Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Thanks Ted!

That was quick! My neighbor ordered his aeration system plus some sinking airhose for me. It came the next day. That's what I call quick service! Ordered on Monday, delivered on Tuesday.

Now I hope he doesn't burn up the compressor. He ran 525' of #12 for power.......

He's got to be careful not to let the smoke out. I learned a long time ago that if you improperly wire an electrical appliance or try to unsuccessfully refurbish an electrical tool you stand a chance of letting all of the smoke out. Once the smoke is evacuated from anything electrical they never run the same again. Last year I let all of the smoke out of our TV - had to buy a new one.

LSHIFIMP, JHAP!

525' of 12 gauge will have just over 1.6 ohms of resistance, total, in the two legs supplying power (1.588 ohm per 1000'). If the compressor is drawing 10 amps (just pulled that figure from thin air for discussion & easy math), that's 16 volts out of your (120 nominal VAC) supply that will be sucked up by the wire and NOT available for the compressor.

V=IxR
Vwire loss = 10 A x 1.6 Ohms = 16 volts (from wire loss)

theo is all over this one. Not to mention excessive heat in the wiring which causes more loss. the starting current will be several times the running current, therefore it may not even start up. No bueno!

I once daisy chained a 120 VAC supply so many times it was only delivering 95 volts with no load.

You may get JHAP to believe that.

What are the running amps for the compressor? (it should say on the compressor)

Sue, I believe it's 5 amps - he purchased the smallest do-it-yourself kit from Ted. His pond is approx. 1/3 to 1/2 ac, rectangular shaped, maybe 70' wide.

JHAP, we would call it magic smoke. Once it escapes it's hard to stuff it back in!

I told my neighbor that he would need bigger wire for that long of a run, but he's got a friend that knows more about wiring than I do......

I think he would need 8 gauge wire. I always use this website to calculate voltage drop. http://www.csgnetwork.com/voltagedropcalc.html
Start up amps can be up to 3 times the running amps, so you would enter 15 amps for the load. You want to stay under 5% drop. I am definately NOT an electrical expert (obviously) but that compressor won't run - it will be loud, shakey and will definately lose it's magic smoke!

Why not put the compressor closer to the electrical source and run an air line. Much cheaper than more copper.
You should be able to put the compressor 150 ft. away with no problem. Otherwise, get another run of 12 and double up. Drive a ground rod for local ground.

burgermeister: He put a kit log cabin near the pond, and ran the 12ga wire to it, there isn't an outlet betwen the cabin and the house.

Sue: I suggested #6 or the less expensive #8, but you know the rest....

He does have 150' of hose, but he'll need that much to get the aerator at the deepest spot in the pond. I'll give him those suggestions tho! At least he won't have to use the sinking airline for the out-of-water run.

As a side note, after the pond was completed last September, some of the first fish that were introduced in the pond were six 12" - 15" LMB, followed by 30 or so 6"-8" BG. I did convince him to order FH and GSH last Fall so the fish survived the winter O.K., and he ordered more GHS and FH this Spring.

He can get 3/4 inch poly rolls at Lowes for about $15 per hundred, 3 rolls of that and barbed splices is much cheaper than more wire.

I posted my "how to"when I put in my areation and electrical,but I dont know how to put a link for it here.Personally,I wouldnt run 12 that far for anything.You always wind up hooking up more stuff.IIRC,I ran 6 ga.

I bet that friend still tests nine volt batteries with his tongue. Twice if it's weak!