How long does it take to fill a 24 ft round pool?
A 24 ft round pool filled to about 46 inches holds roughly 13,000 gallons, so one garden hose at 7.5 gallons per minute fills it in about 28.9 hours (1.2 days). The water costs about $65.00 at an example $5 per 1,000 gallons.
How to work it out
- One hose: 5 gal ÷ 40 s × 60 = 7.5 gpm
- 13,000 gal ÷ 7.5 gpm ÷ 60 = 28.9 hours (1.2 days)
- Water: 13 thousand gal × $5 = $65.00
A 24 ft round has 452 sq ft of water surface. With the usual 52 in wall filled to about 46 in, that is 452.4 × 3.83 ft × 7.48 ≈ 13,000 gallons (Intex lists 12,481 gallons for its 24 ft × 52 in Ultra XTR). Every inch of depth is about 282 gallons (gallons per inch in a 24 ft round pool), which is why the fill line matters.
Adjust for your project
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- In days (running non-stop)
- 1.2 days
- Your hose flow
- 7.5 gpm per hose (450 gal an hour)
- Water cost
- $65.00
- A hose flow meter on the fill tells you the exact gallons that went in — the best volume figure you will ever have for dosing chemicals.
24 ft round (13,000 gallons) by bucket time
| Bucket time | Time to fill | In days (running non-stop) | Your hose flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 seconds | 18.1 hours | 0.8 days | 12 gpm per hose (720 gal an hour) |
| 30 seconds | 21.7 hours | 0.9 days | 10 gpm per hose (600 gal an hour) |
| 40 seconds | 28.9 hours | 1.2 days | 7.5 gpm per hose (450 gal an hour) |
| 50 seconds | 36.1 hours | 1.5 days | 6 gpm per hose (360 gal an hour) |
| 60 seconds | 43.3 hours | 1.8 days | 5 gpm per hose (300 gal an hour) |
| 90 seconds | 65 hours | 2.7 days | 3.3 gpm per hose (200 gal an hour) |
Filling an above-ground 24 ft round
Above-ground pools fill faster than people expect in the first inches and then seem to stall — the surface is the same all the way up, so each inch takes the same 37-odd minutes on a 7.5 gpm hose. Plan on a bit more than a day on one hose, or about 14½ hours on two separate taps.
- Liner first. Wrinkles in the floor are far easier to smooth while the water is only an inch or two deep, so follow your pool manual’s first-fill steps before you leave the hose running.
- 48 in walls. A 24 ft round with a 48 in wall, filled to about 40 in, holds roughly 11,300 gallons and takes about 25 hours.
- Don’t overfill. Stop at the middle of the skimmer. Every extra inch is another 282 gallons, and water above the skimmer stops it working.
- Next. The filter and pump: what size pump and sand filter for a 24 ft above-ground pool.
The volume itself is worked out on how many gallons in a 24 ft round, 52 in pool. Smaller and larger fills: how long to fill a 10,000 gallon pool with a garden hose and how long and how much to fill a 20,000 gallon pool.
Different size? Use the full Pool Fill Time & Water Cost Calculator.
What you’ll need
- Hose water flow meterBudget price
Screws onto the hose and counts gallons, so you know exactly how much went in — and your real fill rate.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Above-ground pool floor padMid-range price
A protective pad over the sand base. Stops rocks and roots from poking through the liner.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Sand filter (top-mount)Premium price
Simple and durable. Size by flow: the filter’s rated maximum should be at or above your pump’s flow.
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Frequently asked questions
How long to fill a 24 ft round pool with two hoses?
About 14.4 hours, if each hose has its own tap.
How long to fill a 24 ft round pool with a 48 in wall?
Filled to about 40 inches it holds roughly 11,300 gallons: about 25.1 hours on one 7.5 gallon per minute hose.
Other common sizes
Sources
- NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C — General tables of units of measurement (opens in a new tab) — 1 US gallon = 231 cubic inches = 3.785 litres.
- US EPA WaterSense — Pool water efficiency (opens in a new tab) — Using a pool cover can prevent up to 95 percent of pool water evaporation — water you would otherwise refill.
- Intex — Ultra XTR 24 ft × 52 in round pool (opens in a new tab) — Water capacity 12,481 gallons.