Whew! That was close!!

[Mark and Kim Smith]

So I decided to top off my pond ( I do that occasionally. ) I knew
that, in the future, I would have to make provisions for rain and
runoff, etc. I figured I have time since it is summer and all ( still
very hot around here! So I turned on the supply. Then my attention
turned to my little boy. He likes getting into trouble at the most
opportune times. All I needed to do was add an inch which doesn't take
long in my 4000 gal pond. I could've sworn I shut off the fill pipe.
So there I am chasing him when I notice the lights turn off just about
the same time I recognize the sound of a GFI breaker tripping. Yikes!
Is that water still running?!? The pond overfilled, right into my pump
box!! There is my Sequence 750 under an inch of water with it pouring
over the outlet! ( I knew I should have plumbed a drain in the bottom
of my "dry" box!!) So I quickly siphoned the box dry ( about a 1/4" at
the bottom, the pump sits 3" above bottom ) and fired up the air
compressor. Blew as much water as I could out of the pump motor and the
outlet. Crossed my fingers and reset the GFI. All is well again!
Everything works!! Maybe I should stock an extra 750 just in case I do
burn this one up?? Guess I know what I will be doing next week! Yup,
fixin' up the overflow system!!

[Roy]

On 29 Aug 2004 01:49:50 EDT, Mark and Kim Smith
> wrote:

>===<>So I decided to top off my pond ( I do that occasionally. ) I knew
>===<>that, in the future, I would have to make provisions for rain and
>===<>runoff, etc. I figured I have time since it is summer and all ( still
>===<>very hot around here! So I turned on the supply. Then my attention
>===<>turned to my little boy. He likes getting into trouble at the most
>===<>opportune times. All I needed to do was add an inch which doesn't take
>===<>long in my 4000 gal pond. I could've sworn I shut off the fill pipe.
>===<>So there I am chasing him when I notice the lights turn off just about
>===<>the same time I recognize the sound of a GFI breaker tripping. Yikes!
>===<>Is that water still running?!? The pond overfilled, right into my pump
>===<>box!! There is my Sequence 750 under an inch of water with it pouring
>===<>over the outlet! ( I knew I should have plumbed a drain in the bottom
>===<>of my "dry" box!!) So I quickly siphoned the box dry ( about a 1/4" at
>===<>the bottom, the pump sits 3" above bottom ) and fired up the air
>===<>compressor. Blew as much water as I could out of the pump motor and the
>===<>outlet. Crossed my fingers and reset the GFI. All is well again!
>===<>Everything works!! Maybe I should stock an extra 750 just in case I do
>===<>burn this one up?? Guess I know what I will be doing next week! Yup,
>===<>fixin' up the overflow system!!


Electric motors usually fare out ok if they are allowed to dry before
powering them back up again. At the most I would check to make sure
no water got into the bearings etc if it has bearings. If its running
now, I would not worry about it. The big problems come when you p ut
power to them and they are not dry, and if that was th case you would
have know it by now. I agree, if you have a dry box its a good idea to
have a drain or sump. My pumps house is also in the ground inside a
typical water meter or water service box 12 x 17 x 15 inches. Its
bottom is located 18 inches higher than the maximum amount of water my
pond will hold (natural pond) before going out thr spillway. Since we
do get some pretty heavy rains when we get it, and those service
boxes are not really water proof, I used a post hole digger to dig
down below the enclosure floor until I hit the water table in the
pond, , and then ran a trench from there to my pond for the intake and
discharge lines, then filled it back in with gravel. So now any water
that gets in the box drains down through the gravel and winds back in
the pond. (sort of like a french drain around a basement foundation
wall........
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[gng]

