Swimming Pool Pumps

The pump, which is the heart of the circulation system, pulls water from the skimmer and main drains and then pushes it to filter and the heater and any other designated areas.

Pools require centrifugal pumps to keep the water moving through the system. The water first flows into a strainer basket that catches any large debris such as leaves or grass clippings. The basket should remove anything that might clog or damage the pump. The heart of the pump is the impeller, which is a circular disk with raised vanes that spins to create centrifugal force. The spinning of the impeller, along with the design of the chamber, called the volute, that houses the impeller, creates the pulling or sucking action of the pump. From volute, the impeller directs the water up through the top of the pump housing to an effluent line and on to the pool’s filter.

There are single-speed and two-speed pumps. Two-speed pumps are becoming more popular because their motors run at a low speed – about 1,750 revolutions per minute (rpm) – for routine pumping but then increase to high speed – about 3,450 rpm – when a lot of people are using the pool at the same time. Most spas have two-speed pumps. The lower speed pulls the water through the filtration system, and the higher speed operates the jets.