Pools Shop Editorial Team

A filter pressure gauge measures how much resistance the water is meeting as it pushes through the filter media. A rising number means the filter is catching debris and getting harder to push water through. A low or zero reading usually means low flow, a closed valve, or a pump problem, not a clean filter. … Read more

Pool heaters take so long because they’re raising the temperature of thousands of gallons of water while that same water is constantly losing heat to the air, the ground and evaporation. A heater adds warmth gradually; the pool loses it just as steadily, so the net gain each hour is small. How much water is … Read more

A solar cover is a lightweight plastic sheet, usually covered in small air-filled bubbles, that floats directly on a pool’s surface. It works by trapping heat from sunlight and slowing evaporation, which is the main way a pool loses both warmth and water. It is a heat-retention tool, not a safety barrier. What exactly is … Read more

A gas heater burns propane or natural gas to heat pool water quickly, in almost any weather, but costs more to run per hour. A heat pump uses electricity to move existing warmth from the outside air into the water, which is cheaper to run but slower and less effective in cold air. Neither is … Read more

A pool heater adds cost mainly through the energy it burns or draws to replace heat that constantly escapes the water. The size of that add-on depends on fuel type, target temperature, how exposed the pool is, and how many hours the heater actually runs — not on the heater itself. How much does a … Read more

A failing pool pump usually announces itself before it quits outright: louder or grinding noise, weaker return flow, water pooling under the housing, a burning smell, or a breaker that keeps tripping. Catching these early prevents a bigger repair and keeps the pool circulating properly in the meantime. What does a pool pump actually do, … Read more

Pump head — more precisely “total dynamic head” — is the amount of resistance a pool pump has to overcome to push water through the plumbing, filter, heater and back into the pool. It’s measured as a height of water rather than a pressure number, and it matters because a pump has to be matched … Read more

Why Is a Pool Pump the Biggest Energy User in Most Pools? A pool pump usually runs for hours every single day, moving the entire volume of the pool through the filter, while most other pool equipment switches on briefly or only in season. That combination of long runtime and constant motor load is what … Read more

A variable speed pump is a pool pump with a motor that can run at different speeds instead of just one fixed speed. It lets an owner run slow, quiet, low-flow cycles for everyday circulation and only speed up when more flow is actually needed. That flexibility is why it replaced single-speed pumps as the … Read more