GFCI tripped, pump shut off--in winter

[barryian]

blowing the line out with a shop vac before it freezes solid could save ya

I keep a 2nd pump all set to change! 5 minute job as I also have a deicer in front of my skimmer with bio and rest of the system drained. No doubt you need a pump. It's not the cold, it's just the pump that went. You can get one in 2 days online and if it's set up like my Savio, you need a screw driver, a pump and 5 minutes in the cold. Best of luck. For now if you keep the deicer on, how about blowout the lines, shop vac the skimmer water out. You can start it all up should you put a new pump right in...

Get through tonight and tomorrow as you have a heat spell coming in the low 20's ...

 

[teeemkay]

Thanks. It got ridiculously cold outside since I got home from work. My mother-in-law came over for dinner and we could hear the wind just howling outside the window as we ate. The de-icer is still doing its job. There is not one bit of ice inside the skimmer box, not to mention the surface of the pond.

Hubs is trying to get a hold of the old owner of our house (he's actually known the family for a very long time) to find out at least where they purchased the pump and/or who built the pond. All I can tell from looking in the skimmer box is that the pump is about the size of a small coffee can and that it's mostly silver with a yellow handle.

 

[Lisak1]

Get through tonight and tomorrow as you have a heat spell coming in the low 20's ...

Yup...it's gonna be warmer AND we're predicted to get another ten inches of snow!

If I had to change out my pump mid-winter, I would cry tears of despair. My pump is easy to get to but all those frozen pipes and connections would be so hard to deal with. Ugh. No thanks. I would just do what I could to prevent the lines from freezing and bursting and wait til spring.

 

[MitchM]

A pond breather is good insurance against pump failure.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18057

 

[barryian]

Thanks. It got ridiculously cold outside since I got home from work. My mother-in-law came over for dinner and we could hear the wind just howling outside the window as we ate. The de-icer is still doing its job. There is not one bit of ice inside the skimmer box, not to mention the surface of the pond.

Hubs is trying to get a hold of the old owner of our house (he's actually known the family for a very long time) to find out at least where they purchased the pump and/or who built the pond. All I can tell from looking in the skimmer box is that the pump is about the size of a small coffee can and that it's mostly silver with a yellow handle.

Can you pull the pump out? If so, you can see the gph flow rate he was using. If not, what size pond in dimensions or gallons is it? Also,
what size is the width of the skimmer door flap ( the weir )? Lastly, do you know the skimmer model such as Savio, Aquascape, Little Giant, etc.
Possibly it's on the cover. I can suggest a pump you can easily get online and should as I said, even in the cold, only take 5 minutes with one connection if he did this right. I realize it's cold as we have gale force gusts right now, 28F and dropping yet my water temp is 49F. A 1000 watt deicer at the skimmer opening on a temp control box works wonders. Koi are actually swimming ( slowly ) ...lol ...

Here are 2 pumps by Savio. I've had good luck for a mid priced pump. I have an 8" weir on a Savio full size skimmer and my pond is 2000 gallons.
I use the larger one 3600 gph vs the 2050 gph. This has been running 24/7 since 2012.

http://www.webbsonline.com/Item/Savio-Water-Master-Solids-Handling-Pumps-67211

Doesn't mean it won't blow in 6 months but I've had good luck with the Savio ... The larger on is more costly. The other is the
the 2050 gph ... http://www.webbsonline.com/Item/Savio-Water-Master-Solids-Handling-Pumps-67210

A 10% pops up if it's your 1st order. They're pretty quick in shipping etc.

The alternative model is the >>> https://www.amazon.com/Savio-WMS205...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SAKQARH80CE1K2VA14R8

Amazon has it also and ships quickly though it's not under Amazon Prime. Check it out! Again if you have pics and some dimensions, let me know....

 

[barryian]

A pond breather is good insurance against pump failure.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18057

Hi there Mitch - I never used one as I've always used the de-icer ( 1000 watt) skimmer in front of the weir. Water temp holds between
43F-50F .... Heavy wattage compared to a breather but also never had a frozen pond in 25 years. They basically keep a hole open if I'm correct.
That's it right, just for the gas to escape. What do your water temps drop to?

 

[MitchM]

Hi there Mitch - I never used one as I've always used the de-icer ( 1000 watt) skimmer in front of the weir. Water temp holds between
43F-50F .... Heavy wattage compared to a breather but also never had a frozen pond in 25 years. They basically keep a hole open if I'm correct.
That's it right, just for the gas to escape. What do your water temps drop to?

