Using an inflatable pool as a holding pond during maintenance

[Meyer Jordan]

I'm a bit leery of standing in water that has an electric pump in it. I only expect to be in the water about 15 minutes to fix the fold and tape it.

Unplug the pump!

 

[vestaviascott]

Unplug the pump!

Without a doubt

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Without a doubt

No really. If this repair is only going to take less than an hour, there is no t need for the water transfer.

 

[vestaviascott]

No really. If this repair is only going to take less than an hour, there is no t need for the water transfer.

We are on the same page. I'd never get into any body of water (in this case, a pond) with an active live electrical appliance (in this case, a submerged water pump). Whenever I'm in the pond for any reason, the pump is unplugged.

My response above was a bit ambiguous given the context, but it was in response to an earlier question.

In fact, as further precaution (to prevent issues of anyone falling into the pond, adults, children, or animals) I will be running a ground wire from the water to a grounding rod. Additionally, the pond pump will be on a dedicated GFCI grounded 20 amp circuit.

By the way, I know you know this but for the purpose of the water transfer is to alleviate pressure on the pond walls to allow work to be done. There is far too much pressure on the pond walls to do any proper movement of the rubber liner. The water will have to be drained by atleast half in order to allow the liner to be moved and taped into the proper fitment.

 

[Lisak1]

Whenever I'm in the pond for any reason, the pump is unplugged.

Really? I've never worried about it. I figure if there's live current, the fish would show signs of it.

Am I just an idiot?

 

[vestaviascott]

Really? I've never worried about it. I figure if there's live current, the fish would show signs of it.

Dead fish in the pond, obviously that's a red flag not to wade on in there without figuring out the cause or at a minimum, turn off the pump. But life is not always going to give you signs like that. What happens if the pump shorts out while you are in it?

Ounce of prevention, pound of cure. All of the above...

After all, how often are you in your pond? I don't plan on being there often enough where pulling a plug is going to be an issue.

This is fresh on my mind since we just learned of at least two tragic incidents in the news, both involving young teen girls who drown due to electrocution in water. In one instance, a young teen girl was taking a bath and reached for her cell phone which was plugged into a charger cable connected to the wall outlet. She dropped the phone, it fell into the water and she died instantly.

In another instance, in my state, a young teen girl was going to go for a swim at her parent's lake house, as she climbed down the ladder into the water, she had no idea that a tiny wire nut connecting the dock lights had come loose and was dangling in the water inches from the ladder. The result was there was a live electric field in the water surrounding the dock. Her muscles seized as soon as she stepped into the electrified water and she drown.

 

[Lisak1]

I'm in my pond every other week in the summer, at least. Plus I'm in the rain exchange almost every day, so unplugging would be kind of a pain. I don't know - I think a pump that's designed to be submerged is totally different than using an electrical device in the bathtub. I read the statement her parents put out that they wanted people to be aware that water and electricity don't mix - don't get me wrong, it's a tragic situation. But any parent who didn't have the knowledge to tell a child that was not OK must not be paying attention. But the woman I heard (grandma or stepmom - can't remember) said they all did it - sat in the tub with the phone plugged into the extension cord to play games on their phones while soaking in the tub. Not safe.

The dock situation I've heard of happening before - that's just tragic.

 

[vestaviascott]

This weekend, I'm planning on trying to find and fix my remaining corner fold leak issues. My plan is to try filling the pool to max and then squirt some food coloring in the remaining 3 corners one at a time until I can eliminate any corners from being the source of the leaks.

Once I've isolated the leaky areas, my initial plan is to drain the water out using the Intex inflatable pool as a holding tank like before. After insuring the corner folds are above the water line, I need to fix them in place with underwater tape - the stuff the local aquatic center stocks is near useless - I applied it to the dry liner after prepping the liner with PVC primer - they recommended using gasoline but I was wary of doing that vs the PVC primer - perhaps that was the difference, I'm not certain.

As an option to having to drain the pond (now that I have a half dozen fish in it), I'm looking at various "Underwater Tape" products to determine if I can seal up the corner folds by applying underwater tape.

What are your experiences with underwater tape like FlexSeal and "Versa Tape" and others?