Homemade Duck Ponds? Pics?

[chickenlisa]

same here in NJ...we had a horrible winter!

 

[Hattiegun]

im in IOWa and its COLD COLD COLD .. no heat in the pen.part... they make all kinds of freeze proof hydrants.. u can get them at your local Menards . tractor supply stores ...etc. I had NO problems at all and we had cold cold - zero temps......

HOW A FREEZE-PROOF HYDRANT WORKS
CLOSED
The hydrant is closed and no water is in the riser pipe or head. Water is stopped by the plunger (valve) below the front line. Protected like this, no freezing can occur.
..
. OPEN- WATER FLOWING
Water is available by lifting the handle. This will lift the plunger, allowing water to flow and the plunger to seal off the drain hole.
...
.
.. CLOSED - DRAINING
Closing the handle pushes the plunger down to seal off the water and cover the drain hole. This allows the water in the head and riser pipe to drain back down into the gravel drain bed. The pipe is now empty and cannot freeze.

edited to say.... they are not waaaay out of line on the pricing either... somewhere around $100 or so.. well worth not hauling water ...

 

[chickenlisa]

Awesome! I'll look at TSC next time I go! Thank you SOOOOOOO much for the clear explanation! Now I get it!

 

[loubapache]

Thank you so much, Hattiegun.


Now the problem is to dig this trench below the frost line to the basement. It is going to be a big project.

 

[chickenlisa]

http://www.amazon.com/Simmons-4802-Frost-Hydrants-Compliant/dp/B000DZDQBW/ref=pd_cp_hi_0

Is this like what you are talking about? Why do they come in 2' bury depths all the way to 6' bury depths?

 

[The Duck ABC's]

In our cold climate they come with up to 10'. You need to bury them below the frost line, which is usually 3 feet or deeper. Then you still want enough pipe above ground that you don't have to bend all the way down to the ground to get to the top of it. So get at least the 6 footer.

 

[chickenlisa]

so that doesn't mean to bury it 6' below ground? That's what I thought it meant....I just went back to the reviews and found this as part of one of them....how does one find out how deep their frost line goes down? I live in NW NJ......cold bitter cold winters- snow coming tomorrow in fact.

"You need to purchase it based on the depth you need to bury it. For example a 3 foot is designed to be buried three foot into the ground, it will be 3 foot long plus the length you need to bury it. I was confused and thought it was based on how high you want it from the ground up, so just keep that in mind." (Taken from a review of the freeze proof faucet sold on Amazon.com)

 

[DianaTX]

I followed an idea here on the forum. Picked up a masonry tub from home depot and installed a drain. All for under $20.

Since the worst part of winter is over, I have the drain rigged up to drain to the garden.

I would love to get the full length picture of this duck structure. I'm trying to make one for a lame duck that needs healing for a few weeks along with her nest of 6-8 eggs. I'm hoping that it will give her a place to nest the eggs while healing. Love the idea here - really clever!! Hope you're still a member and that you get this post. Thanks. DianaTX, new egg.

 

[JenandBlake]

• Hattiegun, I love your pond! Do you have any kind of filter in place or do you just drain/refill regularly?

Thanks!

 

[Beekissed]

I would have to look , I just bought a big roll at Menards (fairly heavy) and used Lathe strips and nailed it up.. I do have corregated heavy plastic sheets as roofing over 3/4 of it... part is white for shade, part is clear (over pond for sun) and then the last 1/4 is ply wood that I remove in the summer (harware cloth also covers the whole roof). I did get 6 pieces of plexiglass for 6 of the front sections so I would be able to see out all winter. It gets really cold here in the winter and when the sun comes out it is very comfortable in there... heres a couple pics with some of the plastic up. Now thats its getting nice , I just take a section off at a time so its not too hot in there.

I wanna be one of your ducks......