This has worked beautifully for us so far. One user mentioned cutting a small piece of screen wired to keep the small ports on the bottom of the pump from clogging. My wife had a great idea to use a mesh bag that onions/vegetables come in. The mesh is as small or smaller than screen wire and you just slip the base in the bag, seal the end with a twist tie and click the pump into place on top of it. This has kept all of the small debris from clogging the base of the pump & is very easy to rinse off the bag. Since the mesh is some kind of plastic it should last all year & maybe longer.

OK, I've had this maintenance-free pool cover pump for three full winters of snow, ice, and sub-zero temps. I had to write this review after three and half years of ownership since it has been and is still running like a champ. Unlike many of my other prior "better" pool pumps (including Rule) which fail unexpectedly after the first season either due to the automatic water sensing or actual pumping mechanisms, this Wayne pump still only pumps when required and is able to pump large volumes of water on demand to keep my pool cover in good shape over the winter and through the spring time rains before I open my pool the first week of June. The price was reasonable and well-worth it. This Wayne pump is highly recommended by someone who appreciates reliability and performance.

I'm pleasantly surprised how well and quickly it drains my cover. I have a 30x15' above ground. When 1' of water accumulated, which prompted this purchase, it took care of the volume in minutes. Even with leaves and twigs, it cleared the water with no issues. Every drop gone. Bone dry. That helped me clear the leaves off. The long cord helps too.

Only reason I don't give it 5 stars, and probably not a good reason, is because with it's weight sometimes it tips over while I try to get it to the middle of the pool. But it's certainly not a deal breaker and my personal scenario. But something to be aware of if you don't have a sturdy cover or don't tie it down securely.

I regret this. It has two serious flaws: it does not turn on until there's well over 2 inches of water, which leaves water sitting on my pool cover (which is a safety issue) and it truly does stop working with the tiniest bit of pollen (picture) attached, which requires pulling it out, disassembling it and cleaning out a tiny hole on the inside. They've posted a video on how to clean the hole. If you need a video (and the customer svc. agent knew right away about the problem), then you need to fix the underlying problem. I've spent all morning in the freezing snow trying to get it to work and cleaning out the hole for a microscopic piece of pollen while my cover is sagging! And it stopped working again immediately. So you can't leave this unattended and hope it will come on. I used to fight with my Rule, but I always got it working for years.

I bought this water pump for my in-ground pool back in late October, and I've had problems with it ever since. When it started getting cold here, I had problems with the pump not pumping the water out off the top of the pool cover. I thought the problem might be the hose attached to it being frozen. So, I went out and bought a much shorter (6-foot) segment of hose at HD, but that apparently hasn't solved the problem. When I take the hose off, the pump seems to work fine, but the minute I put on the hose, even the short one, it doesn't pump the water out. Now, it seems to turn on and off repeatedly every few seconds trying to pump the water out, to no avail. So, now, I've given up trying to figure out what's wrong, but the deadline to return it for another one (which I hope would work fine) has past and I am stuck with an expensive piece of equipment that doesn't seem to operate as it should. Very disappointed, and cannot recommend to anyone else.