Pump for the fountain do it yourself: step-by-step master class

Fountains are used to improve the aesthetic appeal of small ornamental ponds, pools and artificial reservoirs. The main structural element is a water pump, which injects pressure, as a result of which a stream of water is pumped to a certain height.

You can buy a ready-made water unit or build a small pump for the fountain with your own hands, using available materials.

The article describes the principle of the pump, as well as detailed instructions for assembling a simple model. If you have all the materials on hand, you can make a pump in a couple of hours.

Materials for creating a water pump

Designing a full-fledged pump for the fountain is quite simple, but remember that the unit made independently, it has low power, therefore it is suitable for decorating small decorative bowls, sometimes –

pool fittings or fountains.

It is impossible to increase the power of the pump and assemble a system capable of delivering water at an atmospheric pressure of 1 bar and above, at home - it is more expedient and cheaper to purchase a finished structure.

Before you start assembling a water pump, it is important to familiarize yourself with the principles of its operation.

A typical fountain pump consists of a casing resembling a snail shape. It houses the motor and blades, similar to the fan blades. Two pipelines are connected to the hull - water is drawn in through one and its supply through the other.

With the help of the motor, the blades rotate, which contribute to the intake of water from the outside, the injection of pressure in the system and the supply of water to the discharge line.

To create a pump for the fountain, the following elements are necessary:

• micromotor;
• 3 regular plastic beverage caps;
• 2 pens, felt-tip pens or any tubes of different diameters, made of durable and water-resistant material;
• a piece of plastic (you can take the lid from under the mayonnaise, an unnecessary plastic card, a disk, etc.);
• worm or gear;
• Power Supply.

Micromotor is the main element of the system. Thanks to him, the fan blades rotate. The device can be taken from a toy car, dvd player, an old tape recorder or purchased on the market.

It should be remembered that micromotor, depending on the power, have different dimensions and shapes. In this example, a device borrowed from a toy car is used.

Depending on the size of the motor, you need to adjust the dimensions of the case. In our case, the body will be made of three plastic caps. If the motor is larger, then you can take a can of shaving foam with a lid.

The housing from under the pen or felt-tip pen will serve as a supply and discharge pipeline.

The back wall and blades for the pump are made of plastic, which will be mounted on a worm or gear. The mini-fan will stick to the motor shaft, which during operation will facilitate their rotation.

As tools and auxiliary substances you will need:

• the usual super-glue quick action, hot melt glue or waterproof universal glue;
• wire cutters and wire stripper;
• knife, drill or awl;
• a piece of sandpaper;
• soldering iron, metal file, jigsaw or grinding engraver with special circles for cutting, stripping, drilling, etc.

You can choose any glue. The standard Moment glue is distinguished by its high bonding speed, while waterproof universal substances take longer to cure.

Sandpaper, tools needed for processing the edges and cleaning the surface, the knife will be required to create holes.

Step-by-step micro pump assembly example

For the manufacture of a small low-power pump, the assembly process of which is shown in the example, you need to stock up on plastic a 5-liter bottle, a case from an old felt-tip pen and a motor that can be removed from an old DVD drive.

Preparatory activities have been carried out, now we can safely proceed to the assembly of our pumping unit in miniature.

After collecting all the necessary parts, you can proceed to the assembly of the pump.

It will occur in several stages:

1. Creating a plastic case.
2. Manufacturing blade wheel.
3. Creating a discharge area.
4. Assembly of all elements.
5. Connecting the power supply.
6. Installation.

Consider each stage in more detail.

Step # 1 - body design

First of all, it is necessary to form the hull structure. To do this, take a plastic lid and, using a knife, sewing, soldering iron or drill, make two holes in it.

The first hole is made on the flat part of the cover. To do this, you need to detect its center (it is usually indicated by a slight bulge), after which you can cut a hole using a knife, awl, or any other sharp tool.

The second hole is made in the side of the cap. Its size should coincide with the diameter of the body of the pen or felt-tip pen with a smaller diameter, but not exceed it. In the future, the manufactured body will be called the main one.

A micromotor, discharge tube and impeller are attached to the main body. Pressure build-up will occur in this part of the device.

Next, you need to take a second cap and cut its bottom. In the third one you need to drill one small hole - the wires of the motor will pass through it.

Also at this stage it is necessary to create a rear wall that will be mounted on the front of the main body. To do this, use a piece of plastic. You need to put the cap on a sheet of plastic, circle it along the circumference of a pencil.

The resulting contour must be cut, then drill a hole in the center with a diameter that corresponds to the diameter of the larger tube.

A supply pipe made of a larger diameter handle will be placed in the opening of the rear wall. It should be 2-5 cm long and cut at an angle of 90 °.

Step # 2 - Spatula Wheel Manufacturing

The paddles for the pump can be made from plastic, parts of an old disk, a map, or other dense waterproof materials. In our example, the manufacture of blades will occur from plastic. It is enough to take the sheet that was used to create the back wall.

From it you need to cut a rectangle with dimensions of 1 * 3 cm. From the resulting rectangle you need to make 2 small vanes.

The blades are glued to the gear or worm at an angle of 90 ° or under attack to each other (at an angle of 45 °) on the same line, since such mounting increases the pump capacity several times. It is necessary to glue the blades with superglue.

You need to make sure that the blades fit into the lid, as well as visually assess that during rotation they will not rub against the walls and the base of the main body.

