When to fill a birth pool up

[LouM10]

I have just bought a second hand birth pool and hope to have a home water birth. I have read on a few websites about people filling it up as soon as they feel a twinge, and others filling it up a week or 2 before their due date. If so, do you half fill it with cold, then just top it up with hot, or use a heater?

Has anybody had a home water birth, and what did you do?

What did you buy?

We filled ours when contractions were 6 minutes apart and I was needing some relief. Just topped it up a couple of times after that.

A regular size Birth Pool in a Box. I will be relying on my kitchen tap though which is a hot and cold combined tap so unsure how long it will take. I might have to have a trial run when it gets here.

How long did yours take to fill?