How can I make a water fountian pump

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I have several small electric motors laying around the homestead and I am building a water garden, gold fish pound, lily pond, what ever you want to call it. My question is, How can I make a pump using one of these small motors...I just love to make something out of nothing so challenge me...or tell me it can't be done. Grant

-- grant (organicgrange@yahoo.com), April 07, 2001

Answers

Grant ,

I made a hobby project pump using a 6 volt cassette motor,two plastic containers (1 slightly smaller than the other) and some tube lengths. step 1 was to hermetically seal the motor with epoxy resin to waterproof it. Step 2 was to insert the gear end through the center of the bottom of the larger container and seal that also. I had cut the container to a depth of 2 inches and mounted tubing through the sides at 7 and 1 oclock positions (these are the water inlet and output connections). I then made an impeller of the smaller container by inserting plastic fins through the side of it and epoxying them in place. The impeller was glued to the drive gear on the motor. I then epoxyed the lid of the larger container in place. I used this on a tabletop fountain for about 6 months until the hotglue seal I put on the driveshaft began leaking. I have since used the container from a discarded blender as a pump body, mounting the impeller blades to the cutting blades. Cool part about using a blender container is that the plastic is clear and you can watch the water flow.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 07, 2001.


My brother has made a couple of utility pumps using automobile water pumps. Might be bigger than what you need or than your salvage motors will handle. You can always gear it down to reduce the flow/power requirement.

-- Paul (hoyt@egyptian.net), April 08, 2001.

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