Superior Pump 91250 1800GPH Thermoplastic Submersible Utility Pump with 10-Foot Cord, 1/4 HP

FANTASTIC, FANTASTIC, MONEY-SAVING DEVICE!!! I had a pool service bank on the fact that my husband and I were super busy, and scam the heck out of us! By the time we realized that they weren't doing anything for their money, our 15,000+ gallon pool looked like a terarium (you know, with the green plants growing from the bottom)!!! Even though we just had the pool drained and acid washed this past January, you couldn't tell by the green sludge on every surface. My husband went to the local AZ pool store, and they sold him $200 worth of chemicals. But, I happened to be talking to an excellent car repairman (which used to be a pool repairman) that said "DON'T DO IT! YOU WILL JUST PUT ALL OF THAT ALGAE THROUGH YOUR DE FILTER!!!" So, I decided to look for a pump and get some skin in the game. I found this great little pump on Amazon and was very excited. See, it cost me $500 to have my pool emptied and acid washed 10 months ago. And, the local Home D rents a pump to do this job for the same price!I watched the videos of this GREAT LITTLE PUMP and used the idea to cover it with a filter sock. That seemed like a great idea because I was worried that my SUPREME ALGAE would clog the pump. I also put it into the pool net (as shown in the video) because I was going to empty a very large pool. And, while it is only a playpool in AZ (meaning it is an in-ground pebble-tek pool that is just 6' deep at the deep end), I am too old to dive in to get the pump out of the cold water (yes, pool water gets cold in AZ, too)! So, the net allowed me to pull the pump up using the metal pole. Here are some tips that helped:1) A regular garden hose will screw right on! I started to buy a one-way valve, but after reading, realized I just didn't need it. I just needed a hose that was long enough to reach from the bottom of the pool to my sewer return.2) Just like the manufacturer says, the pump needs water in order to keep it cool. So, if your pool runs dry, it will overheat. But, we caught it pretty quickly all three times it occurred (I have an in-ground spa that waterfalls into the pool that needed to be drained separately). We just let it rest, turned it back on and it started right away!3) The pump really does drain down to an 1/8 inch. But, it is bottom heavy. Once the water level got very low, I had to find a way to allow it to be flat. In an in-ground pool, the sides gently slope to the bottom without getting out my magic carpet!4) There is absolutely no sound when the pump is under water. We could tell it was sucking by the hose pressure.5) The pump itself is tiny and light (see the details). I was super surprised how easy this was to use!6) It took approximately 4 days and nights to drain all 15,000+ gallons of our pool. I got skittish as we were close to done, and would stop and start to avoid overheating.7) The water pressure is good, but probably not enough to run a sprinker (as the guy in the video says). Now, keep in mind, I was pumping about 70 feet from the bottom of my pool to my sewer return in the front of our house. His is A LOT closer.In the end, I completely emptied my pool, picked up the disgusting algae wet (we actually used a broom and dust pan to pick it up while wet---just imagine the smell of a lagoon coming from your own backyard). Then, once the pool was empty, used the same broom to brush the Pebble surface to knock off the algae.I want to use CLR to get some of the calcium off of the surface where the tile is, but am only a WEEKEND MAMA WARRIOR, so it is a slow process. But, it would likely have cost me 10X the cost of this FANTASTIC LITTLE PUMP if I hadn't found this great tool! BTW- I took off the one filter sock, threw it away, put the little pump back in the box, and put it on a top shelf in the garage for whenever I need it again. Just in case you are wonder, I am waiting to use the chemicals (which are now in the garage) to balance the pool once I fill it again. :)

Hard to write about a product that has few features(good for me), works, and does so without fuss. However..The backstory:I am deluged each year by Noachian floods. I need basement pumps. The annual spring flood is a rite here by the Merrimack river. I have only had this pump 1.5 mos. In that time it has seen continuous duty for more than half of that time. This year we had many inches of rain(so far) coupled to the winter snow melt. Flooding has been widespread and well above an average year.The usage:When I get a new pump I always dispense with the garden hose fitting and replace it with a 1.25" hose barb fitting. I do this in anticipation of the spring flood. This allows the pumps to remove vastly larger amounts of water at the cost of needing much more tending as they can run my sump well dry. The primary reason for this review is so that homeowners that use these pumps in a like manner get a long service life from them.The pump may or may not have thermal protection, but the savvy user will never run into thermal overload because the savvy user will not allow the pump to draw in only air for any appreciable length of time. If one has a recessed sump pit/well, then I would strongly advise something like the Superior 92250 which has a tethered level switch. See: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IJR5F6/ref=psdc_680335011_t1_B000X05G1AThere are also switched options for homeowners without a sump pit. The only reason I am using this pump in my sump pit is that I have so much water entry that my much larger and more expensive 1/3 hp true sump pump with level switch is ofttimes overwhelmed and it switches maniacally due to the fact that it empties the sump well far faster than water can drain into it.Enough with the cautionary tales.The pump has been working with zero issues for ~540 hours. That is a lot of use in a short span. It has kept my basement floor free of standing water. That's more than I should ask of a small, inexpensive pump. I am very pleased, and I am not easily pleased with these devices. I think that anyone that really assesses their needs and buys this pump knowing the pump's potential limitation of no thermal protection will be very well pleased.Shorter review: It's a fine pump that works even when asked to do real workhorse duty at an inexpensive price.. An easy recommendation.