Mikey

Thanks, i was thinking of getting a fully automatic robot but the hayward is a much cheaper option. I'm fed up hoovering the bottom all the time plus i have to put a stocking over the pre filter on the skimmer cos if i don't most of what i've hoovered comes back into the pool through the jets. I have a cartridge filter.   Many thanks. 

To conclude, until this is tested in the courts and precedent set all we have are differing opinions as to the real meaning of the law. I'll agree with that. All i was doing was informing about what the programe said. hopefully the programe will do more research and post the results on their site. didn't mean to frighten you with the big scary red letters, thats how they were on capitals site. Now changing the subject, can anyone recommend a good fully automatic pool cleaner please.    

just to add. "We have not tested our alarm to the AFNOR Standard, and we have no plans to do so. Our alarms have been given the notified body number of CE 0359 for CE compliance in all of Europe and meet the ASTM International standard for pool alarms. Ben Stoner, V.P. of Sales Poolguard/PBM Industries, Inc. P.O. Box 658 North Vernon, IN 47265 ph. 800-242-7163 fax 812-346-2650 "   If everyone was forced to buy only NF products and risk being fined for having a product with a CE cert then that would be illegal, bit like the beef ban. My pump doesn't have an NF cert but it has a CE one. ooops my bad. am i breaking the law. NO   I've just been on the phone to JR int and they confirmed what Capital said. So if capital is right then thats going to hit all those dodgy salesman and companies profiting on the whole NF thing. what is the point in having a CE cert if we can't buy CE cert products or risked being fined for doing so. at the end of the day i don't really care if capital is right or wrong, i bought my aquawinddetector last year and conform to the NF. I'm really getting worried now, I just realised most of the electrical products in my house only have a CE stamp, even my laptop only has a CE stamp.

Un des moyens pour les propriétaires de s'assurer que les matériels, qu'ils vont vouloir acquérir ou faire installer, respectent ces exigences est de vérifier qu'ils sont conformes aux normes homologuées : les dispositifs conformes à ces normes sont présumés satisfaire ces exigences. Le fabricant de ce dispositif assume la conformité du produit qu'il commercialise. La conformité aux normes AFNOR est un des moyens, mais pas le seul, de satisfaire ces exigences. Parmi les autres moyens, existent notamment les normes, spécifications techniques ou procédés de fabrication en vigueur dans les pays membres de la Communauté européenne ou partie à l’accord sur l’Espace économique européen, qui assurent un niveau de sécurité équivalent. Alors quelles sont les exigences ? Elles sont ecrites dans le decret du 7 juin 2004 : les alarmes doivent être réalisées, construites ou installées de manière que toutes les commandes d’activation et de désactivation ne doivent pas pouvoir être utilisées par des enfants de moins de cinq ans. Les systèmes de détection doivent pouvoir détecter tout franchissement par un enfant de moins de cinq ans et déclencher un dispositif d’alerte constitué d’une sirène. Ils ne doivent pas se déclencher de façon intempestive.   salut je suis la personne du reportage avec l'alarme américaine . je viens de laisser un post "témoignage pozzi" . j'hallucine de voir que certains continuent à propager de fausses infos et entretenir la peur chez le client potentiel qui pourrait vite se transformer en pigeon !!!!! Tout ça sent très fort l'intox après l'arnaque à 400 € de marge !!!!! La loi lisez la !! interrogez des juristes, un avocat, faites donc les recherches que j'ai faites .... NF = recommandation mais pas OBLIGATION !!!!  sorry to rain on YOUR parade richard. If you are interested there is a debate on this on capitals forum.which is where i got the info above. From my experience with an afnor approved product ie aquasensor, its probly the worlds most expensive wind and rain detector.  