I just bought a $10 water timer at Home Depot that automatically turns off
the hose after a set amount of time. I have overfilled just once, but
cannot count the number of times I got to work and said "hmm, did I turn the
water off?"
"Roy" > wrote in message
...
> On 29 Aug 2004 01:49:50 EDT, Mark and Kim Smith
> > wrote:
>
> >===<>So I decided to top off my pond ( I do that occasionally. ) I knew
> >===<>that, in the future, I would have to make provisions for rain and
> >===<>runoff, etc. I figured I have time since it is summer and all (
still
> >===<>very hot around here! So I turned on the supply. Then my attention
> >===<>turned to my little boy. He likes getting into trouble at the most
> >===<>opportune times. All I needed to do was add an inch which doesn't
take
> >===<>long in my 4000 gal pond. I could've sworn I shut off the fill
pipe.
> >===<>So there I am chasing him when I notice the lights turn off just
about
> >===<>the same time I recognize the sound of a GFI breaker tripping.
Yikes!
> >===<>Is that water still running?!? The pond overfilled, right into my
pump
> >===<>box!! There is my Sequence 750 under an inch of water with it
pouring
> >===<>over the outlet! ( I knew I should have plumbed a drain in the
bottom
> >===<>of my "dry" box!!) So I quickly siphoned the box dry ( about a
1/4" at
> >===<>the bottom, the pump sits 3" above bottom ) and fired up the air
> >===<>compressor. Blew as much water as I could out of the pump motor and
the
> >===<>outlet. Crossed my fingers and reset the GFI. All is well again!
> >===<>Everything works!! Maybe I should stock an extra 750 just in case I
do
> >===<>burn this one up?? Guess I know what I will be doing next week!
Yup,
> >===<>fixin' up the overflow system!!
>
>
> Electric motors usually fare out ok if they are allowed to dry before
> powering them back up again. At the most I would check to make sure
> no water got into the bearings etc if it has bearings. If its running
> now, I would not worry about it. The big problems come when you p ut
> power to them and they are not dry, and if that was th case you would
> have know it by now. I agree, if you have a dry box its a good idea to
> have a drain or sump. My pumps house is also in the ground inside a
> typical water meter or water service box 12 x 17 x 15 inches. Its
> bottom is located 18 inches higher than the maximum amount of water my
> pond will hold (natural pond) before going out thr spillway. Since we
> do get some pretty heavy rains when we get it, and those service
> boxes are not really water proof, I used a post hole digger to dig
> down below the enclosure floor until I hit the water table in the
> pond, , and then ran a trench from there to my pond for the intake and
> discharge lines, then filled it back in with gravel. So now any water
> that gets in the box drains down through the gravel and winds back in
> the pond. (sort of like a french drain around a basement foundation
> wall........
> Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
> Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
> I had no input whatsoever.
> Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[Roy]

On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 07:20:00 -0700, "gng" >
wrote:

>===<>I just bought a $10 water timer at Home Depot that automatically turns off
>===<>the hose after a set amount of time. I have overfilled just once, but
>===<>cannot count the number of times I got to work and said "hmm, did I turn the
>===<>water off?"
snip


I find myself second guessing just about anything I do anymore, from
locking the house, to turning off the lights to putting the shop door
down when I leave etc etc etc. The list is endless.

I left the irrigation system for the garden on one time and we were
gone for 4 days.........I created a nice bog by the time I got back,
and wow, what a water bill I had that month! I now also have one of
those timers. I figured it has paid for itelf a hundred times already,
in water bills. You only intend to let the water run 10 minutes, and
those 10 minutes turn into hours as usually other things pop up and
you get side tracked.
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[San Diego Joe]

Yes, best to have something like that. I have a float valve.

"gng" wrote:

> I just bought a $10 water timer at Home Depot that automatically turns off
> the hose after a set amount of time. I have overfilled just once, but
> cannot count the number of times I got to work and said "hmm, did I turn the
> water off?"
> "Roy" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 29 Aug 2004 01:49:50 EDT, Mark and Kim Smith
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> ===<>So I decided to top off my pond ( I do that occasionally. ) I knew
>>> ===<>that, in the future, I would have to make provisions for rain and
>>> ===<>runoff, etc. I figured I have time since it is summer and all (
> still
>>> ===<>very hot around here! So I turned on the supply. Then my attention
>>> ===<>turned to my little boy. He likes getting into trouble at the most
>>> ===<>opportune times. All I needed to do was add an inch which doesn't
> take
>>> ===<>long in my 4000 gal pond. I could've sworn I shut off the fill
> pipe.
>>> ===<>So there I am chasing him when I notice the lights turn off just
> about
>>> ===<>the same time I recognize the sound of a GFI breaker tripping.
> Yikes!
>>> ===<>Is that water still running?!? The pond overfilled, right into my
> pump
>>> ===<>box!! There is my Sequence 750 under an inch of water with it
> pouring
>>> ===<>over the outlet! ( I knew I should have plumbed a drain in the
> bottom
>>> ===<>of my "dry" box!!) So I quickly siphoned the box dry ( about a
> 1/4" at
>>> ===<>the bottom, the pump sits 3" above bottom ) and fired up the air
>>> ===<>compressor. Blew as much water as I could out of the pump motor and
> the
>>> ===<>outlet. Crossed my fingers and reset the GFI. All is well again!
>>> ===<>Everything works!! Maybe I should stock an extra 750 just in case I
> do
>>> ===<>burn this one up?? Guess I know what I will be doing next week!
> Yup,
>>> ===<>fixin' up the overflow system!!
>>
>>
>> Electric motors usually fare out ok if they are allowed to dry before
>> powering them back up again. At the most I would check to make sure
>> no water got into the bearings etc if it has bearings. If its running
>> now, I would not worry about it. The big problems come when you p ut
>> power to them and they are not dry, and if that was th case you would
>> have know it by now. I agree, if you have a dry box its a good idea to
>> have a drain or sump. My pumps house is also in the ground inside a
>> typical water meter or water service box 12 x 17 x 15 inches. Its
>> bottom is located 18 inches higher than the maximum amount of water my
>> pond will hold (natural pond) before going out thr spillway. Since we
>> do get some pretty heavy rains when we get it, and those service
>> boxes are not really water proof, I used a post hole digger to dig
>> down below the enclosure floor until I hit the water table in the
>> pond, , and then ran a trench from there to my pond for the intake and
>> discharge lines, then filled it back in with gravel. So now any water
>> that gets in the box drains down through the gravel and winds back in
>> the pond. (sort of like a french drain around a basement foundation
>> wall........
>> Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
>> Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
>> I had no input whatsoever.
>> Remove "nospam" from email addy.
>
>
Yes, best to have something like that. I have a float valve.

