Short answer
A pool technician, or an electrician if the circuit has tripped and will not reset. Check the safety switch first — pool pumps are outdoors and moisture tripping the RCD is one of the most common causes of a pump that has simply stopped.
When it is someone else
Calling the wrong trade costs an attendance fee to be told so. These are the cases where this problem belongs to someone other than a pool service business.
the circuit trips as soon as it is reset, or there is no power at the outlet.
What to do before anyone arrives
- Check the switchboard and the safety switch, and check the timer if there is one.
- Check whether the pump is humming but not turning, which usually means the impeller is blocked or the capacitor has failed — that is worth saying on the phone.
- Check the baskets. A blocked pump basket makes a pump run hot and shut down on thermal overload.
- Note whether it is losing prime — running but not moving water points at an air leak on the suction side.
What to ask when you book
- Is this the motor, the capacitor, the impeller or the supply?
- Is this pump worth repairing, or is a variable-speed replacement the better answer?
- Is the electrical installation at the pool compliant — is there a safety switch on it?
What changes the price
No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.
- Repair versus replacement.
- Whether you move to a variable-speed pump, which costs more and uses substantially less energy.
- Whether the electrical supply needs work.
What you can do yourself
Is this licensed work?
The electrical supply to pool equipment is licensed electrical work with specific requirements for pools. Pump replacement itself is pool servicing.
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.
Common questions
- Who should I hire for a pool pump that has stopped
- A pool technician, or an electrician if the circuit has tripped and will not reset. Check the safety switch first — pool pumps are outdoors and moisture tripping the RCD is one of the most common causes of a pump that has simply stopped.
- Is a variable-speed pool pump worth it?
- Running a pump slower for longer moves the same water for a fraction of the energy, because power draw falls much faster than flow does. For a pool that runs every day, the difference in running cost is large enough that it is the default recommendation when a single-speed pump fails — and several states have had rebates recognising exactly that.
Find a pool service business near you
1,444 pool services in this directory, ranked on published evidence rather than on advertising.
Who to hire for
General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.