Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Newly Built Bug Wacker

Hey everyone. I just wanted to show off my new bug wacker and give all the credit to BZ. I constructed it using the parts that he recommended from another post that is located in the Creating Habitat forum I think. A couple things that I'll change in the future are: 1) use a smaller diameter bowl so more light will show and 2) add a longer cable for the plug with a GFCI of course (the current one was only used for a trial run.)

I don't have power near my pond yet, but I'll begin building in a couple months so I can give it the real test. I tried it out on the porch at my current house and it immediately started wacking . The pictures were taken before I added the string. THANKS AGAIN TO BZ FOR HELPING ME OUT. I think the entire system cost me $103 after all the shipping charges and taxes. It was a fun project, saved me a few dollars, and I believe it is more powerful than most of the manufactured models.

Bug Wacker 1
Bug Wacker 2
Bug Wacker 3
Bug Wacker 4

Good job, Limb Bream.

Have you considered making a couple more and selling them?

LOL! Thanks Bruce. That might not be a bad idea. I'll just have to give BZ a percentage of the profits for coming up with the original design. What do ya think BZ, 50/50?

Hey Limb Bream that looks great! You did a real fine job on the fan shroud. Where did you get that? I wonder if you could just lengthen the bolts that mount the light into the bowl so it hangs down lower and exposes more of the bulb? Mine do have the bulbs visible from the side even after I mounted the light fixture up tight into the bowl so my bowl must be a little smaller. Just a note, I would recommend you make the string really long to start with. Start at about 24 inch diameter. If it's too long the motor will overheat and shut down after running a while. So just start cutting the string shorter and shorter until the motor no longer cuts out after 20 or 30 minutes. I've found that if the thing overheats it will do this within the first few minutes regardless of outdoor temps. If it doesn't overheat in about 30 minutes it never will. This way you can maximize string length and thus bug killing capability. I could measure how long my string is but depending on the clearances around your fan shroud and efficiency of moving air you may a longer or shorter string. Another tip to using this design. If you used the same parts I did then your fan is sucking air from above and blowing it downward. If you mount this within about 3 feet of the water surface it creates enough air to move dead floating bugs around and attract fish. As far as selling these units, I figure I've gotten enough help from this forum that the least I can do is provide anything I design free to folks here. So I say pass the information around for free or if you have time build them for folks at no profit.

I'd pay to have one made and wouldn't care if you DID make a profit!

Now THAT'S a whacker! Great job. Use your deep cycle battery and 100 watt inverter and start feeding those fish while the bugs are still plentiful.

Thanks guys. The fan shroud is actually an old paint can that I cut the bottom off of. I didn't even know that some were made of plastic. I just assumed it was metal until I started cutting it. I bent some wire to go around the bulb and made a circle on each end. Then I riveted the wire to the light fixture on one end and to the fan shroud on the other. I did attach the fan the same way that you did BZ. I figure that there's no need to reinvent the wheel right?

That's not a bad idea burgermeister. The number of bugs are beginning to decrease with the cooler temperatures. I better hurry. BM, I added some pictures of the air pump and fan that you recommended quite some time back. They're posted on the "Should I Aerate?" forum. Thanks for the help.

Bruce, I don't mind building you one if you've got a little patience. I'll have to order some more parts and make a trip to Home Depot on top of some other projects. I don't want to make any money on it though. Like bz says, with as much as I've taken from this forum, its time that I give something back. I don't know how much it would be to ship it from Louisiana to Nebraska. The darn thing must weigh at least 10 pounds. Let me know if you really want one.

Thanks again everybody!