Over the years I have tried several different ways to clean the gunk out of
my pond. None were satisfactory. Those of you that use wet fry vacuums, I
wonder if you can chime in.

How easily do they clog? Will they suck up leaves and such?

Do I have to empty it, or is there a way to connect a hose to it to have it
discharge elsewhere?

Any particular brand?

Lilies in bloom, time to start cleaning.

San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo.

On Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:01:01 EDT, Joe wrote:

How easily do they clog?

Mine never does. Oh wait, there was the dead bullfrog that was too big,
yeah, that was pretty gross.

Will they suck up leaves and such?

Oh yeah... and pretty much every thing else.

Do I have to empty it, or is there a way to connect a hose to it to have it
discharge elsewhere?

Mine has a small discharge (it does clog), I let the worst of the water
drain to waste thru the vac hose, since I can't vac and drain at the same
time.

Any particular brand?

I have the one from Sears. My recommendation is get a large enough
canister. Mine is 12 gallon, 2.75 horse. Too much power and they make too
much high pitch noise. Too big a container you can't move it when full...
but keep in mine that's coming from a 55 yo 5'2" female. ;-) ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

In article , Joe
wrote:

Over the years I have tried several different ways to clean the gunk out of
my pond. None were satisfactory. Those of you that use wet fry vacuums, I
wonder if you can chime in.

How easily do they clog? Will they suck up leaves and such?

Do I have to empty it, or is there a way to connect a hose to it to have it
discharge elsewhere?

Any particular brand?

Lilies in bloom, time to start cleaning.

San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo.

I have a smaller cheap one from Home Depot. Cut a hole in the side at
the bottom and put a big drain plug there. Sucks up leaves well and
drains quickly. The only problem with the small one is that it fills up
faster.
Attaching a hose to the side might be a good idea, but the plug needs to
be screwed tight to keep the suction. I just carry it a few feet away to
drain into plant area. I also remove the paper filter when I use the vac.

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On Fri, 14 May 2010 14:34:26 EDT, Chumley wrote:

I have a smaller cheap one from Home Depot. Cut a hole in the side at
the bottom and put a big drain plug there. Sucks up leaves well and
drains quickly. The only problem with the small one is that it fills up
faster.
Attaching a hose to the side might be a good idea, but the plug needs to
be screwed tight to keep the suction. I just carry it a few feet away to
drain into plant area. I also remove the paper filter when I use the vac.

Good point. Remove the filter, they have a float in them to stop the water
going into the motor, it doesn't work as well with the filter on.

Also... interesting idea on the cutting a bigger hole. I may have to ask
DS about that. It should would help drain things off, as I've got to be
careful about lifting. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

A gas-powered water pump would be safer, plus it would likely come with a
long output hose, rather than a cannister, which means that you do not end
up being the manual half of a electric pump.

Wet-dry vacs make a whole lot more sense than "steam cleaners" for consumer
use, though. Boil five gallons on the stove, slop it on the carpet, and suck
it up with a JobMate. Three times the capacity, plus the capability of using
water that steams. It is still not steam cleaning, and it costs a lot less.
_______
http://ecn.ab.ca/~brewhaha/

What is the best season for cleaning?