# Fountain in pond



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I don't know where you've been looking, but "submersible wire" isn't all that expensive at all. The jacketed flat parallel submersible pump cable is only pennies a foot more than UF.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

How is the wire terminated at the pump???


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Dennis Alwon said:


> How is the wire terminated at the pump???


I was kinda wondering the same thing. I thought most of these had the pump in a dry area and hose out to the nozzle that made the spray feature. I dunno. I'm not really a fountain guy. I just wire up the crap that's already set in place by the guys who do that kind of work. I did wire one in a small lake that had a submersible well pump hanging off the bottom, on a hook. It was sorta home-made, but looked beautiful.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

I believe many have an underground (underwater JB). In that case I believe you can PVC to the JB and run thwn wire.


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## Salvatoreg02 (Feb 26, 2011)

Spec show the pump in the middle of the pond. Don't have the pump yet, also, it shows 4 LEDs lights in the middle of pond. Maybe, I just have provide power for lights.

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## amptech (Sep 21, 2007)

I have done a couple of these floating aeration fountains. You use crimps and heat shrink just like a submersible pump in a water well. That's basically what they are just with the discharge below the water surface. They usually look like a truck tire that floats on the pond with the pump in the middle and the lights around the outside edge. I have also used an insulating kit that consisted of a plastic tube that you slid over the crimped and heat shrink splices then you fill the tube with a 2 part epoxy. It sets up in about 2 minutes harder than concrete and 100% water-proof.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

We order aerators and water features with the right amount of SOOW cord along with them. Splice with crimps and adhesive heatshrink. 

Wait till you have to do one in a sewage pond and you have to row out there to place it in a little boat.


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## jwjrw (Jan 14, 2010)

Md has it right. Or there is more than one type of pump design. We did a few last year. Our pump was remote like a pool. We added lights in the fountains but the cable came with the lights.


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## idontknow (Jul 18, 2009)

Nine comments in and no mention of scotchkote? For shame everyone. Why not run UF cable and do a uf splice kit at the pump?


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

I'm not so sure you can just roll UF out in the pond.. I would consider subject to damage as one possible issue. Without checking is underwater the same as a wet location? I'm curious about this one.


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## Salvatoreg02 (Feb 26, 2011)

nitro71 said:


> I'm not so sure you can just roll UF out in the pond.. I would consider subject to damage as one possible issue. Without checking is underwater the same as a wet location? I'm curious about this one.


UF is not considered acceptable for submersing in body's of water

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## idontknow (Jul 18, 2009)

Salvatoreg02 said:


> UF is not considered acceptable for submersing in body's of water
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ET Forum


I didn't see anything in the NEC or the UL white book saying that. Where did you find it?


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## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

idontknow said:


> Nine comments in and no mention of scotchkote? For shame everyone. Why not run UF cable and do a uf splice kit at the pump?


:laughing:




nitro71 said:


> I'm not so sure you can just roll UF out in the pond.. I would consider subject to damage as one possible issue. Without checking is underwater the same as a wet location? I'm curious about this one.


How would UF cable be any different than submersible cord with regard to the damage issue? They would both be vulnerable. 

As for being submerged, I don't see how UF being in wet or damp earth is any different than being underwater all the time.


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

Jlarson said:


> We order aerators and water features with the right amount of SOOW cord along with them. Splice with crimps and adhesive heatshrink.
> 
> Wait till you have to do one in a sewage pond and you have to row out there to place it in a little boat.


That's sounds like a barrel of laughs.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

Rudeboy said:


> That's sounds like a barrel of laughs.


Yeah it's funny in between the "What the F*ck was that that just floated by??" moments :laughing::laughing:


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

Peter D said:


> :laughing:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


How are you going to secure it?


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## idontknow (Jul 18, 2009)

nitro71 said:


> How are you going to secure it?


 With romex staples.

How do you secure anything from floating around in a body of water? Cinder blocks, lead weights, you could even loop it through a chain. If you're worried about the wire being subject to damage, sleeve the run in 1/2" GRC.

Burying is easy, 300.5 says UF must be 2' below finished grade. Once you get out to 2' deep water, you can just lay it out. Aside from a fisherman snaggin it with a hook, it shouldn't be disturbed being just a fountain pond.


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

idontknow said:


> With romex staples.
> 
> How do you secure anything from floating around in a body of water? Cinder blocks, lead weights, you could even loop it through a chain. If you're worried about the wire being subject to damage, sleeve the run in 1/2" GRC.
> 
> Burying is easy, 300.5 says UF must be 2' below finished grade. Once you get out to 2' deep water, you can just lay it out. Aside from a fisherman snaggin it with a hook, it shouldn't be disturbed being just a fountain pond.


I'm not worried, I can engineer whatever I think will work. The question is code compliance. I'm willing to bet rolling UF out into your pond is not going to pass inspection.


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## idontknow (Jul 18, 2009)

So what code article are they going to reference?


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Larson, do those pumps really come with regular SOOW? I wouldn't imagine that would be submersion proof for the long term.

I'd use UF in an area with no boats. That stuff is pretty rugged, and I've put it in trenches that were below the water table so it was essentially under water all the time, anyway. 

It doesn't appear to be a violation to use it under water.

-John


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

Big John said:


> Larson, do those pumps really come with regular SOOW? I wouldn't imagine that would be submersion proof for the long term.


Yep. Just like submersible sewage and sump pumps.

Here's part of what I think is 300 feet of it, it's heavy


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Jlarson said:


> Yep. Just like submersible sewage and sump pumps.
> 
> Here's part of what I think is 300 feet of it, it's heavy


 I'll be durned. :001_huh: 

All that stuff must not be created equal. I've seen some if it get totally ate up from long-term exposure to wet environments. It's made me real skittish about using cords for anything.

-John


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

Big John said:


> I'll be durned. :001_huh:
> 
> All that stuff must not be created equal. I've seen some if it get totally ate up from long-term exposure to wet environments. It's made me real skittish about using cords for anything.
> 
> -John


Occasionally we can only get ones with way too much cord so we take the extra and make temp cords. I ran one over with a telescoping forklift the other day multiple times, no damage.


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

amptech said:


> I have done a couple of these floating aeration fountains. You use crimps and heat shrink just like a submersible pump in a water well. That's basically what they are just with the discharge below the water surface. They usually look like a truck tire that floats on the pond with the pump in the middle and the lights around the outside edge. I have also used an insulating kit that consisted of a plastic tube that you slid over the crimped and heat shrink splices then you fill the tube with a 2 part epoxy. It sets up in about 2 minutes harder than concrete and 100% water-proof.


 That is the way I have done them. The cord comes back to land and is sleeved in a piece of 2" pvc, buried 18" from the edge of the water body to the controller. These were on golf courses where they take them in every winter. We get the call back in the spring when they install the wrong fountain in the wrong pond. They would rather pay us to swap out the controllers. They have different hp. pumps in different ponds


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