Topic

Pool Automation Guides

Good automation removes decisions. Bad automation adds a login.

7 guides on this topic

A still pool in a walled garden at dusk, an empty wooden lounger with a folded towel in the foreground and climbing greenery on the wall behind

MaintenanceGuide

Pool Care While You're Away

What actually goes wrong while you're gone, how to set the chlorine and the pump before you leave, and when a pool genuinely needs someone to visit.

5 minUpdated Sep 17, 2026

A gray outdoor electrical enclosure open on a post beside the equipment pad

EquipmentGuide

Pool Timers: How to Set One, and When Not to Use One at All

Setting a mechanical pool timer properly, what the fireman's switch does, what fails first, and why a variable-speed pump usually should not be on one.

6 minUpdated Sep 6, 2026

An automatic pool cover half-retracted across a rectangular pool

EquipmentGuide

Automatic Pool Covers: Cost, How They Work, and What Breaks

What automatic pool covers cost, how the tracks, ropes and drum work, what the makers' warranties cover, what wears out, and when one is a safety cover.

15 minUpdated Oct 4, 2026

A rectangular gray plastic actuator box sitting on top of a three-way diverter valve, bolted down over the valve stem

EquipmentGuide

Pool Valve Actuators: How They Work and How to Fix One

What a pool valve actuator does, how to set the travel and cams so it stops in the right place, and how to tell a dead actuator from a dead relay.

5 minUpdated Sep 5, 2026

A multiport valve head, its lever handle raised clear of the molded position collar beneath it

EquipmentGuide

Pool Valves: Multiport, Diverter, Ball and Check

What every valve on a pool does, which handle position means what, and the one move that destroys a multiport valve — plus how to spot one failing.

7 minUpdated Sep 13, 2026

A weatherproof equipment enclosure open on a wall beside the pad

EquipmentGuide

Pool Automation: What's Worth Wiring In

What pool automation actually controls, when it earns its cost, and the features that turn out to be a login you never use.

6 minUpdated May 8, 2026

A modern variable-speed pump photographed cleanly at the equipment pad

ReviewsBuying guide

Best Variable-Speed Pool Pumps in 2026

Real model numbers, real prices and the spec that actually decides which variable-speed pump you should buy. Hint: it isn't energy savings.

7 minUpdated Sep 24, 2026

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Maintenance Equipment Reviews