Considerations When Buying a Windmill for Pond Aeration

Pond Owner Magazine talks a lot about pond aeration and why it is so critical to the health of ones pond. There are many factors to consider when purchasing an aeration system.

Types of Aeration Systems

Windmill aeration systems and electrical aeration systems are the main ones. Of those, there are bottom up aerators and surface aerators.

Pounds-Force Per Square Inch (PSI) for Pond Aeration

The one specification that we have not educated pond owners on is the PSI - spec.

Pounds-Force per square inch measures - gauge pressure plus local atmospheric pressure. This specification is extremely important - depending on the depth of your pond the PSI spec on the aeration system will determine if the equipment you install will even work in your pond. The higher you are up in the mountains the more pressure you require.

PSI levels that provide higher pressure can aerate deeper water areas. Studies have shown that for every 2 ft of water that you place an aerator in it requires at least 1 PSI to pump air to that level.

For example, a pond that is 20 ft deep would require an aeration system that can produce at least 10 PSI. Even at 10 PSI - you would receive very little oxygen at that level so your really need to have 2:1 Ratio for this to be an effective aerator.

As a result, to aerate a pond at a 20 ft depth you would ideally require an aeration system that produces at least 20 PSI.

Many aeration systems today are built to produce 6-10 PSI which limits the areas of your pond that you can aerate. May work in ponds that are up to 12 ft deep but at the deeper levels you will only receive minimal amounts of air. There are however, some very reputable aeration products that have been on the market for several years that produce 30 PSI. Vendors that come to mind are companies like Koenders Windmills and Superior Windmill.

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