San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar.



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[Mark and Kim Smith]

Roy wrote:

> <snip>
>
>
>Electric motors usually fare out ok if they are allowed to dry before
>powering them back up again. At the most I would check to make sure
>no water got into the bearings etc if it has bearings. If its running
>now, I would not worry about it.
>
<snip>

I'd say my crisis took all of one hour. I figured, after blowing the motor dry, if there was still water in there, the GFI would trip again. I have a feeling the pump went submerged and the water on the outlet is what tripped the GFI. No, the pump is not submersible, but maybe built for "wet" locations. No squealing bearings ( like on a Chrysler "K" car after steaming the motor ) so they must be of the sealed type. If I hear any squealing eventually, I'll have to find a way to lube them. Although, once they reach the point of squealing, you can usually count on them being shot!

[Dan D.]

Mark and Kim Smith > wrote in message >...
> So I decided to top off my pond .....I could've sworn I shut off the fill pipe.
.... Yikes!
> Is that water still running?!? .....

Leaving the water on is the absolute best- most done- way to kill
your fish.
The heck with the pump.
I'd really HATE to kill my fish after all these years.
I personally know 4 ponders.
3 of them have killed all their fish at one time or another by leaving
the city water on and forgetting it.

RULE 1 -- I never leave the pond when I'm filling.
If I leave, I turn off the water even if it's not full.
It's easy for me to say because my pond is very small and I can top it
off in 5 minutes but you should never forget rule 1.

If you've got a bigger pond that takes longer you need one of those
water shut off thingies like the folks said....

Peace!
Dan D. Louisville KY good ole USA
http://ky-dan.com
visit my winterization page!

[Mark and Kim Smith]

Dan D. wrote:

>Mark and Kim Smith > wrote in message >...
>
>
>>So I decided to top off my pond .....I could've sworn I shut off the fill pipe.
>>
>>
>... Yikes!
>
>
>>Is that water still running?!? .....
>>
>>
>
>Leaving the water on is the absolute best- most done- way to kill
>your fish.
>The heck with the pump.
>I'd really HATE to kill my fish after all these years.
>I personally know 4 ponders.
>3 of them have killed all their fish at one time or another by leaving
>the city water on and forgetting it.
>
>RULE 1 -- I never leave the pond when I'm filling.
>If I leave, I turn off the water even if it's not full.
>It's easy for me to say because my pond is very small and I can top it
>off in 5 minutes but you should never forget rule 1.
>
>If you've got a bigger pond that takes longer you need one of those
>water shut off thingies like the folks said....
>
>Peace!
>Dan D. Louisville KY good ole USA
> http://ky-dan.com
>visit my winterization page!
>

Killing the fish is the least of my worries. They are just silly ol'
goldfish and are quite durable. I figure if one of these guys can
survive, thrive and outgrow a bowl in my wife's preschool class (
including all the poking and tapping the little ones did and with
complete tap water change outs and no air / bubbling / filter system ),
then mine outta be just fine! And he grew to be quite large ( 4 - 5").
BTW, the preschool fish lasted until someone poured milk into the bowl
over the summer during bible school. Problems of having to share a
classroom I guess. I'm sure I would be more stressed about the
situation if they had been Koi but mine started life being saved from
the feeder tank at the local fish shop. www.bunchobikes.com/pond6.htm

[[email protected]]

rules are great, a water timer shutoff is even better. INgrid

(Dan D.) wrote:
>RULE 1 -- I never leave the pond when I'm filling.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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