Description

All Otterbine Fountains are priced without power cable. Fountains must be ordered with a minimum of 50′ power cable and in 25′ increments.

Otterbine’s cable is engineered specifically for underwater, high current, industrial applications. This contributes to allowing Otterbine products the advantage of having our total system package (PCC, cable, unit) safety tested and listed with ETL & ETL-C, not just the individual components. What does this mean? It means that everything is designed to work together to provide a safe, reliable product that performs to spec. Substituting Otterbine cable with another manufacturers’ is comparable to using another manufacturer’s power control center. Sure, you might get it to work but how well, for how long? And, how safe will it be?
All Otterbine cable is constructed from Thermoset (rubber) material vs Thermoplastic (plastic) material.
Thermoset (rubber) cable hardens or “sets” under direct application of heat, (called curing) and once it sets is not able to be re-softened by heating.

Thermoplastic (plastic) cable softens when heated and becomes firm upon cooling, It is not as durable or flexible as Thermoset.

Portable power cable is available in a variety of types; Otterbine cable is type SOOW, (Fractional/Light 12/3 & Light 16/2 Cable is SJOOW). The tough, flexible Thermoset rubber jacket is abrasion, sunlight, ozone, oil and chemical resistant; and is also water submersible and flame retardant – it is designed for outdoor and industrial use.
As stated in the owners manuals “Only Otterbine factory approved power cord is to be used from the PCC to the aeration unit with no junction boxes or splices.” Why?
Safety: Do you want inferior power cable in the water that is delivering 115V-460V through a highly conductive element? Is that safe? Do you want to be accountable?

Performance: Without proper power being delivered to the aerator, the equipment could malfunction, fail prematurely or not operate at all.
It is important to understand the difference in power cable construction, and what is being used in other applications. If you have additional questions on our cable specs please contact the factory.
The longer a power cable is, the heavier gauge it needs to be. See chart below to determine which size is needed. In the chart below you can find out which size cable you need for your fountain based on the length of power cable needed. This would be the length from your control panel to the fountain. When measuring you may want to allow for extra slack so that the cable sits on the bottom of the pond free from fish hooks, swimmers, etc..