Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Aerator Cabinet

I have a Gast pump that I am looking to enclose. I want it to be as sound proof as possible. I thought about the vertex cabinet, but I called them and they won,t sell just the cabinet. Anyone have any ideas or am I better to just build one?

I've seen a few doghouses turned into cabinets. Whatever you decide, remember to add ventilation. A Gast rotary vane gets HOT under operation.

Use natural air flow ventilation or a fan if the box is pretty air tight and sound proof. For natural air flow, I like some screening on the bottom and foundation vents near the roof with pump box up off the ground on cement blocks or similar to allow air into the box.

This is what I have used for some 12 years with a Gast 1/4 hp rotary vane pump with NO fan in Texas 100+ temp summers.
No pressure loss - no failure!

Currently I am using a fiberglass commercial electrical junction box with a vent fan and it get real hot in the summer inside the box and the box isn't real sound proof. I guess my thought is to have a bigger enclosure to help keep it cooler as the box I am using is just a little bigger than the pump and fan. The enclosure is out in the open so I want it to look nice.

Kenz, I know where an enclosure that looks like a large landscape rock, is. PM me for the info. The guy only had one left. Around $200 with some pricey shipping due to size, IIRC.

Kenz, I bought a NEMA 4? outdoor box and mounted it on a wooden pole. This helps keep it off the ground during times of snow, I run my pump in the shallows during the winter. I mounted my pump on rubber shoes to help any vibration, and mounted a 4" fan to blow fresh air directly on the pump motor. I did punch a secondary exhaust port on the side and mounted a dryer to not allow any water to blow in. You can buy air filters for them, I bought mine online at " Cole-Palmer". Additionally, at first I added spongy rubber flooring to help with sound damping, which is satisfactory, but in a quest for improvement, Amazon sells 6 pieces of 1" egg shell sound proof material pretty reasonable. I have spent about $250 for everything, pump included. I do not remember where I bought my diffusers (9") offhand though. It has been running solid for 2 1/2 years now. Good luck.

Kenz,

FWIW I built the attached 4 x 4 foot pump house out of scraps left over from building the house. I vented the floor and under the eves. Built it a little bigger to have room for storing my skim net, water thermometer, etc. I built it high for ease of maintenance on the compressor, keep it out of high water and prevent critters from building homes under it. It seems to do a good job of keeping the noise level low as well.

Bill D.

Looks sharp, Bill. The only issue I have with an enclosure of that kind is accessibility. Do you need to crawl in to check on things, or can you remove the stuff beforehand? Why I'm asking, is that everytime I build something like that, it becomes a home for a couple hundred paper wasps with anger management issues. I crawl in, and wham....

Yeah, I thought about that. Everything slides right out east or west door if I want to bring something out. Nothing is fastened down. Made it thru all last summer with no wasps. They seem to prefer making nests in the tree tubes so far. Guess sticking a can of wasp spray in there within easy reach of a door would not be a bad plan though!

Edit: I wonder if the vibration/noise from the compressor is what keeps them away?? I bet they could feel the vibration thru the entire structure.

BillD's pump house is a good idea. One can simplify it by down sizing it and using just a hinged slant roof instead of the A frame roof. Actually BillD would not need to have a separate cover for the compressor. The compressor could easily operate in the open sitting inside the pump house. Set the pump on an piece of foam rug padding to help dampen the sound.

I also built a similar smaller pump house of the ground out of a large plastic dog house. Lid lifts off for access. Added screening on the bottom and louvered house vents near the roofline. Screened the dog entry way to keep the insects out.

Bill, a quick question about enlosing the pump. I have a vertex system from Sue Cruz and there are warnings everywhere that the warranty is voided if the aluminum enclosure over the compressor is put in another enclosure, or modified in any way. The enclosure has its own ventilating fan so I can see it needs free access to fresh air to keep things cool. The warnings say that even repainting the box a different color will damage the compressor or void the warranty.

I've followed the rules to the letter but would love to provide a little camoflauge if possible. I've considered a pump house (maybe disguised as a decorative wishing well with little roof and compressor in the bottom, or in a large plastic fake boulder) etc. The compresser housing is in the shade of some big trees so i don't think heat is an issue but I wonder if i could safely put the compressor and its housing in something (even a plastic igloo style dog house that could be camoflaged with a rattle can) and not cause any harm.

