Sorry Va, I've been busy sugaring.
I don't have to do anything to my fountain except pull it out every winter and put it back in in the summer. All I do is hose it off.
I have never had to do anything to it. Have had it for over 10 yrs. It is a Flair fountain. Made in USA. All stainless and the pump has never failed. Does not have to be drained or anything. We get down to minus 20 here and it's not stored in a heated barn, either.
My fountain is really well built and has loops welded on for anchoring. It doesn't really need an anchor-as heavy as the cable is, when it reaches the length, it stays put.
If you have a sloped bank at any place that you can put an old piece of carpet on, you should be able to pull the fountain right back up onto shore. You could just leave it, I suppose. I just didn't want to risk damage by ice heaving or crushing--I get 6 inches thick.
So I use a tractor and haul it up to my barn. The submersible cable is heavy. I haul that out with a rag in each hand, wiping and coiling as I go. I went with a pretty big pump, so the fountain is way too heavy to carry, but it floats in the water, so it isn't hard to manage in the water. You can tow it out to the middle with a rowboat or pedal boat or whatever. I keep the cable afloat on an inner tube and pay it out as I go or else you are trying to drag the cable through the mud and that is difficult.
Does that sound like too much work?
Do you get a solid freeze there?
