Pond Breather

[sissy]

sure your electric outlet is working right and if power goes out for a length of time it can freeze .I read a few reviews on it

 

[addy1]

sure your electric outlet is working right and if power goes out for a length of time it can freeze .I read a few reviews on it

Our power has gone out a lot, not for a long time though. so far doing good.

 

[sissy]

I actually had 1 of my outlets crack when we had the cold spell and it was the 1 with the pond heater plugged into it and electric had gone out that night just over 2 hours .Not sure if was caused by the power surge when the electric came back on or the cold .I replace the outlet .

 

[Tula]

I have a small air pump and lights plugged in and they are all fine. We haven' had any power outages either. I think this was just an unfortunate defective pond breather.

 

[MitchM]

That's too bad about your breather, Tula.
I run 2 in case 1 fails. It's not possible to take one out or replace it if one fails and the ice is thick but that's probably a scenario for more northern locations.
I have 1 used breather and 1 new one operating and have found them to be very reliable.

 

[addy1]

I gambled, have only one in each pond and just the two bigger ponds, the rest are on their own.

 

[Tula]

Shipped it off today, so will wait for it's replacement to arrive. Fortunately we're not having a wicked winter, so my air stones seem to work and I have the deicer in as well.

 

[MitchM]

In a worst case scenario, if both breathers failed, I could still use the cattle trough heater to melt a hole in the ice and install another breather. It would probably take a week though to go through my 2 feet of ice.
I'm thinking next year I might install a lower wattage pump with a big filter so I can take advantage of the heat in the earth and reduce my ice thickness and also reduce the total length of time I have ice cover.
I'm still sold on the breathers. I may even run them year round until I finally build a waterfall.
I think they provide great aeration for a low electricity cost.

 

[sissy]

How much electric do they use .I never looked at them .but usually only run my 2 or 3 times a year and that is only at night .I use my laguna aerator and I think that uses 45 watts but not sure .It does really work great down deep though .I want to get one of those air plates for the hot summers .But above the water I use my made up stuff with pvc pipe and connectors

 

[MitchM]

40 watts sissy.

 

[sissy]

oh well watt tester says my laguna aerator is using 34 watts I tested it to see .We really don't get that much cold weather here but we get a lot of hot weather and my pond is in full sun most of the day .They need it more in the summer than winter .It is a lot better than a pond heater though in watt use

 

[MitchM]

Yes, aerators don't work here in the winter.
1 brief power outage and it would be frozen until spring.

 

[Tula]

I was thinking if I get a severe cold snap, prior tot hem shipping me the new Pond Breather, I'd just move my air stones by the pond deicer, which keeps a spot open.

 

[mrsclem]

53F here today so went down to the ponds to scoop out more leaves. The pond breather in one pond was not working! I checked power supply and then lifted the pump assembly and could feel the pump running. Unplugged, brought in and cleaned the gunk off the pump. When I put it back in the pond, still no water, Turns out when I cleaned it the water supply tube slipped down so now everything is back to functioning well. Just a though to check these to make sure they don't clog.

 

[Tula]

53F here today so went down to the ponds to scoop out more leaves. The pond breather in one pond was not working! I checked power supply and then lifted the pump assembly and could feel the pump running. Unplugged, brought in and cleaned the gunk off the pump. When I put it back in the pond, still no water, Turns out when I cleaned it the water supply tube slipped down so now everything is back to functioning well. Just a though to check these to make sure they don't clog.

Glad it's back to working ! God idea to keep our eyes on our pond equipment .