A typical pond installation has several StinkSTOPpers on the pond. A 230 cow dairy farm would need at least three, while a 3,000 cow dairy may require 30 or more StinkSTOPpers.
The number of StinkSTOPpers required for proper design depends the animal units of manure flowing into the pond. Generally, one StinkSTOPper handles the manure of 100 animal units. An Animal Unit is a hypothetical measurement. It is 1,000 lbs. of live animal. One Animal Unit is equivalent to a 1,000 lb dairy animal . A 1,400 lb holstein dairy cow would be 1.4 animal units. One hundred 10lb piglets would be one Animal Unit.
In addition, it is necessary for the pond to have enough depth to float the equipment. The equipment has a propeller designed to lift the water upward (a manure pond is mostly water, and we call the effluent “water”). The propeller isn’t mounted directly on the bottom of the StinkSTOPper, else it could damage the pond liner (which is often clay soil or a synthetic material, which should not be damaged lest the pond leak). Instead the StinkSTOPper’s propeller is mounted approximately 30 inches above the floor if it is not floating. It is preferable that the buoy be engaged and the StinkSTOPper be fully in the water at all times. This requires the pond to have a minimum of approximately 4.5 ft of water when the StinkSTOPper is operating. This depth allows the StinkSTOPper to spread water at the surface and also bring sufficient flow upward, reaching to the sides as well as directly below. Pond maximum depths can be greater than 25 ft.
In addition, the pond should be designed for a minimum of 270 days of storage. This requirement assures there is sufficient “treatment volume” for the equipment to stretch the surface for aeration, and for performing its activities.
Some of these design criteria can be stretched a bit, depending on the goals of site owner. Example: If he is happy having “most” of the odor gone, but needs to pump the pond completely dry, this is OK! But if he wants total odor control, then he better not pump the pond dry: The StinkSTOPpers cannot move water well when there is less than 3 feet of depth! If the StinkSTOPper operation is stopped for an extended time period, anaerobic activity takes hold and odor and other issues result. Yet, PondLift technology allows additional dewatering periods not usually available with stinky ponds: Operators can easily dewater at ANY time, including just prior to soil freeze up, since no agitation is required prior to pumping. (PondLift equipment keeps the entire pond agitated at all times)
StinkSTOPpers are positioned within the pond using poly cords, attached to the StinkSTOPper stands and anchored to shore. The cords allow them to be pulled into the pond and pulled out of the pond when needed, and to position the StinkSTOPper in a certain “zone” within the pond. Each StinkSTOPper will meander a bit, depending on the wind direction. The wandering widens the zone of influence directly below it. The cords must be relatively tight, since they alone “resist” the rotation of the StinkSTOPper caused by spinning propeller.
Power is supplied to the StinkSTOPper by power cord, rated for underwater use. Power cord splices, if any, are underwater rated. The power cord is tethered to one of the positioning cables, and tied to shore. Two positioning cables are needed for each StinkSTOPper, with them forming a straight line across the pond, with the StinkSTOPper held in position between the 2 shore anchors.
Power is supplied to the site, with 220v single phase being the minimum requirement, allowing for 3phase power to be used as well. If 220v single phase is supplied, Variable Frequency Drives are a necessary part of the installation, which convert the power to 3 phase, which in turn allows the StinkSTOPper to be operated in reverse for a short time in case something does wrap on the propeller. This option is rarely used, but eliminates the need to pull a unit to shore to clean the propeller. If 3 phase power is supplied to the site, VFD’s are not required, but solid state controls can be installed instead.