I just copied this from a French company that sells the poolguard. NOTA : Je me suis entretenu un long moment avec le fabriquant américain de la POOLGUARD qui m'a informé qu'il n'envisageait pas de faire tester la POOLGUARD par un laboratoire français. Il a confirmé que la POOLGUARD version Europe que nous commercialisons est conforme aux normes européennes. Par contre la POOLGUARD version américaine en 110V n'est pas conforme. Fréquence et alimentation de la POOLGUARD version US non agrée pour l'Europe. Par contre la POOLGUARD version Europe est conforme aux normes françaises. Nous refusons de vendre des alarmes POOLGUARD version américaine sur le sol européen car les compagnies d'assurances pourraient classer ce produit 110V comme non conforme. - La POOLGUARD est une alarme déjà conforme à toutes les normes américaines. CE UL ASTM ETL - La POOLGUARD est une alarme déjà conforme à la norme ASTM-F 2208-02 pour les alarmes de piscines. - La POOLGUARD est déjà agrée par le CPSC = RAPPORT COMMISSION SECURITE PISCINES U.S.A HOMOLOGATION USA CERTIFICAT AGREEMENT - On connaît la sévérité et le sérieux des agréments américain et en particulier sur tout ce qui touche à la sécurité ! - Les modifications que l'AFNOR exige ne sont pas nécessaires d'après le fabriquant et qu'en plus cela n'augmenterait pas le niveau de sécurité de la POOLGUARD ! - Conçue et fabriquée par le plus grand fabricant mondial d'alarmes de piscines, elle bénéficie de 20 ans de recherches, de tests et d'innovations technologiques qui en font l'une des plus sûres et plus fiables. Ce système de sécurité est homologué CE !

If that is the case then I imagine M6 legal department will be very busy in the future defending their claims in court. I doubt before making such claims they would not have researched the subject. My opinion of the Aquasensor alarms is not very high. I also cannot see how they can conform as they are so unreliable. The high cost of getting AFNOR certs isn't an issue, its an investment anyone would have to make with any product and shouldn't play a part in the HIGH price of Aquasensors wind detector. If having an NF cert is so important then every product sold in France should have one to guarantee our safety and reliability of the product, but they don't. I do believe what M6 said and that if an alarm meets the criteria then it conform to the law.  Last year i had an electronics salesman staying in one of our gites and I showed him the inside of the alarm and told him its cost. He doubted very much if the components inside costed more than £50. As the guy said on the program this law has made some people millionaires. I will be buying a poolguard, the model made for the European market, i will also be getting a safety cover, a non conforming one, my pool is already fenced, non conforming. Just to add the poolguard is CE approved, so i really can't see what the problem is.  

 I take it, it is some of you gite owners who like the idea of strict regulations for their clientele. Yes, I'm a control freak, i insist all our guests return after a day out by 6pm. and that they have eaten and are in bed by no later than 10pm i also insist that when playing boule our guests cover the boules in foam as to not make a noise. As a mere client, I would be very annoyed if I couldn't use the facilities I had paid extra for when I wanted. A clue here, I would pay extra for a pool, even a shared one. nobody has ever complained about the times we have set and i doubt anyone will.  

I'm only repeating what it said on the TV programe, it showed a couple who had bought their alarm from USA via internet cos they couldn't afford the rip off prices here. The TV presenter quoted the law saying as long as the alarm fitted the criteria of NF 90 whatever it is you conform. If anyone wants to know more then maybe contact M6 and ask them about last weeks  programe Capital 

we have a pool shared between 4 gites, we tell the guests the opening times are 10am until 9pm thats way people that put their kids to bed early don't get disterbed and those that want a lay yin the morning don't get disterbed either. and it gives me plenty of time to hoover the pool. i dream of getting an auto cleaner 

Did anyone see the programe Capital on M6.  From what i understood we do not have to buy those Aqua,i go off in the rain alarms at all. As long as you have an alarm that meets the chriteria set out in NF 90 whatever then you conform. the alarm doesn't have to have an NF certificate.  So all the scare mongering that made gite owner buy alarms last yr made Aquasensor a fortune. so anyone needing an alarm can buy what is probly the best pool alarm in the world from the US for around £160 + delivery and get an alarm that actually works. But you must make sure it is the european model. It conforms but doesn't have a certificate. But you are still conforming. Thats what the programe said. I'll be getting one then driving my tractor over the Aquasensor and sending it back in pieces

There's nothing fishy about it, maybe I was premature in mentioning it as the site may not be fully fuctional as yet. But at the end of the day free advertising can't be sniffed at. Maybe if anyone has any questions regarding the site could post on here as I know Robert reads these forums  Is the dark brown goat still very shy? I'll pop by one day to see how they are.

