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Ponds & Aquatic Plants

Condensation in Pump Box Question...

14 years ago

I've been working on my sc/pump box cover. It's a ground level deck covered with cedar decking. I made drop in sections for the pump box and sc. The pump area is 5' x 28" wide. I split this into three sections that I can lift out. As I didn't want rain water getting in on the pump I covered the frame of each section with green plywood. When I lifted out the sections today the piping for the pump had condensation on it. Will this harm my pump? Do I need to make a vent hole somewhere in the framing/decking??? The pump doesn't run hot--but then our weather hasn't been hot either. The framing on the sections is green treated wood which is pretty wet right now due to all the rain we've had the last few days.

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Comments (3)

squirelette
14 years ago
Hi Patti,
Given our normal summer conditions you probably won't get condensation but it might be a good idea to vent it for spring and weeks like this one has been.
mike_il
14 years ago
I would guess that the pond temperature is below the dew point for the air. Once the pond warms up this will no longer be the situation and the pipe won't sweat any longer. But in any case this moisture shouldn't hurt the pump. The motor on the pump should be a totally enclosed fan cooled motor in which case moisture would not be a problem. Secondly the pump should run warm enough to evaporate any moisture on the motor.
Mike
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jalal
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Squirlette and Mike for responding. Wasn't any condensation on the pipework today and I finished the decking over the pump box area yesterday. I did drill six 1/4" holes in the plywood on the middle section--it's over the skimmer valve and priming pot/leaf basket while building yesterday. This is turning out to be a complicated project. I ran the decking diagonally due to the angle of the pump box to the skimmer. Needless to say there have been some challenges! Because I don't want to get any sawdust in the pond (even though it's cedar decking) I've been carefully measuring, cutting and sanding in the garage. My knees are aching from all the bending but it's going to be wonderful not to have to step in between framing to do water changes and get to the other side of the pond. Will post pics when it's done. Thanks again for your help. Patti

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