My water stays liquid, that's about it.
My pond is 5 ft deep, so below my frost line.
I tried a 1500w heater and it (the heater) still froze over.

.

 

[barryian]

My water stays liquid, that's about it.
My pond is 5 ft deep, so below my frost line.
I tried a 1500w heater and it (the heater) still froze over.

.

1000 watt works circulating through the skimmer but we're also 5 zones apart. You don't catch the breaks we do!

 

[mrtrumpet]

When I lived in upstate NY we had some pretty brutal winters. I alway took my pump out in the fall, but I never blew out the water lines. Never had a problem, so maybe you'll be OK... Good luck.

 

[teeemkay]

Yup...it's gonna be warmer AND we're predicted to get another ten inches of snow!

If I had to change out my pump mid-winter, I would cry tears of despair. My pump is easy to get to but all those frozen pipes and connections would be so hard to deal with. Ugh. No thanks. I would just do what I could to prevent the lines from freezing and bursting and wait til spring.

Yup--this is the worst possible time for this to happen, right at the start of winter. The pump isn't impossible to reach, but I'd rather wait for hubs to get home from his road trip and deal with detaching it from the PVC pipe as he is less likely to crack the pipe or break anything else in the process. Right now it is just too brutally cold out there to fuss with. Next week we will have a couple days above freezing so it will be easier to work outside.

In the meantime, the de-icer has kept the entire pond ice-free and the water in the skimmer box in liquid form. The water in the waterfall "box" drained completely out when the pump shut off, so that piece is fine too. It's just that 10 feet or so of PVC between the skimmer and the falls that I'm hoping doesn't get messed up. I did cover it up with snow as there was certainly plenty of that to be had the other day (and more to come, as mentioned).

 

[teeemkay]

Can you pull the pump out? If so, you can see the gph flow rate he was using. If not, what size pond in dimensions or gallons is it? Also,
what size is the width of the skimmer door flap ( the weir )? Lastly, do you know the skimmer model such as Savio, Aquascape, Little Giant, etc.
Possibly it's on the cover. I can suggest a pump you can easily get online and should as I said, even in the cold, only take 5 minutes with one connection if he did this right. I realize it's cold as we have gale force gusts right now, 28F and dropping yet my water temp is 49F. A 1000 watt deicer at the skimmer opening on a temp control box works wonders. Koi are actually swimming ( slowly ) ...lol ...

There is a label on the pump with some information...It is too hard to read underwater and in the dark, so when we pull it we'll know what we have. Hubs has more experience dealing with PVC/plumbing than I do and I'm sure he will have it yanked in under 5 minutes when he gets home from his trip. At our old house, he managed to replace the busted sump pump with a new one and new PVC in less than 10 minutes.... so this chore is falling into his hands.

The previous owner of our house estimated the pond was about 750 gallons. Unfortunately he did not leave us any paperwork or specific information about the mechanical pieces of the pond.

I would love to find my pool thermometer and check what the water temperature is with this de-icer running. The surface is 100% ice-free, so it must be pretty toasty. The fish are still in their winter hiding spot under a stone slab near the skimmer box and de-icer, so they appear very content for now.

 

[Lisak1]

I would love to find my pool thermometer and check what the water temperature is with this de-icer running. The surface is 100% ice-free, so it must be pretty toasty. The fish are still in their winter hiding spot under a stone slab near the skimmer box and de-icer, so they appear very content for now.

If what you're running is really a de-icer and not an actual heater, I doubt you would see much of a temperature change. When it's really cold our de-icer will be frozen in the ice, right up to the edge.

 

[sissy]

just go to a dollar store and buy one of the giant thermometers .They work great when you need something fast

 

[morewater]

Your "de-icer" merely keeps the water directly adjacent to its placement warm enough to prevent freezing. Your de-icer will do absolutely nothing in keeping your pond water "heated".

It merely consumes many times more electricity to do the same job as an aerator or a breather.

The water surface does not need to be ice-free, there needs merely to be a small hole in the ice to allow for gas exchange.

 

[barryian]

If what you're running is really a de-icer and not an actual heater, I doubt you would see much of a temperature change. When it's really cold our de-icer will be frozen in the ice, right up to the edge.

@Lisak1 ... what wattage is your heater and where is it placed? Is everything shutdown and drained for the winter? Just curious as with the way I have things setup, I've never had ice. Zone 7b ....