There are many different types of pools out there, however we are going to focus on one of the most popular one in the area, its the in-ground pool. Most in-ground pools work the same way. You have a pump, filter, heater, and sanitizer. Below we are going to break this down even further.
PUMP:
So the main purpose of a pump is to provide circulation of the water. This device is what sucks the water and pushes it back into the pool. For an in-ground pool you have two sources of water collection, the drain and the skimmer. For obvious reasons, the drain is located at the deepest part of the pool. It is usually is gravity fed and circulates at least 70% of the overall volume of the pool. Next we have the skimmer. The skimmer is located at the top of the pool and usually looks like an open hole in the tile line. some may have a flapping gate in the hole, this is called a weir gate. This gate is designed to prevents debris from going back into the pool when the pump is off. The purpose of the skimmer is exactly the way it sounds. It skims the surface of the water and circulates from 15% to 30% of the overall volume of the pool. Once the water is collected it is pushed to the next step, the filter.
FILTER:
So the main purpose of a filter is to remove small finite debris in the water. This includes: dirt, sand, hair, dead skin, and more stuff that would probably scare you if I provided full disclosure. There are three main types of filters found in our in-ground pools. You either have a sand filter, a cartridge filter, or a diatomaceous earth filter (AKA the DE Filter). The main difference between the three are the amount of microns they remove from the water. Microns being the measuring size of the debris. Each have their own method of cleaning and maintenance. After the water has been filtered it is pushed to the next step, the heater. If you are not one of the fortunate ones to own a heater, you can go straight to the step of sanitizer.
HEATER:
So the main purpose of a heater is to warm up the water. There are three main types of heating setups you may find in an in-ground pool. A gas heater, which uses either natural or propane gas. A heat-pump, which uses compressed Freon gas to heat up evaporative coils. And lastly a solar setup, which uses dark solar panels as a heat exchanger on top of the roof of your home. Each have their features and benefits, however we will not be going in detail in this tutorial. Once the water has been warmed up it is pushed to the next step, the sanitizer.
SANITIZER:
So the main purpose of a sanitizer is to disinfect the water from harmful foreign bodies like bacteria, germs, algae, and etc. There are many different types of sanitizers on the market today, however we are going to touch base on two of the most popular ones in the area. Starting with the traditional inline chlorine tablet holder. This sanitizer looks like a tower that is usually connected with the piping. It tends to hold about 5 to 6 tablets, depending on its model. This unit uses water erosion to dispense small amounts of chlorine into the pools return line. Next we a salt cell. Which is part of a set-up called a salt system. Without getting too technical in this tutorial, this device converts salt water into a sanitizing chlorine gas. This setup is highly efficient and is quite popular in Florida. After the water has been sanitized it is pushed back into the pool where the whole cycle starts from the beginning again.