Pool liners made by Doughboy (HII) are 100% Premium above ground pool liners which are heavier than many in-ground liners sold today. Doughboy (HII) liners are measured in mil, a true measurement. Don't be
confused by the liner gauge "games" played with most commodity liners.
Some will call their liner 20 gauge when they only measure 10 mil.
Why buy a Doughboy (HII) above ground pool liner instead of a low-cost commodity liner?
- 40%-80% heavier in both weight and thickness
- Same weight and thickness on both the sidewall and the bottom
- Made of a heavier vinyl material and will last 50%-90% longer
- Protect the sidewall and bottom of the liner from tears, rips, punctures and holes
- With higher levels of plasticizer, will remain flexible
throughout the life of the liner, providing wrinkle-free installation
and minimizing UV fading
- Typically last 10-15 years
There are 3 major reasons to purchase a Doughboy (HII) pool liner over a low-cost commodity liner:
1. Liner Thickness
- Doughboy liners are typically 40%-80% heavier in both weight and thickness.
- Doughboy liners have the same weight and thickness on both the sidewall and the bottom. Commodity liners typically have thicker, heavier sidewall than bottoms. Commodity liner manufacturers do this to reduce the price of the liner, but only advertise the sidewall thickness which can be misleading.
- Doughboy liners are manufactured with heavier vinyl material and will last 50% to 90% longer than commodity liners.
- Doughboy liners protect the sidewall and bottom of the liner from tears, rips, punctures, and holes caused by foreign objects in the soil, objects on clothing, windblown objects, lawn care debris, and entry system (ladders & step) contact on the bottoms and sidewalls.
- The Truth About Liner Thickness
- Above ground pool liners are generally marketed and sold by a thickness standard called gauge. Gauge is not a set number but is a truly relative number and liner manufacturers that use this measurement are allowed to determine which gauge they want to use for stating their liners' thickness.
The truest measure of a pool liner is done using an international standard of mil thickness. This is an absolute fixed measuring system. Just like an inch is an inch, so to is a mil. Above ground pool liners because of the nature of the pools and their price generally do not have as thick a liner as an in ground pool. Therefore many of the above ground pool liner manufacturers started using gauge as a reference to their particular liners' thickness.
In the marketplace today there are really only two general gauges; standard gauge and heavy gauge. We offer pools with standard gauge and others with heavy gauge pool liners. Regardless of whether it's standard gauge or heavy gauge most above ground pool liners last anywhere between 8 and 15 years.
- Our liners are made by the leading industry liner manufacturer and come with a 100% Lifetime Warranty against seam separation.
- Our Standard Gauge is a more economical liner with acceptable thickness and wear considerations.
- Our Heavy Gauge liners are the thickest above ground pool liners on the market today surpassing our standards for thickness and wear.
- Our CaliMar brand above ground pools which are manufactured by the same company who makes Doughboy pool and liners. These are the only liners in the marketplace with a True 15, 20 miland25 milliner thickness. That's equivalent to an inground pool liner thickness. Liners on CaliMar above ground pools come with a100% Lifetime Warranty on seam separations, the most common failure point in liners.
2. Raw Material Make-Up
- There are 3 major ingredients in the chemical makeup of a vinyl liner:
- PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) is the main building block that goes into creating vinyl liners. PVC makes up 50%-60% of the total raw ingredients.
- Plasticizer (petroleum-based oil) is another key ingredient that makes up 35%-40% of the total raw ingredients. This ingredient determines the flexibility of the liner and increases its chemical resistance and life span.
- Inert Materials (calcium carbonate – a.k.a. clay) and Stabilizers make up 11%-30% of the total raw material ingredients.
- Doughboy liners have increased levels of plasticizer and low levels of calcium carbonate. Typically raw material plasticizer costs are 4-5 times more per pound than calcium carbonate. Doughboy liners, with increased levels of plasticizer, will remain flexible during the life of the liner providing a wrinkle-free installation and minimizing UV fading. Commodity liners use a lower level of plasticizer (to save money) therefore compromising the quality of the liner.
3. Liner Life Span:
- When comparing the purchase of Doughboy liners to commodity liners (calculated over the life span of the liner), Doughboy liners usually last 10-15 years. Commodity liners typically last 2-5 years. Both incur the same cost for installation, water and labor.
