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Your swimming pool has more than one line of defense against leaves, bugs, and other debris.
After water is drawn from the pool through the skimmers, it travels to the equipment pad and enters the front of the pool pump. Before that water reaches the pump itself, it passes through a pump basket designed to collect additional debris and help protect the pump impeller.
In this Sonco Pools & Spas training video, we follow the water from the skimmers to the pump and demonstrate how to properly shut down the system, remove and clean the pump basket, and restart the pool equipment.
The swimming pool demonstrated in the video has two skimmers: one at the deep end and one at the shallow end.
At the equipment pad, each skimmer line is labeled and controlled by a valve. With both valves in the open position, water is being drawn from the swimming pool and into the front of the pump.
Before entering the pump itself, the water passes through the pump basket.
The pump basket provides another layer of protection for the swimming pool pump.
While the skimmer baskets have already collected debris at the pool, the pump basket acts as a second basket for material that makes it through the system.
Its purpose is to catch debris before that material becomes clogged in the pump impeller.
In the training video, the basket has collected both bugs and plastic material that otherwise could have traveled farther into the pump.
The video also demonstrates an important difference between the two sides of the pool pump.
Water entering the front of the pump is on the suction side.
Once that water passes through the pump, the pump boosts the pressure and sends the water toward the swimming pool filter. This is the pressure side.
The system shown in the video uses a cartridge filter. Water is forced through the cartridge filter by the pressure generated by the pool pump.
The first step demonstrated in the video is shutting the pool system off using the app. Wait until the pump has completely stopped before proceeding.
On this particular swimming pool, the valves for the deep-end and shallow-end skimmers are then turned off.
Not every pool will have these valves. As explained in the video, a swimming pool with only one skimmer may not have valves in front of the pump.
On this system, closing the valves helps hold water at the equipment pad rather than allowing it to flow back toward the swimming pool when the pump basket is opened.
This is a best practice for helping prevent the system from losing its prime.
Turn the pump lid to open it.
If the lid is tight, the video demonstrates giving it a few light bumps with the heel of your hand. A piece of wood may also be used to help loosen it.
Once the lid has been removed, the pump basket is exposed.
Pull the pump basket straight out.
Remove the accumulated material from the basket. The basket can be hosed out and cleaned before being placed back into the pump.
Remember that this debris is exactly what the basket is designed to catch before it can enter the pump itself.
The pump basket provides a second point for collecting debris after water leaves the swimming pool skimmers. It helps prevent material such as bugs and plastic debris from becoming caught in the pool pump impeller.
The pump basket is located at the front of the swimming pool pump. Water drawn from the pool through the skimmers passes through this basket before moving through the pump.
The suction side draws water from the swimming pool into the front of the pump. After water passes through the pump, the pump boosts the pressure and sends the water toward the filter on the pressure side.
First, shut the swimming pool system off and wait for the pump to stop. On the system demonstrated in the video, the skimmer valves in front of the pump are also closed before the pump basket is opened.
Closing the valves helps hold water at the equipment system rather than allowing it to flow back toward the swimming pool when the pump basket is opened. This helps prevent the system from losing its prime.
No. The training video explains that some pools may not have valves in front of the pump, particularly systems with only one skimmer. The demonstrated pool has valves because it has two skimmers.
After shutting down the system and opening the pump basket housing, pull the basket out and remove the collected debris. The basket can then be hosed out and cleaned before being returned to the pump.
Before reinstalling the pump lid, make sure the O-ring is properly seated. The O-ring should normally remain in place, but its position should be checked before the pump is closed and restarted.
Yes. After restarting the pump and reopening the skimmer valves, it can take a couple of minutes for air to work through the system and for the pump to regain a full prime. Some visible bubbles during this process aren’t uncommon.
The pressure gauge provides information about pressure inside the filter tank. As the cartridge filter becomes dirty, the pressure rises, helping indicate when the filter cartridges need to be cleaned.