Litres per hour at zero metres, and what is left at eight
A pool pump is sold on one number and works on two. The flow rate — 6 000, 15 000, 19 200, 28 800 litres per hour on this shelf — is measured at zero head, which is to say with the outlet at the same level as the water and no filter attached. The number that describes the pump as installed is the maximum head in metres, and the two together draw the curve every pump actually follows: Steinbach publishes "Q = 158 l/min, max. Pumphöhe 10 m" and that pair is worth more than either figure alone. A pump fed through a sand filter, two metres of hose and a return fitting is working against several metres of head before it has moved any water. Self-priming is the second thing to check and it is a yes-or-no: a self-priming pump can sit above the water line and fill its own housing, a non-priming one has to sit below it or be filled by hand every start. The connection size — 32 mm, 38 mm, or a threaded 1½" and 2" — decides what it bolts to. The prefilter basket is the part used weekly, and a basket that needs a tool is a basket that gets emptied less often. And the power in watts, which at four to eight hours a day through a season is the real cost of the machine. We compare flow at zero head, maximum head, self-priming, power draw, connection size, prefilter access and noise.
2 006 l/h, the smallest pump here
The smallest pump in this family at 2 006 l/h. The listing publishes that figure and then five bullets of generic template text, one of which says the product stays sharp under intensive use.
Best for: A small above-ground pool already built around Bestway fittings
15 m³/h, 550 W, 8 m head, 0.8 bar, tool-free filter
The highest flow in this family at 15 m³/h from 550 W, with an 8 m head and 0.8 bar. The maker states every unit is water-tested for function and electrical parameters before shipping.
Best for: A large private pool where turnover time is the constraint and the plant space is already plumbed
9 500 l/h, 350 W, pools to 40 m³, 5 kg, IPX5
Nine and a half thousand litres an hour at 350 W for pools up to 40 m³, rated IPX5 with thermal protection. It publishes its own dimensions and weight — 37.4 × 18 × 18.9 cm at 5 kg — which no other pump here does.
Best for: A salt-chlorinated pool up to 40 m³ where the pump has to fit a tight plant space
133 l/min for pools to 30 m³, clear screw lid
A circulation pump publishing 133 l/min — about 8 m³/h — for pools up to 30 m³, with a coarse prefilter behind a transparent screw lid. No wattage, no head and no part number are published.
Best for: A leafy garden pool where the basket is emptied often and seeing into it is worth more than a spec sheet
9 480 l/h, 550 W, 10 m head, self-priming, 40 000 l
A self-priming pump publishing flow in two units — 158 l/min and 9 480 l/h — with a 10 m head, 32/38 mm connections and a stated maximum pool of 40 000 litres. Named for a specific filter unit.
Best for: A 40 m³ pool on a sand filter, where head matters more than the electricity bill
13 000 l/h, 12 m head, 1.2 bar, built-in timer
Thirteen thousand litres an hour against the highest head in this family — 12 metres at 1.2 bar — with a water-protected timer and an outdoor socket built into the pump.
Best for: A large pool run on a daily schedule, on a sand filter that needs the pressure
6 000 l/h at 40 W — 150 l/h per watt, the best here
Six thousand litres an hour from forty watts: 150 litres per hour per watt, the highest efficiency in this family by a factor of two. Maximum head 4.2 m, maximum pressure 0.42 bar.
Best for: A pool where running cost matters more than head, on a filter that does not demand pressure
7 000 l/h, 250 W, 7.5 m head, under 70 dB, IPX5
Seven thousand litres an hour at 250 W with a 7.5 m head, and the only pump in this family to publish a noise level and a particle size: under 70 dB, 5 mm maximum through the strainer.
Best for: A pool near a terrace, where the pump runs within earshot of where people sit
Two flows published — 8 m³/h in the title, 11 in the bullets
A self-priming German-made pump that publishes two different flows and two different pool ceilings in the same listing: 8 m³/h for 40 m³ in the title, 11 m³/h for 65 000 litres in the bullets.
Best for: A permanently plumbed pool in 50 mm PVC where the pump sits well above or below the water
Only the specifications at least four models out of five state. A column that is more empty than full compares nothing.
| Model | Price | Amazon reference | Connection size | Flow at zero head | Maximum head |
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Specifications: manufacturer sheets and Amazon product pages. Prices and availability: Keepa. No product on this site has been physically tested.
Most recent revision in this category: September 21, 2026.
