pump for cover

[b2001]

Heaviness is not an issue. That's what I do, throw it on the cover into the water - it weighs, at most, 10 pounds. Considerably less than the weight of water after a heavy storm - which is my main weight concern - although the water underneath the cover supports that weight.

I have an 16' x 36' ag pool. My cover is secured by a tightened wire going around and under the top rails. I also use clips as a supplement, but I wouldn't trust them as the only means to secure the cover. This, plus the water underneath the cover is more than enough to support the pump.

I have a couple of 3' x 16' or so pillows going across the width of the pool in the middle to reduce the size of the potential ocean that might be created after heavy rain - I end up with two smaller moats instead. It might take, it seems, 4 to 6 hours to drain them both if they are swollen. I always leave some water on top of the cover, the wind has blown our cover off before.

Hope this helps ...

[chem geek]

For my pool I use a Rule 1800 pump that automatically checks for water every few minutes (it spins for a couple of seconds and if there is resistence consistent with water, then it stays on until the resistence and water are gone). Though the claim is for 1800 Gallons-Per-Hour (30 Gallons-Per-Minute), I have measured closer to 390 GPH (6.5 GPM) after a hose is attached and is higher than the pump by a few feet. Nevertheless, this seems to be enough to keep up with a normal rain. An extremely heavy rain will overwhelm it, but generally we never get that for more than a few minutes at a time. The pool surface area it attempts to clear out is 16' x 32' so the effective 390 GPH is equivalent to 1.2" per hour of rain.

For an eBay bid, see this link. For a discounted store purchase see this link. For features and benefits of this particular pump, see this link.

It looks like this is a more expensive pump than some others on the market, but it's what I have and I'm happy with it. The "extension" that I have that lets the pool pump stay flat on the cover and keeps out leaves is different than what is offered today (in the store link above), but this newer blue cage looks better as mine seems to get clogged a little too easily (the pump unsnaps from the extension which has a wire screen filter in it).

Richard

[jmcst25]

I use the Rule 1800 - it's nice - you plug it in run the hose to the down spout and forget about it. It has something to protect it from freezing and the base keeps the leaves out. My 3rd year and no problems.

[Sean-NJ]

Thanks for all of the info!! Thats why I love this forum.