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How Long Does it Take to Fill a Paddling Pool?
Have you ever wondered how long does it take to fill a paddling pool? We did and here’s what we found out.
An 8ft rectangular paddling pool holds 982L of water and on average will take approximately 75 minutes to fill. This is based on an average UK flow rate of 13 litres per minute.
Now let’s look at it in more detail. How long it takes for your paddling pool to be filled with water will depend on two things firstly the size of your paddling pool (the volume of water it will hold) and secondly the flow rate of your water supply.
First, let’s look at the size of your paddling pool. Obviously, the larger your paddling pool the more litres it will take to fill it and therefore the longer it will take.
The flow rate, however, is something completely different and although this may seem complicated at first, you’ll soon realise it’s much easier than you expected.
What Does Flow Rate Mean?
Flow rate is the speed at which the volume of liquid passes through a pipe. It is measured in either gallons per minute or litres per minute and it will give you an idea of how quickly you will be able to fill up your paddling pool.
The minimum flow rate that all water suppliers in the UK must provide to each household is 9 litres per minute. The rates are calculated with all the other taps and appliances turned off. Average flow rates for most properties within the UK are between 10 and 15 litre per minute.
How Do I Measure My Own Flow Rate?
There is a very simple way to measure your own flow rate in your own property. Below we will give you a step-by-step guide on how to measure your own flow rate.
To measure your own flow rates all you will need is a 2 litre jug, stopwatch, and a calculator or a smartphone. Remember if you’re doing this to work out how quickly your paddling pool will fill then you must use the tap that you used to fill the pool.
Step by Step Guide to Water Flow Rate
- Get your stopwatch ready or your mobile phone
- You’re only going to measure the flow of water from your tap for six seconds
- Place the jug underneath your tap
- Turn your tap on and time for six seconds when the six seconds have expired turn the tap off
- That’s it for the stopwatch
- Measure the amount of water in the jug
- You now know your flow rate for 6 second
- To get your flow rate per minute simply multiply your figure by 10
- So lets now look at a really easy example
If within six seconds your jug fills up to the 900 millilitre mark simply multiply this by 10 and you have a flow rate of 9 litres per minute. Obviously the higher the number the better.
It’s also worth noting that if you intend on filling your pool with a hosepipe that this may reduce your flow rate. Flow rates can be affected by the diameter of the pipe and also the distance the water has to travel.
Why Does the Length of a Hose Pipe Affect Flow Rate?
The longer the hose pipe the more your flow rate will drop because the water has to be pushed a further distance with the same water pressure. The flow rate will also be affected by the diameter of the hose again the larger the diameter the higher the flow rate.
If you are planning to use a hosepipe to fill your paddling pool you should try to ensure that your hosepipe is the shortest possible and the diameter of the pipe you use is as large as possible.
Even if you have a fairly short distance to your paddling pool but you are using a hose on a reel you will still find that your flow rate will drop as the water will still have to travel down the entire length of the hose even though it is reeled up.
Paddling Pool Fill Time Examples
To make things easier for you we have done a number of calculations below for a number of different size paddling pools. These examples are all rectangular paddling pools however we have also included a table at the end detailing both rectangular paddling pools and round paddling pools. For these examples, we have used an average of the UK water flow rates. As the average property gets between 10 and 15 litres flow rate we will use 13 litres for our calculation.
How Long Does it Take to Fill a 6ft Paddling Pool?
The best way family 6ft paddling pool takes 455L of water and will take approximately 35 minutes to fill. This is based on the calculation of 455L divided by 13L. obviously, if you have a higher flow rate or a lower flow rate the time may be longer or shorter.
How Long Does it Take to Fill an 8ft Paddling Pool?
The best way family 8ft paddling pool takes 982L of water and will take approximately 75 minutes to fill. This is based on the calculation of 982L divided by 13L. Again if your flow rate is either higher or lower then your time to fill may be longer or shorter
How Long Does it Take to Fill a 10ft Paddling Pool?
The best way family 10ft paddling pool takes approximately 1302L of water and will take approximately 100 minutes to fill. This is based on the calculation of 1302L divided by 13L.
Popular Paddling Pool Filling Times
Obviously, the size and the shape of your paddling pool will affect the time it takes to fill. Some paddling pools are deeper than others which will not only increase the volume of water but also it will increase the time it takes to fill.
Below we put together a list of some of the most popular paddling pools the number of litres of water they hold and the approximate time to fill based on the 13 litre average.
Please bear in mind that these calculations are based upon a standard flow rate of 13l per minute. Your flow rate can of course be more or less than this. Don’t forget that once you’ve filled and used your paddling pool you will need to empty it For advice on how to empty it, take a look at our How to Empty a Paddling Pool? article.
How Much does it Cost to Fill a Paddling Pool?
Finally, now you know how long it will take to fill your paddling pool you may be interested to find out how much it will cost. To find out approximate costs take a look at our How Much Does it Cost to Fill a Paddling Pool? article.