Of course I would have to think about heat build up and air supply, bugs, etc. Right now the compressor has air intake in front and back and the leaves do tend to build up in those inlets. I have wished i did have some screening available to keep critters and leaves out of the inlets.

Vertex has to protect their warranty with customers doing dumb things, thus the numerous warnings. I assume you have one of their Brookstone rocking piston (wobble) compressors. They usually do not operate as warm as a rotary vane, although ventilation and cooling are very important to get extended life spans from compressors. I don't like the fake rocks for pump shelters even with internal fans - too air tight for my preference. Also just running the pump at night for MI conditions helps keep it cooler. Proceed at your own risk and use common sense. Make sure the new housing has ample ventilation and air circulation and you should be okay. You could even insert a outdoor thermometer to check the midday temps near the pump. FYI Gast brand Rotary vanes normally operate at 205F and thermal auto-shutdown is at 256F. There are probably similar guidelines for your compressor.

+1 to what Bill C. said. Definitely can downsize. I went oversize to provide some minimal storage at the pond and have room should I want to put any other equipment in the house in the future. I keep the cover on the pump during times of high pollen or when farmers are working the fields as it has a cleanable filter built in that traps alot of the stuff before it gets to the paper filter at the compressor inlet. Those little paper filters are expensive (The manufacturer of my system has several bells and whistles, like special air filter cartridges, that you can only get from them.). I need to modify that area and adapt a cheaper lawn mower type paper filter assembly to the inlet.

Anybody know someone that sells filter adapter kits for compressors? The compressor is essentially a 1/3 HP Gast rocking piston.

Bill - CC's motor is probably the same. The thermal ratings are based on the class of insulation on the wire they use in the windings, which most common would be Class "B" on these types of motors. Class B has a 266°F max. temp. limit. If you are tripping the thermal overload, you have a problem and need to find out what it is.

I stuck the compressor for the HBG pond up in the "attic" of the well house. No precipitation, but still out in the open.

Here is what I did.

snrub's pump house

I like SNRUB's idea but don't want overheating. I like hiding it in an attic too. I guess key is air exchange!

CC - Keep in mind that heat rises, so in an enclosure you will want to put your heavy heat producing items in the bottom with a vent, then cross over to the opposite upper side with a vent. You want the hot air to move out above while cooler air is being brought in below.

Also keep in mind that motor overheating is not always caused by excessive ambient and operating temps.

A well overlooked area by the Plug-N-Play population is over amping the motor. Yep, some people do string out a couple hundred feet of the $9.00 Home Depot extension cords and wonder why their motor smoked in short order.

Voltage drop. Pretty much most AC motors are constant HP critters. That means they will try maintain their constant HP output despite what they are being fed. If voltage drops, it want's to eat more amps to maintain HP although speed has been reduced, and now the cooling fan is much less effective, because it has to follow the Affinity Laws. Higher amps are working their way into the winding insulation and causing premature failure of a motor that should last for many, many years.

Don't buy a 100' extension cord and octapus all of your pond's electrical requirements off of that.

Snrub's style of pump does not produce a lot of heat compared to a rotary vane or rocking piston compressor. Has compressor shelter is spacious and with louvered ventilation.

Just another FWIW, but I've had several members PM me about my cabinet that's been outside since June, 2012, through some harsh winters and still holding up fine. I was going to insulate the inside (for noise) but never got around to it, but it's fairly quiet the way it is!

Like the rig, but I suck at wood.

I hear that. I despise working with wood, although I have great admiration for those who can use the medium to turn out fantastic projects....works of art, many. Far beyond anything I could ever accomplish. I can't even follow the line with a skilsaw.

Metal? Now you're speaking my language!

I have vents in both ends and openings at the ends of the ceiling insulation where heat can rise and exit via venting in each end of the lid. I built it with the idea there might be a different style pump in it some day.

I consider cabinet built by Lovnlivin okay for a rocking piston compressor but too tight with lack of adequate natural flow ventilation for a rotary vane. Note his shelter does have a fan in it which makes the shelter okay.