Little Giant APCP-1700 Automatic Pool Cover Pump
The one that runs when you are not there — A purpose-built automatic pool cover pump with an integrated float switch: it starts itself in 2 inches of water and shuts off at 1 inch. That is the whole requirement for a cover pump, because the job is to sit on a cover for five months and handle rain you are not watching. Deepest owner base of any cover pump we found, and its reviewers are actually pool owners.
🏆 Winner — The Best Pool Cover Pumps of 2026: Ranked on Flow at 5 Feet, Not the Box
⚔️ Matchup — Little Giant APCP-1700 Automatic Pool Cover Pump vs WAYNE WAPC250 Automatic Pool Cover Pump
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Sold and shipped by Amazon · Free 30-day refund/replacement · read 2026-10-08
Specs
| Switch | Integrated float — on at 2 in., off below 1 in. |
| Flow at 1 ft | 1,700 GPH |
| Flow at 5 ft | 1,400 GPH |
| Max head | 26 ft |
| Leaves behind | Under 1 in. |
| Motor | 1/3 HP, 115V, 2.2 A |
| Cord | 25 ft |
| Warranty | 3 years |
| Owner rating | 4.5★ / 5,663 |
Pros
- Automatic by design — the float switch means it handles a rainstorm at 3 a.m., which is the entire point of a cover pump and is exactly what a manual utility pump cannot do
- Deepest owner base in the category at 5,623 ratings, and unlike most deep bases in adjacent categories these really are pool-cover owners
- A 25 ft cord, which is usually the difference between reaching an outlet and buying an extension cord you did not plan for
- Legacy US pump brand (Little Giant, Franklin Electric) on a first-party listing rather than a marketplace rebadge
Cons
- Shuts off at 1 inch, so it never gets the cover dry — that is true of every automatic cover pump and is the trade for unattended operation
- At about $148 it is roughly double the generic 1 HP pumps, which buy more flow and no float switch
- 115V US pump — the visible one-star reviews include a European buyer who found that out the hard way
It dies around the warranty line. Owners report failures at one to two seasons — one pumped fine in December 2024 and was dead by December 2025 — and a separate thread has it losing prime or air-locking mid-winter, which is exactly when nobody is watching the cover. Several also confirm the caveat this guide already publishes: it stops with about an inch of water left, because that inch is what keeps the float from cycling dry.
5 of the 10 visible critical cards (of 495, against a 5,623 base) are failure inside a season or two, 2 are priming or air-lock, and 2 independently confirm the inch of standing water we already warn about · critical reviews read August 2026
“This Little Giant pool cover pump works great and has yet to clog (which, unfortunately, cannot be said about a cheaper one I tried).”— SSH, Amazon · Verified owner
Pro review “When you’re dealing with frequent storms or a high volume of rain, the Little Giant is a pump you can count on.”Hands-on: 7 pumps, 2 wks, on an inground cover after rain (tester Paul Rankin). Award heading printed 'Bet For Heavy Rainfall' (sic). Subscores Ease 4.5/5, Perf 5/5, Durability 5/5, Value 4.8/5; no overall. ~13 mo old; only credentialed hands-on test found.— Paul Rankin, Tony Carrick, Bob Vila
FAQ
Who is the Little Giant APCP-1700 Automatic Pool Cover Pump for?
Anyone leaving a cover pump out through the fall and spring rains, which is what a solid winter cover requires.
What do owners say about the Little Giant APCP-1700 Automatic Pool Cover Pump?
4.5★ across 5,663 owner ratings (Amazon, read 2026-10-25 · global base). What owners complain about: It dies around the warranty line. Owners report failures at one to two seasons — one pumped fine in December 2024 and was dead by December 2025 — and a separate thread has it losing prime or air-locking mid-winter, which is exactly when nobody is watching the cover. Several also confirm the caveat this guide already publishes: it stops with about an inch of water left, because that inch is what keeps the float from cycling dry.
Who sells the Little Giant APCP-1700 Automatic Pool Cover Pump on Amazon, and can it be returned?
Sold and shipped by Amazon, when we read the listing on 2026-10-08. Amazon's returns line read: Free 30-day refund/replacement. Sellers and return terms can change, so check both on the listing before you buy.
What is the warranty on the Little Giant APCP-1700 Automatic Pool Cover Pump?
3 years
Does the Little Giant APCP-1700 Automatic Pool Cover Pump come with a manufacturer warranty?
Little Giant publishes no warranty document anywhere we can find, so there is no manufacturer term to hold them to beyond the listing itself and the marketplace's own returns window. Nobody can check what does not exist — that is the finding rather than a gap in our research.
Record
- — Price read 2026-10-02 from the live Amazon offer (Creators API): $139.99, on sale (save $38.90,) against a list of $178.89; was $147.99. Published at read time per the 2026-09-15 rule, ahead of Prime Big Deal Days.
- — Re-ranked the cover pumps on flow at five feet, because the GPH printed on the box is measured at zero lift and no cover pump works at zero lift. This one moves 1,700 GPH at one foot and 1,400 at five, with 26 feet of maximum head. Ranking on the box number rewards whoever measures most generously.
- — Critical pass: it dies around the warranty line. Owners report failures at one to two seasons — one pumped fine in December 2024 and was dead by December 2025 — which puts the failure and the three-year term uncomfortably close together.
Warranty — and what changes if you buy it on Amazon
3 years · you are buying this on Amazon
Little Giant publishes no warranty document anywhere we can find. There is no term to hold them to beyond the listing itself and the marketplace’s own returns window. Nobody can check what does not exist — that is the finding, not a gap in our research.
✓ Safety: no active recall — No active CPSC recall found (checked August 2026).
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Data last verified: 2026-10-25. Ratings are real, dated reads — never scraped or invented. Full methodology and monetization disclosure: how we test.