First contractor said "No problem...we can use the pond."
Second contractor (and a third that I've not talked to, but just randomly mentioned to wife) says my pond (1 acre +/-) is "...too small to be efficient..."
Course, the last guy is just an idiot kid I've known for years, and he's just a gopher for one of the main dirt contractors around here.
Whaddaya think? Is 1 acre in SE Iowa too small? Not from what research I've done...but I don't claim to know much about this stuff.
I don't think it has anything to do with efficiency. We heated our house just from a puddle our first season and it wasn't more expensive than when there was more water in the pond. I am just guessing if the pond (volume of water) is too small then the geo might increase/decrease water temperature by few degrees and it could possibly affect the environment in the pond.
See the quote:
I have a 5 ton Geo. Pond loop installed in 1/2 acre pond max depth about 9-10'. No significant changes in pond temp. compared to similar ponds nearby. Bottom diffuser aeration isn't significantly affecting efficiency but I don't aerate between November and February. Whole house electric bill last month was $100.43. Worst bill was this winter and a little over $300 but the thermostat was set at 74 degrees most of that month 24/7 and temps outside were often below 0. Going off memory, I think the pond loop install was around $1300, about a third the cost of a ground loop in 2003 but I don't think trenchless was available then. I looked at my loop this past winter with my Aquavu while ice fishing and it is still surpisingly clean and the blocks it's sitting on only appear to have sank about an inch. This might have something to do with aeration.
In my opinion your pond is big enough.
Assuming theoretical 1ac 6ft deep pond perfectly insulated with no heat loss.
1ac
sguare ft 43560
depth 6
cubic ft 261360
lb of water 16260349
BTU/degR 16260349
48000 BTU unit will increase the temperature by one degree in
339 hours.
Hope it is right.
