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Yes, a swimming pool has parts, and if you’re thinking about buying a pool, you should get to know its parts because chances are, you will spend some time maintaining them. What follows is a glossary to help you become familiar with the parts of a pool.
Air Release Valve – The air release valve is located on top of your filter or separation tank, and it allows you to manually release air from the system. Releasing excess air reduces the risk of having swimming pool parts fly all over your backyard – too much air pressure can cause the filter or separation tank to explode. Automatic Pool Cleaner – An automatic pool cleaner is one of those swimming pool parts you may come to love as it will significantly reduce the time you spend on weekly maintenance of your pool. Chlorinator – This swimming pool part automatically releases small amounts of chlorine into the pool to keep the water disinfected. Some pools use bromine compounds instead of chlorine to disinfect them. Never mix the two as the combination is explosive. Filter – A filter cleans the pool by straining dirt, oils, and other larger compounds out of the pool water. A filter may use diatomaceous earth (DE), mesh or sand as its filtering agent. Grates – As far as safety is concerned, grates may be the most important swimming pool parts you have. Grates, also known as anti-vortex covers, are installed with screws over the pool’s main drain and prevent swimmers from getting stuck to the bottom and drowning. Each grate must be certified to be of anti-entrapment and anti-hair entanglement design, and it must be rated for the flow of water it can handle. Operating a pool without anti-vortex covers is extremely dangerous. Heater – A heater raises the temperature of your pool and maintains it at whatever temperature your desire. Typically, heaters have automatic thermostat controls, possibly running on timers. Light Niche – A light niche is the recess in the side of the pool that holds the underwater light. Main Circulating Pump – This swimming pool part is the heart of your pool’s circulatory system. It pulls water from the pool and pumps it through the filter, heater and chlorinator and then back into the pool. When the pump is working properly, there will be a strong suction at the suction outlet. Main Drain – The main drain includes the fitting on the bottom of the pool and the inlet pipe for the main circulating pump that it covers. All in-ground pools should have more than one main drain; above-ground pools usually only have one because they use the skimmer as a suction outlet. The suction at the main drain is powerful enough to pull swimmers to the bottom of the pool and hold them there, which is why each drain must be covered with a certified grate or an anti-vortex cover. The main drain is probably the most dangerous of swimming pool parts, and swimmers should exercise caution around it. Separation Tank – A separation tank is used with a DE filter. During the backwash cycle it collects backwashed DE and debris, allowing clean water to return to the pool. Skimmer – The skimmer is a basket set into the deck of the pool that collects large debris such as leaves from the surface of the pool and channels water into the pool pump. There is an opening in the side of the pool allowing water to get to the skimmer and water and debris is pulled into it because the skimmer is connected to the main circulating pump suction pipe. The skimmer has a removable cover in the deck of the pool so that it can be emptied. Suction Outlet – Any fitting that allows water to flow back into the pool from the main circulating pump. |
Equipment for Upkeep 
