GridBee submersible circulators are manufactured by SolarBee, Inc. Here is the history of the GridBee product line.

For years, owners of small ponds would call SolarBee for ideas on how to improve their ponds.  Although it’s well known for reservoir water quality improvement, SolarBee equipment is designed for larger water bodies and could not be scaled down enough to be economical for most of these small ponds.

Consequently, for years we kept a list of vendors that make products specifically for small ponds, and when small-pond owners called us, we gave them "the list" to help them out. Most of the equipment on the list consisted of air bubblers, fountains, or waterfall systems, and they usually didn’t offer the caller a very good solution. Common problems were lack of effectiveness and equipment reliability, small area of impact, initial or operating cost, poor aesthetics, noise, and safety. The safety issue occurs when a high voltage motor (110 volts or higher) is placed in the water, even though people or pets can come into contact with the water. All of this led us to start developing the GridBee, a grid-powered machine designed specifically for small ponds. Here are our design criteria: 

• Safety: The new machine has a safe low-voltage (50 volts or less) in the water.
• Effectiveness over a relatively large surface area:  The new machine reduces or eliminates stagnation in bodies of water up to 2-3 acres. Reducing stagnation goes a long way toward minimizing problems of blue-green algae blooms and related odor and toxicity as well as minimizing sulfide odors and mosquito problems, while at the same time improving dissolved oxygen levels, pH and fish habitats, and firming up a mucky bottom to reduce filamentous algae and water weeds. The new machine has many features of our effective patented SolarBee technology for large lakes yet is an off-the-shelf product with dealer support and, compared to our solar-powered machines, has a reduced need for factory field support. 
• Reliability and long life:   The grid powered motor and controls have a maintenance-free design life of 5 to 10 years, operating 12 hours a day for 6 months a year. The entire unit is designed to eliminate or minimize any biofouling.
• Ease of shipping and installation: The new machine is easy to ship, unpack, set up, deploy, and retrieve. It can be frozen solid in moderate ice thickness without being damaged.
• Aesthetically pleasing:   The new machine is virtually invisible and silent while operating. 
• Economical:   The new machine has a low enough initial cost to be feasible for medium-to-high value bodies of water, such as golf course ponds, park ponds, storm water ponds, canals, farm and ranch ponds, and lakeside homes where a unit can be placed under or beside a dock to improve the homeowners’ enjoyment of the lake by their property.  Also, the new machine consumes very little energy, not much more than one or two large light bulbs.
• Universal use for various water and power types:  Lastly, the new machine is compatible with fresh water and brackish, or salty water, such as in estuarial canals, and with both 60 Hz US grid-power systems and 50 Hz International grid-power systems.

This was a long list and these were tough problems, so it has taken us three years to design the GridBee.  Almost every part of the machine had to be designed from the ground up.  The first 50 units or so were deployed in 2008 to an enthusiastic group of people that had waited years to try one.  The initial results were very positive and repeat orders have been coming in from the early test group.

Well, that’s the GridBee story.  We're very excited to finally be at this stage for this product. We hope you try one and let us know what you're doing with it and how well it works. And, as with all SolarBee products, you can count on our constant attention to make sure you get good value and constant improvements.

Wishing you the best with your ponds,

Joel Bleth, President, SolarBee, Inc.

About SolarBee, Inc.

SolarBee, Inc., is a world leader in improving reservoir water quality using solar-powered circulation.  SolarBee has pioneered the patented near-laminar radial flow technology that provides high-flow, long-distance circulation (LDC) in water reservoirs.  Today SolarBee is using LDC to solve water quality problems in fresh water lakes and reservoirs, potable water tanks and reservoirs, wastewater ponds and lagoons, and estuarine environments in over 14 countries around the world - providing significant energy savings while relying on solar power and reducing the need for toxic chemicals. SolarBee is truly "circulating the World's Water." For more information on SolarBee, please visit www.SolarBee.com