Step # 3 — Build the Injection Area

Take a handle with a smaller diameter and cut off its edges. On the received tubule, measure 5-8 cm and cut one end at an angle of 45 °.

One side of the discharge area must be cut at a right angle, the other at an angle of 45 °. The pipe to the main body needs to be glued together with the side cut at an angle.

After creating the pipeline, it is necessary to clean its internal area from pieces of plastic so that nothing prevents water from coming out freely.

Step 4 - Gluing All Elements

Before assembly of all elements it is necessary to carry out some preliminary works.

First, you need to carefully clean the holes in the main body of the pump. To do this, use a layer of emery thin paper and nippers. It is important to erase flaws and inscriptions from the cap at the joints. It is necessary to clean to a smooth surface.

This will avoid structural breakdowns, the occurrence of holes through which water will pass.

Using nippers clean the inner surface of the cover. This is usually necessary in cases where the holes are made with a knife. For stripping, it is necessary to cover areas of plastic that have formed on the contour of the holes, and with the application of force to eliminate defects.

After the main body is cleaned, you can proceed to gluing.

First, glue the engine to the main body. It is necessary to take glue, lubricate the outer surface of the lid with it, and then place the engine in the hole in such a way that the tongue and its convex part fall into the hole. Joints can also be further glued with superglue.

The engine and the cap should be pressed well for a few seconds to ensure that there are no gaps, otherwise water gaps may occur in the future.

Next, the discharge line is glued to the main body. To do this, a side of the handle is applied to the side opening of the lid with the side cut to 45 °.

It should be remembered that it is impossible to glue the pipeline at a right angle, since the pump performance will decrease significantly - the blades they will drive water directly into the discharge area, as a result of which water will slip, not fall into the pipe, but circulate in the housing.

To glue the pipe and body, it is necessary to apply a thin layer of superglue on the surface of the lid in the area of ​​the hole, then attach the pipe to its place. The holes must coincide with each other, part of the hole of the pipe should not protrude outwards.

Pasting of the discharge pipe is a rather complicated process, therefore it is important to hold the pipe with your hands for 5 minutes, after which also wait 20-30 minutes until completely dry.

Spatula wheel must be installed on the gear. It is important before gluing again to check that the blades do not touch and rub against the walls of the shell. You also need to think about the direction in which the blades will move - they should drive the water into the pipeline, and not push it out.

Depending on the location of the discharge pipe, the movement of the blades can be either clockwise or counterclockwise.

Next, you need to glue the back wall with a pipe made of a plastic tube of larger diameter. If you install a supply pipeline with the same or smaller diameter, the pump productivity will decrease.

It is important that there are no holes at the junction of the pipeline and the rear wall, otherwise it will lead to incorrect operation of the pump. If the holes appear, they must be covered with glue

Now it is necessary to glue the structure to the base of the cover. To do this, the base of the main body must be cleaned with a fine emery cloth, remove unevenness and roughness.

After you need to shake off the dust along the contour and clean the inner surface of the mechanical elements, then glue the back cover to the case with superglue.

The rear wall should be exactly centered. It is important that when gluing in the inner surface does not form stains. You should also make sure that there are no gaps. If they are, then a layer of glue should be applied to the places of their formation. After that, wait 30 minutes until the substance is completely dry.

Next, we form a block in which the micromotor will be located. To do this, we put the cover without a bottom on a micromotor and glue it with silicone glue so that cracks do not form.

The micromotor is sensitive to water ingress, so it is important to carefully insulate the cover that is put on the device with glue

Then, after the glue dries, it is necessary to pass the wires through the third cover with small holes, then glue the case, seal the gaps with glue at the junction points and the area where the wires are located. Then you need to wait for the drying structure.

Step # 5 - Connecting the Power Supply

In order for the motor to work, you need to connect a power supply to it. Wires are insulated, so they can be placed in water. It is desirable to take the power supply unit on batteries if the design is located on the street. If it is assumed that the fountain will be at home, then you can use a conventional power supply that runs on 220 V.

The connection place of the power supply and micromotor wiring should be located out of the water. You can also provide for the connection of the case, which will give the aesthetic appeal of the design. The wiring itself may be partially in the water.

Features of the operation of the water pump

A home-made pump is suitable exclusively for artificial small fountains located in separate bowls. They are not installed in open ponds and reservoirs, because the mechanism is sensitive to dirty water, it quickly becomes clogged.

The blades are small in size, so if they hit small pebbles they can break down and fail. It is important from time to time to change the water in the bowl, to clean the device.

Also, when diving a homemade device, you need to equip the place where it will stand. It is enough to put a small brick on the bottom of the bowl, and the pump can be held with the help of several pebbles.

When installing it is important to consider that electrical cable also a sensitive element. Therefore, it can be further protected.

In winter, remove the pump from the water and store it indoors.

For arrangement of large street fountains and waterfalls need to purchase a powerful pump. Tips for selecting and installing such units are given in this article.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The video provides information on how to create a pump based on a micromotor with large dimensions:

Another option for the manufacture of low-power pump for the fountain:

In the manufacture of homemade pump for the fountain is nothing complicated. The materials used for assembly are in every home, and the technology itself is simple and straightforward.

If you have experience in making a fountain pump, please share information with our readers. Leave comments and add photos of your homemade products in the form below.