On 29 Aug 2004 01:49:50 EDT, Mark and Kim Smith
wrote:

===So I decided to top off my pond ( I do that occasionally. ) I knew
===that, in the future, I would have to make provisions for rain and
===runoff, etc. I figured I have time since it is summer and all ( still
===very hot around here! So I turned on the supply. Then my attention
===turned to my little boy. He likes getting into trouble at the most
===opportune times. All I needed to do was add an inch which doesn't take
===long in my 4000 gal pond. I could've sworn I shut off the fill pipe.
===So there I am chasing him when I notice the lights turn off just about
===the same time I recognize the sound of a GFI breaker tripping. Yikes!
===Is that water still running?!? The pond overfilled, right into my pump
===box!! There is my Sequence 750 under an inch of water with it pouring
===over the outlet! ( I knew I should have plumbed a drain in the bottom
===of my "dry" box!!) So I quickly siphoned the box dry ( about a 1/4" at
===the bottom, the pump sits 3" above bottom ) and fired up the air
===compressor. Blew as much water as I could out of the pump motor and the
===outlet. Crossed my fingers and reset the GFI. All is well again!
===Everything works!! Maybe I should stock an extra 750 just in case I do
===burn this one up?? Guess I know what I will be doing next week! Yup,
===fixin' up the overflow system!!


Electric motors usually fare out ok if they are allowed to dry before
powering them back up again. At the most I would check to make sure
no water got into the bearings etc if it has bearings. If its running
now, I would not worry about it. The big problems come when you p ut
power to them and they are not dry, and if that was th case you would
have know it by now. I agree, if you have a dry box its a good idea to
have a drain or sump. My pumps house is also in the ground inside a
typical water meter or water service box 12 x 17 x 15 inches. Its
bottom is located 18 inches higher than the maximum amount of water my
pond will hold (natural pond) before going out thr spillway. Since we
do get some pretty heavy rains when we get it, and those service
boxes are not really water proof, I used a post hole digger to dig
down below the enclosure floor until I hit the water table in the
pond, , and then ran a trench from there to my pond for the intake and
discharge lines, then filled it back in with gravel. So now any water
that gets in the box drains down through the gravel and winds back in
the pond. (sort of like a french drain around a basement foundation
wall........
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