Skimmer box winterizing

[addy1]

I need a photo of a pool noodle lol

So the idea is less water to freeze = less possible damage to the plastic?

I just displace most of the water from the skimmer, with the way I stuff it, there is almost no water in the skimmer over winter. It survived without cracking this winter, so it will survive any winter, we seldom get to -10 over winter like we did this year.

 

[Waterbug]

I also read one of your posts on another forum or maybe it's the same one you mentioned above. I liked the idea where you said to drill a hole by the crack and spray in the expanding foam to fill up any void. Question for you is if you put in to much you think that will bulge up the plastic and weaken it if it's a very big void?

No way to tell. For sure drilling holes at the end of the crack is a good idea to maybe stop/slow the crack from getting longer. Once there's a crack the thermal stresses would be even greater than before I should think.

I do think the foam would be a very short term fix.

Trouble with most of these fixes is binding different materials together all expand and contract at different rates so the bond gets broken. Not to mention bacteria getting in between. If you really wanted to try and make a long term fix I think you'd really have to pull it and weld from both sides. Or cut a metal plate to cover the crack, and a neoprene gasket and bolt the plate and gasket to cover the crack. If you do that drill the holes in the plastic a little large for the bolts to allow for expansion/contraction. Otherwise they'd likely crack the plastic even more.

But sounds like a lot of work to me.

 

[waynefrcan]

I will have both skimmers replaced under warranty so the crack fixing plan is not needed thank goodness.

Savio is telling me to keep the skimmer empty for winter and stuff insulation in it.

The overwintering idea of displacing water I will go with if I can't find some kind of faceplate cover to silicone on.

Or maybe I'll just set up the basement pond and bring all the fish inside.

Good ideas all, thanks very much.

Wayne

 

[Waterbug]

Then there you go. Savio has a good warranty.

I just read a couple of their install manuals, they say to drain all the pipes also to below freeze line which is probably 4' in your area. Bring UV and pump indoors. Pretty standard instructions.

 

[addy1]

I don't drain the lines, but we don't freeze like you do. My lines run under the skimmer then between the bog and the pond.

 

[waynefrcan]

Then there you go. Savio has a good warranty.

I just read a couple of their install manuals, they say to drain all the pipes also to below freeze line which is probably 4' in your area. Bring UV and pump indoors. Pretty standard instructions.

The biofalls F100 manual states to drain and insulate for the winter. THe skimmer they do not say to drain as they must know about overwintering fish etc. But now by email they say to drain it. YEs pond 101 blow out the lines.

 

[Waterbug]

Savio seems to use the same winterizing directions for all their products I've seen. Stuff like "drain the pipes below frost line" which would mean the skimmer would have to be empty. They also say stuff like add electric heat tape. But I don't know what model you have.

I always thought the instructions were so when a customer wanted a replacement that they could say "did you winterize properly?" which of course no one does, that they could void the warranty. But they didn't with you, that's impressive in my book. And a 5 year warranty tells me they're using pretty good plastic, think they have a good design. Lot's of skimmer get just 1 year.

 

[waynefrcan]

Instuctions for pond shutdown for savio skimmer.
UV and pump indoors.
Drain lines.
Insulate pump house.
Remove filter matt.

Does not say to empty the thing for winter and with water inside there is no way to insulate it. Which they can't say because then people will buy someone else's product that they can use to overwinter fish. I was told by the dealer when I bought these products that they are used for overwintering.

So I did nothing wrong and they must honor the warranty.

The biofalls units they do say to empty it and insulate which can be done as they are not needed for overwintering.

 

[addy1]

One big difference between yours and mine, my skimmer is a wide weir pool skimmer, no pump, no filter, pipe comes out of the bottom.

i forget that a lot of pond skimmers have a pump in them and filter material.

 

[waynefrcan]

The skimmers came free with just a ground delivery charge. Install and now set for another year.

 

[waynefrcan]

Thks RobAmy, I decided to bring the fish in the garage for the winter, with a heater that will be just enough to keep the ice off, but not enough that they will need feeding. I lost 2 large koi and one large goldf last winter outside. Just to harsh for them here. So the skimmers will be empty for the winter and will hold up without cracking.