrapped between 32°F and 104°F. Intex says letting water freeze in the sand filter damages it and voids the warranty, and the pool's warranty excludes freeze damage too.

The 2025 compression strap recall

In July 2025 the CPSC announced recall 25-393, covering above-ground pools 48 inches and taller whose compression strap runs around the outside of the vertical legs, where it can give a child a foothold into the pool. Intex's recall page limits its share to:

• 48- and 52-inch Metal Frame and Ultra Frame pools sold before 2013.
• 48-inch Prism Frame and Ultra XTR Frame pools sold online by Intex in 2024 and 2025, at Walmart from February 15 to March 11, 2025, and in 2026 through certain liquidation stores in Texas and West Virginia or on eBay.

This set is a 52-inch Ultra XTR pool, which is not on that list, and Intex says pools 48 inches and taller sold after 2013 with straps running inside the legs are not included. Intex's "Identify Your Model" check on its recall page, listed with this page's documents, confirms a pool by model number, and its recall line is 1-800-549-8829.

Where Intex's documents disagree, or are unclear

• Cartridges in a sand filter set. The Ultra XTR pool manual, which covers every size, tells owners to replace filter cartridges every two weeks and to discard the old cartridge when winterizing. This set has no cartridge; the sand filter pump manual is the one to follow.
• Two flow ratings, one maximum. The set's listing gives the pump as 2,100 gph. The pump manual's specification table gives model SF80110-2 a maximum flow rate of 1,600 gph, the same figure the pump's own page calls system flow and turnover.
• The pump's certified model. The pump's own page does not name one. The pump manual's SF80110-2 is the model that matches it: the 12-inch tank's 50 lb sand charge, 1,600 gph, and the same part numbers Intex's parts store sells for 12-inch sand filter pumps.
• Timer range. The pump's page describes 2 to 12 hour preset cycles; the manual's timer steps from 1 to 12 hours.
• Assembly time. The set's listing says "ready for water in 60 minutes". The manual's 45 to 60 minutes covers the pool unit only, and the pump is set up after it.
• Leaving it up over winter. Intex's manual offers winterizing in place as the option that helps prevent ice damage, while the same pool's warranty excludes damage from freezing.