Kasco Marine Robust-Aire - Manual (Page 9)

9
Winter Warning
Check your local laws and ordinances as some areas
require warning signs to be posted. The owner will
assume all risks with operating the Robust-Aire
System during winter months.
Operating the Robust-Aire ® system during the winter
or freezing temperatures may create open areas of
ice at the diffuser locations. Also, ice will be thin
surrounding those areas. Extreme caution should be
used in these areas to avoid injury or fatality from
falling through the ice. It is highly recommended to
use warning signs to indicate the danger to others.
In the spring, refer back to the Startup procedure to
avoid a fish kill.
Winter Operating Tip:
In climates where temperatures are likely to fall below
freezing, it is recommended that you insulate the air
lines from the compressor cabinet to a minimum of
3 feet into the water. Using closed cell polyurethane
foam to insulate your air lines will prevent ice buildup
in the lines which can occur due to condensation. Ice
buildup in the line can block the flow of air to your
diffuser and can cause damage to your compressor.
If your body of water fluctuates greatly, run the
insulation further in the water to account for low water
level. You want the air line to be insulated through
any ice thickness and into an area of water that will be
below the ice level.
If only desiring to keep a small area open to prevent
winterkill, it is recommended to move the diffusers
closer to shore to allow shoreline to be in direct
contact with the ice-free opening.
Maintenance
Warning! Product surfaces become very hot during
operation, allow product surfaces to cool before
handling.
Warning! Disconnect electrical power supply cord
before performing maintenance.
This compressor is oil-less and requires NO
lubrication
Check intake filter after the first 500 hours of
operation. Clean filter and determine how frequently
filters should be checked during future operation.
Startup Procedure
Important Installation Warning
Thermal stratification refers to the layering that can
occur in some lakes which allows warmer (less dense)
water to sit on the top of colder denser water on the
lake bottom. The Robust-Aire™ Diffuser system has
been designed to keep thermal stratification from
occurring in the first place.
In the event that you install your unit into a body of
water that is extremely stratified, caution should be
used as you start up the unit. In some cases the colder
water sitting on the bottom could be holding gases
that if totally mixed within the water column could be
harmful to fish. There could also be concern that the
colder water has little or no dissolved oxygen.
I suppose you are asking yourself “what does
this mean by extremely stratified and how do I
measure it?” A simple method of testing for thermal
stratification is to drop a thermometer into the body
of water and slowly check for temperature change
from the surface to the depths of the lakes. Our
suggestion would be to measure temperature every
two feet. Be sure to keep the thermometer at a given
depth long enough for the correct temperature to be
measured and then bring it to the surface fast and read
it immediately.
If the colder water (4 degrees F colder than the surface
water) represents more than 30% of the overall water
volume, it is suggested to allow the water to mix at a
slower pace by not running the system continuouly but
for only short time intervals. Suggested start up on
time for the unit for a stratified lake might be initially
running for 1 hour per day during daylight hours for
the first week and gradually increase until running
continuously. Each lake will react slightly different to
our unit so a precise timeframe is difficult to predict.
Sunny days are preferable to cloudy days to start the
system because the photosynthesis will supplement
oxygen levels as the water is mixed.
If you are at all uncertain about this procedure, contact
the distributor you purchased the unit from or e-mail
us at [email protected]