Episode 112: How to Maintain and Properly Care for Fountains with Chad Warner
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In this episode, we sat down with Chad Warner who is the owner of Fountain Rescue which is a fountain remodel, new build, cleaning, and repair company in Cave Creek, Arizona. When we ran Brothers Pool Service, we were always a little hesitant to take on fountains after we had a few bad experiences in the beginning. We quickly found out that although they have a few similarities such as water chemistry, they are quite different than a pool. Just like most specialty items, there are tricks of the trade for taking care of fountains properly and we discuss several of those with Chad on the episode. Chad also walks us through how a fountain works exactly, what differences they have from pools, some best practices for maintaining them, and his process for looking at new build and repair requests.
One thing that we learned over the years with fountains, was that they should be drained regularly. We had to learn this the hard way by fighting with bad water chemistry, old water, and fountains that would get filled with debris. Chad gives us his opinion on how often they should be drained, what he does upon start-up when refilling, and what the draining process looks like. Another thing we learned was that we never charged enough, nor paid our technicians enough to service fountains properly. If we would have heard this episode back then, we definitely would have. We hope this episode not only gives you the confidence to take on fountains but to charge appropriately for that service.
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Show Notes
[01:27] - Chad Warner of Fountain Rescue
[08:23] - What does Fountain Rescue specialize in?
[09:32] - Process for new fountain repair
[10:57] - Most common calls
[12:22] - New fountain build
[16:58] - Swimming pool waterfall repair
[19:09] - Waterfall leaks
[21:08] - Questions to ask before assessment
[22:35] - What is a fountain and how it works
[23:24] - Air in the pump
[25:56] - Adding fountains to pool service
[27:01] - Partnering with pool service companies
[32:20] - Common mistakes servicing fountains
[34:10] - Suggestions for fountain services
[37:39] - Charging for fountain service
[41:48] - Draining fountains
[44:44] - Bees and dish soap
[45:40] - Fountain pumps
[47:42] - Adding ball valves
[49:27] - Recommended tools
[52:57] - Vacuuming or draining
[53:52] - Siphon debris
[55:22] - Waterproofing waterfalls