Pump Maintenence

[Jeanie master]

We have a submersible Pond Builder Pump (I think that's the brand) anyway, as of now, don't plan to run all winter so trying to figure out first what cleaning/maintenance it needs and then wanting to confirm that storage through the winter needs to be in water to keep the seals from drying out. Does anything need to be added to the water?
Am I missing anything I need to do? Ty

 

[Mmathis]

A good General ponding question! I can't speak for that particular pump, but what I would do is pull it and clean it -- most pumps come apart so you can access the insides. As far as submerging it for the winter, I don't think there's anything in particular other than plain water.

 

[mrsclem]

I store my extra pumps in a barrel in the basement. No special treatment needed. I leave my main pumps in the pond and just shut them down once the pond starts to freeze. As long as the water doesn't freeze solid they are fine that way.

 

[Mmathis]

I store my extra pumps in a barrel in the basement. No special treatment needed. I leave my main pumps in the pond and just shut them down once the pond starts to freeze. As long as the water doesn't freeze solid they are fine that way.

See, I really have no experience with this, as my pumps run year round --- we rarely get cold enough to shut them down.

 

[Jeanie master]

A good General ponding question! I can't speak for that particular pump, but what I would do is pull it and clean it -- most pumps come apart so you can access the insides. As far as submerging it for the winter, I don't think there's anything in particular other than plain water.

Do you clean it with anything in particular? I have some "organic" dish liquid, would that be ok or do you just have to stick with well water and maybe some salt scrub? Ty for the reply.

 

[Jeanie master]

I store my extra pumps in a barrel in the basement. No special treatment needed. I leave my main pumps in the pond and just shut them down once the pond starts to freeze. As long as the water doesn't freeze solid they are fine that way.

Do you put them down deep in your pond? I'd be worried about leaving it up in the skimmer. This is our first "pond winter" lol. Ty for the reply.

 

[Mmathis]

Do you clean it with anything in particular? I have some "organic" dish liquid, would that be ok or do you just have to stick with well water and maybe some salt scrub? Ty for the reply.

I usually just brush all the scum and algae off the parts, and run water through any openings. Probably don't really need to use anything, but if there was tough scum, probably anything would work as long as you rinse it well [maybe even several rinses]. H2O2 might work.

 

[Jeanie master]

I usually just brush all the scum and algae off the parts, and run water through any openings. Probably don't really need to use anything, but if there was tough scum, probably anything would work as long as you rinse it well [maybe even several rinses]. H2O2 might work.

Ty

 

[mrsclem]

Do you put them down deep in your pond? I'd be worried about leaving it up in the skimmer. This is our first "pond winter" lol. Ty for the reply.

I don't know how deep your skimmer is but I would move the pump to the bottom of a deep section of pond. If in doubt, just bring it in and put it in a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[sissy]

I use a tiolet bowl brush to scrub the cage on my laguna and a veggie brush also all bought at the dollar store .Mine hand off a pipe across the pond so I just leave them where they are .My son when he put in the electric in the pond put them on switched outlets in master bedroom closets .I only put the pond heater in to dedicated outlet .If you are going to leave it in then bottom of the pond is best .Skimmer I don't have but you may want to turn off the automatic fill also if you have one

 

[morewater]

All of my pumps stay in their individual ponds, at a depth greater than 2.5'.

 

[Gordo33]

I have a pond master waterfall pump not sure if this is the same as your pump. The pump is housed in a cage . There are 6 screws that can be removed to get to the pump. The pump has another set of screws that can be removed to get to the impeller. The impeller can be pulled out. You would be surprised at how much muck gets in there.. with a garden house or at the kitchen sink I clean the housing and impeller . No soaps or detergents. . Sometimes I use a tweezer to get small particles trapped in the impeller.
I do this 3- 4 times a year depending on how the water is flowing
I run my pump all winter .
In the spring I use a fish safe lubricant on all the seals

 

[ToneDude]

"Fish-safe lubricant" - That's what I need. Can you please specify a brand name?