Outside Outlets

[Busy B]

I'm thinking of having an electrician come to the house and install some outlets somewhere near the pond. As it is now, I run the cords to the inside of the greenhouse which is gfci protected. Getting tired of burying the cords or trying to get them to go thru the pipe we had setup to run under the ghouse.

What's an optimum number of outlets? Is 4 enough?

If I ever make up my mind on what I want to do, is that enough to run equipment?

Sure would be nice if it was decorative and not just a box on a post..any ideas?

[Cinnamon]

Busy we have 3 main leads coming to our pond. In the step waterfall we have 2 4-way recepticles and one 2-way with GFI on all. One we have our pond lights hooked into. Heiko has a switch on it to turn them on and off. Now on the bridge we have 2 4-way and one 2 -way for the pumps and 3 GFIs . We are running 3 pumps in our pond also. This may be overkill but it is safe. We have an electrical guru that comes down and helps us figure out what we need to do. He also helps on the 72,000 Christmas lights!! All I have to do is feed him a meal ! :lol: He lives right down the road also. Good friends to have!

[Busy B]

So more the merrier huh?

The electrician I used to wire the greenhouse is able to come back...I trust him and he's more than reasonable.

I will never use lights by the pond...In Alaska in the summer, it would be silly :grin: Ye ole Land of the Midnight Sun...I don't get much sleep in the summer anyway cause it never gets dark, so sitting by the pond at 3 in the morning waiting to see the lights, I'd be part of the walking dead :lol:

[Cinnamon]

I forgot about the sun up there! That would be very very difficult for me. It doesn't hurt to have an extra plug here and there. My guy is an Electrical Engineer aka guru :) You have to always trust your electrician for sure. There are 2 things I DO NOT DO. That is plumbing and electricity. Electricity scares me and plumbing.... well it is a s**** job! :lol: !rofl I have a 200 amp service in my shop. It feeds my shop and Heiko's shop. Plus we use it for all the Christmas lights as well. We have 2 other 100 amp breaker boxes in a couple of location in the yard.

As far as lights around the pond they are all underwater lights. Don't you have a period where it is always dark??? At that time you could enjoy them 24/7 :smile:

[Jackie Ramo]

Its the one thing I really rget not having done when we moved in. A pony box just for the pond needs would have done it. But the main board of the house needs to be expanded a new outlet won't cut it. 50 years ago they didn't have so many gadgets. Oh the place has been rewired and upgraded, just not enough for the outside needs.

[Wayne S.]

The number of outlets needed will depend a lot on your pond, but having proper electircal set up is important. Aviod using extension cords as much as possilbe. Some pumps and other equipment comes with longer cords around 18 feet which gives flexabilty in locating the outlet but some only have 6 foot cords which means the outlet needs to be very close or an extra cord is needed.

Try to place the outlets where they are not too noticable but still convienant.

Add up the total number of pieces of equipment you may have running at one time. Count all water pumps, air pumps, timers, UV, heaters and any other equipment - this tells you how any oultets you currently need.

I have 8 outlets for my two ponds and it is not enough sometimes.
Wayne S.

[Busy B]

Cin...When it's dark outside I won't be sitting by the pond...that's Jan and Feb...no way! :lol: And I've come to accept the fact that I'll always have to bring the fish in for the winter..

Thanks Wayne..8 should cover it..that would handle future needs. If my ponding season was longer, I'd be using more equipment. Hubby is pretty good at splicing a cord that's too short but I have noticed on some of the pumps and what not's that they come with a 6 ft. That's not alot of wiggle room.