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Setting Your Pool Timer

Pump TimerSet It & Forget It

Setting Your
Pool Timer

Your pump timer is a 24-hour outdoor mechanical pin timer that sits between the outlet and your filter pump. Master two controls and you're done: the rotating dial with push-down segments, and the mode switch.

The Two Modes

One Switch Rules Everything

TIMER

Follows the pins. The pump runs during the hours whose segments are pressed down. This is your everyday mode.

ON

Runs constantly, ignoring the pins. Use it for chlorinating and freeze warnings — then flip back to TIMER.

Five Minutes, Once

First-Time Setup

  1. Plug the timer into your GFCI outlet; plug the pump into the timer.
  2. Set the current time: rotate the dial clockwise until the current time on the dial lines up with the arrow.
  3. Program the run window: each segment around the dial is 30 minutes. Press segments DOWN for the hours you want the pump ON; leave them up for OFF.
  4. Flip the side switch to TIMER. Done.

The Cowboy Pools Schedule

Run the pump about 8 hours during the daytime, off at night — press down the segments from roughly 9 AM to 5 PM, or any 8-hour daytime window. Daytime running keeps water circulating when it matters and helps keep water temps lower. That's plenty of circulation for your Cowboy Pool.

Weekly Chlorine Routine, With the Timer

  1. Add 1½–2½ cups of liquid chlorine while the pump is running (this supplements your 1–2 tablets in a closed floater).
  2. Pump not in its window? Flip the switch to ON.
  3. Keep it running at least 1 hour after adding chlorine.
  4. Flip back to TIMER. This clears or prevents murkiness and green water.

Freeze Warnings

When temps drop below freezing, flip the switch to ON so the pump circulates continuously until temperatures rise — moving water resists freezing. For freezes over 12 hours or power loss, circulation isn't enough: follow the winterizing guide. After any freeze, return the switch to TIMER.

Troubleshooting Quick Hits

  • Pump won't turn on at all: check the mode switch first — TIMER with no segments pressed means it never runs. Then press the reset on your GFCI outlet.
  • Pump runs 24/7: the switch is on ON, or every segment is pressed down.
  • Runs at the wrong hours: the dial's current-time alignment drifted or was set wrong — realign to the arrow.
  • Timer stopped working after a storm: timers are a common casualty of storms and power surges — replacements are inexpensive and swap in minutes.
💧 Keep your water level above the suction and return whenever the pump is on a timer — the pump must never suck air.
Keep the Water Perfect

Your Pool's Weekly Rhythm

Timer set? The rest of the routine — chlorine amounts, cartridge cleaning, and keeping things crystal clear — lives in the maintenance guide.

Maintenance Guide → Setup Videos →
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