Ask the guy thats set up the site, I'm just the messanger.   by the way, how are the goats doing

Hi, for anyone with gites in Brittany you can advertise them on http://www.bonjourlafrance.co.uk/   for free should anyone be interested. Its a good site, you can update your own page yourself,again free. Ps I have nothing to do with the site other than I've got an add on there. Mike 

I remember from a news article in 1998 that year 85000 French landlords took their tenants to court for eviction due to none payment of rent, 5000 succeeded in evicting their tenants.  

Also meassage in your forum email account

Hi we have a beautiful gites available for this period with heated pool. We are about 34 mins drive from St Malo and about 15 mins from Dinan.   Mike  

I know, all I was saying is that in my case didn't need planning permission, so imagine would be the same for part sunken pool. As for the tax you don't pay it on  above ground pools because they are tempory, part sunken I would have thought is hardly tempory, so would probly be taxable. I filled in my declaration Aug 2003 and it was only 2 weeks ago I got anything back from tax office about it. 

my pool is fully sunken and we didn't planning permision, all we had to do was fill in a declaration de travaux, that was it. best thing to do is ask at mairie, if they are not sure they will phone a man who is.   mike

Boiling Frog,(Everyone who has booked so far has asked if it is part of a gite complex  because they do not want to be sharing a pool of 10mtrs by 5 mtrs with other families.) those comments are true but also many families want to go to complexes for the opposite reason, company for their kids, many families that use our gites end up arranging to meet the other guests at the beach to spend the day together and then all BBQ together in the evenings. we have an 11x5 pool shared between 18-20 people, I know of a place that has a pool the same size but larger gites shared between 50, i think thats a bit too much. for anyone wanting to do gites these days i'd tell them not to bother, or find an up a running place in a good location.   

I second that, briggs and stratton are very good motors. i used a 12.5HP on my 7 acres for 5yrs until i bought a proper tractor. i also used it for towing a very heavy trailor. the mower now is falling apart but the motor still works as good as new, and i really abused it.    

What's the French for "mini sewage plant"?  mini station d'epuration What's a mini-sewage plant anyway? I've heard it mentioned but, whilst I understand what a septic tank is, I haven't the foggiest about a mini-sewage plant. the liquid that comes out of it is drinkable, not that i've tried it. one of the best things is you do not need a soakaway, what comes out can go directly into a ditch or river/stream as does ours. the liquid coming out  is so i've been told cleaner than the water in the stream. so you can say a mini sewage plant is a treatment plant. What's the practical differences between a septic tank and a sewage plant? answered above. Are those prices you're quoting right??? Even if the currency is euro, they seem way too low. Certainly the size of your place seems comparable to ours so I'm guessing that the plant wouldn't be drastically different in size. We even have a man with a digger next door who'd jump at the chance to do it free as it would get both of us out of a mess (and a smelly one at that!). yes the price is correct, thats what we paid in 1999, our gites can take 20+ plus there is us 3 the unit needs to be plugged in for electrics to run the 90 watt motor. if you look at http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smpi/station%20epuration.htm   the guy standing in the 4 unit station is the guy that supplied ours, Alain Pasco, the one at the top of the page looking down onto is ours

mascamp.com  if you reckon it will be 30.000euro cos you need a big one if i were you i'd get a mini sewage plant, much cheaper. we have 4 gites and the main house, when we bought the place there were already 3 septic tanks for the gites and nothing for the main house. when we started looking at putting in a tank for the main house we were lucky in having  french guy in one of the gites that has a freind thats a biologist working for a local firm selling slurry treatment stuff and they also sold mini sewage plants. he got the guy to come and see us and he told us about the changes in 2005 and recomended we got a sewage plant instead and join all the gites onto it an our current septic tanks would not conform as they were badly installed, no filters and no proper soakaway. so we got a sewage plant for 2700Ff and it cost 500Ff for man with digger. i've joint all the gites onto it and saved a fortune, so i would suggest you look into it. mike

Turners, when you are ready to have your site made try contacting http://www.ellipsedesign.co.uk They are making mine and I'm very happy with their service. I've found them to be very helpful and their advice invaluable.   mike    

I have an English friend in Brittany thats a signwriter. you can call Brian on 0299452298

try the local  hotel de police,