"Roy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 00:41:30 -0400, "Bill Stock"
wrote:

===I've seen a few of you using Eavestrough deicing cable to
warm/de-ice your
===pond. I gather this stuff does not get warm enough to melt the
liner? Does
===it leak current into the water?
===
===I did some measuring today and I only seem to have 24" of depth, so
I'm a
===little concerned that the bubbler won't do it. I could swear I had
30" (must
===be old age ), but I'm not sure I was hitting bottom either. The
netting
===was obscuring my view. The plan is to set up a temperature sensor
about 8"
===off the bottom and use the deicing cable to maintain a 40 degree
temp. I
===don't really want to heat the water, just keep it warm enough to
prevent
===fishsicles. Do you think 300 watts will be enough if I cover the
pond?
===
===
===
===


I dunno about using the electric heating cables normally used for on
house eaves and in gutters......Are they approved for submersion?
Being in ice or in a rain / sleet storm on a rood is not really
submerged. Same for outside extension cords, while they may work fine
in wet rainy weather, even with the plug ends out of water they sure
are not supposed to be submerged...... While I don;t have a dog in
this conversation in regards to having a pond in a potential freeze
situation, the use of a de-icing cable just spurs my interest in
regards to it being safe for such a use......
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

My concern too Roy. I've seen the same three or four posters who swear by
it, but it does not seem to be in wide spread use.

Pond is about 500 gallons (probably less).