Pond Aerating Windmill

Pond Aerating Windmill ENERGY Wind Power 31-4-40 Keeping oxygen flowing into the bottom of a pond keeps pond life healthy and maintains better water quality. Sue Weisenbach and her husband found out the hard way how quickly fish can be killed without aeration in their own pond. To solve the problem, they bought a windmill-powered aeration system for their pond. They liked it so much they became dealers. That ended when a Chinese company bought out the windmill company. "My husband didn't like selling windmills made outside the country," she says. "One day he got talking with some Amish fellows who used to install the windmills we sold, and they began brainstorming about building windmills." Today, instead of selling windmills, the retired bookkeeper and her retired postal worker husband manufacture them. Their American Eagle windmills can be purchased with either 18 or 23-ft. towers. The 6-spoke welded wheel starts up in 3 to 5 mph winds. It automatically turns out of the wind when it reaches 25 to 28 mph. The simple design uses greaseable bearings designed for heavy-duty use and long life, says Weisenbach. The Goodyear bellow air compressor also has a long life expectancy. The four-leg tower uses anchor rods designed to handle high winds. "Every revolution forces air through the check valve and into the air hose," explains Joe Mescan, American Eagle's U.S. distributor. "We use an aeration stone in the water to create oxygen bubbles. They clear out the ammonia, hydrogen and sulfide gasses that build up." Mescan explains that surface aeration doesn't reach stagnant bottoms. A wind-powered aerator not only keeps ponds open in the winter, it also maintains plenty of oxygen in the hot summer weather when water holds less oxygen naturally. The American Eagle comes with 100 ft. of airline and a stone diffuser. Weisenbach suggests it can handle two diffusers without difficulty. Windmill location isn't a problem, according to Mescan. "They can be erected as much as 500 ft. from the pond," he says. "The ideal depth for the aeration stone is 8 to 12 ft." Mescan notes that the American Eagle windmill has a 22-month payback compared to the average electric-powered aeration system. The 18-ft. tower model sells for $1,195 and $130 shipping, and the 23-ft. model sells for $1,295 and $140 shipping. An assembly and installation DVD accompanies the windmills. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joe Mescan, American Eagle Windmills, 27162 Capel Rd., Columbia Station, Ohio 44028 (ph 440 236-3278; fax 440 236-5496; joem@ pondaeration.com; www.pondaeration.com).

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