How to Fill a Water Base for a Basketball Hoop

Drive around neighborhoods and you will see portable basketball goals in many driveways. Owners choose them for their ease of assembly and versatility. You don't have to dig a large hole and attempt to anchor a pole in the ground. Also, you can move a portable basketball system with relative ease if needed. If you move, you can take the goal with you. To secure a portable basketball system, the base usually has a 30- to 40-gallon space to fill with water or sand. For the ease and flexibility, many choose to fill the base with water.

Things You'll Need

  • Flat-head screwdriver
  • Garden hose
  • Antifreeze
  • Funnel
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Instructions

    • 1

      Position the basketball goal where you want it to stand. Make sure it rests level. You can rest a carpenter's level on top of the goal side-to-side and front-to-back to check.

    • 2

      Pry the top cap off of the base with a flat-head screwdriver. The cap should be located in the middle-back portion of the base.

    • 3

      Connect a garden hose to an outdoor faucet and put the other end in the hole of the basketball goal base.

    • 4

      Turn on the water and fill the base until the water reaches about 2 inches from the top of the hole. Turn off the faucet and remove the hose.

    • 5

      Place a funnel over the base hole and pour 1 to 2 gallons of nontoxic antifreeze into the base, depending on the climate you live in. Use the antifreeze if temperatures fall below freezing at any time in your area. It will help prevent the water from freezing and expanding in the base.

    • 6

      Remove the funnel and put the garden hose end back into the base hole. Turn the faucet back on and fill the base until the water reaches close to the top. Do not overfill the base. Allow a little room in case the water does freeze and expand.

    • 7

      Place the cap back over the base hole and press down.