I wouldn't go out on that pond with the aerator on if you gave me the whole BOW.
I know we should all be careful with ice but with experience and thoughtful checking I've never had any dangerous issues with running a diffuser in my ponds in the winter. Granted I do move a diffuser close to shore and back off on the air flow by changing out to a smaller compressor.
Yes i've gone through the ice a couple of times but only once in my pond and that had nothing to do with the diffuser. I poked my foot into suspicious hole while standing on the pier and lost my balance.
In really cold weather after careful checking I've actually stood almost adjacent to diffuser hole. The ice was fairly thick right up to the hole.
For those of you that don't get on ice it can be as safe as standing on concrete if it's good quality ice and thick enough. Even if you did go through if the ice, and the ice is not glass smooth (which it rarely is) it's relatively easy to get out if you roll out on your back. Going through is not an automatic death sentence like many of you southern folks think. ;-)In fact I've buddies laugh so hard when another fishing buddy goes through help is a littke delayed.
