Filter on when swimming?

[Macrosill]

I have a question for all the forum users. Do you swim in the pool with the filter on or do you turn it off?

When I was a kid my mother would always make us turn the filter off in fear or someone getting shocked. I see this as a farce and have used my pool with he filter running. I also noticed that all the public pools I have seen have the pumps on all the time. I believe a good electrical install will alleviate the possibility of any worries.

Brian

[MaryLee]

I always shut the filter off when the kids are swimming. My daughter likes to use dive sticks at the bottom of the deep end and I don't want her anywhere near the main drain when there's suction. When I'm in there doing laps and there are no children swimming, then I don't bother to shut off the filter if it happens to be on.

[sevver]

I just have an 18' AG so I usually have it on, the main drain thing is scary tho, never thought of that. :o

[Poconos]

Don't have a main drain and never will but from what I've read on this forum over the years, older designs could indeed create enough suction to be hazardous. Newer designs and requirements limit the amount of suction from any one drain or part thereof. If the main drain is your only concern then shut it off and switch to skimmer only if that is an option. As for shocking, if that danger was there then it wouldn't matter if the pump is on or off. Something is drastically wrong. Can't say I've heard of anyone here shutting down the pump while the pool is in use.
Al

[waterbear]

Only pool I ever heard of requiring shutting down the pump when in use are some of the small Intex pools that use the 12v transformer on their pump.

[cwstnsko]

Hmmm. Never heard of turning it off to swim. In my pool it's exactly the opposite, I turn it from low speed to high so I can run my sheer descent, aerator, fountains etc. All the money I spent on water features would be wasted if I had to shut the pump off to swim.

[matt4x4]

I never shut it off while swimming, the way i see it is swimming moves your water around, stirs up all of the debris (even if it's just a little amount), so your filter will actually catch some of this stuff and filter it out instead of it all settling to the bottom again after the swimmers are out of the pool.
Yes, older bottom drains have had some freak incidents associated with them, but today's drains are perfectly safe to be used while swimming - and on most older pools, the diverter valve can be used to bypass the drain while swimming.

[tenax]

i have an older pool (fox installed in the early 80s..inground vinyl) with main drain and skimmer. i've never worried about main drain being active while someone is in the pool until i read posts here. putting my feet on the main drain, there never appears to be any suction to speak of..but i do know it's working fine confirmed by turning off my skimmer valvel.water flows fine with no bubbles through the main.

i'm frankly more worried about having my pool light on while swimming after seeing that stupid george clooney movie, sarinta or whatever it's called:)

(if you haven't..don't..it'll freak you out about pool lights:))

[matt4x4]

Syriana - yes, likelyhood of something like that happening are about 0 unless you had larry curly and moe do your wiring.
Most pool lights are low voltage, most pool electrical is GFCI protected - unless once again, you had the stooges do the work.

[MarkC]

I leave it on. Not all pool lights are low voltage mine are 120V.

[KirstenHW]

My light is a Hayward, circa 1982 with a 500 watt/120 volt bulb. It is on a GFCI though. Waiting for a replacement bulb and gasket. I haven't seen the movie, but you guys made the hair on the back of my neck stand up . . . congratulations! It takes a lot to spook me.