Winterizing
Pondless Water Features

Over the last few years pondless features (bubbling urns or bubbling rocks flowing into a reservoir) have become extremely popular.  Due to the last year's bad weather and the numerous
phone calls we received here are some winterizing tips.   

Common Questions:

Should I turn off the feature in the winter? 
The Portland area has pretty mild weather in the winter and usually it is fine to leave it running.  If we have a period of unusually cold weather as we had last year I would recommend turning the feature off.
 
Should I empty the urn?
If the water freezes inside it can expand and crack the urn.  So either empty the urn or keep it going (moving water is harder to freeze) but please keep an eye on it. If you decide to empty it and the urn has a pipe in the middle which acts as a backflow device, you can usually unscrew it and let the water drain out through the bottom.  Another way is to carefully attach a hose to the top of the pipe and redirect the water out of the urn. If you turn the feature off you can also take the urn to a protected area, turn it upside down, or wrap it in bubble wrap.
 
Should I take the pump out? 
If you have emptied the urn you should take the pump indoors in case there is any residual water inside the pump that may freeze and crack it. If your pump is in a reservoir below 6" of water it should be fine. 

Should I put anti-freeze in the feature? 
NO!!!    
 
If I have a concrete self contained fountain what should I do?
You should drain it.  Often times they come with a drain hole in the bottom. Another draining option is to redirect the water as it is flowing.  Lastly there is always the old fashioned way, you can bale it out with a small bucket.  If the pump is not easy to get out of the fountain you can leave it there and wrap it with bubble wrap.

 

Hughes has various sizes of fountain covers.  These covers are a convenient option to protect your fountain.      
 

Note:  if you do leave the feature running and it does start to form ice be careful that your reservoir does not run dry as your pump will then burn out.