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water fountains
bigbob -
Monday, February 5, 2007 - 10:43am
Hi everybody, as amazing as it may seem I have a commition!! This guy wants a fountain built are there any good books on fountains or how to construct them??He already has a little above groung pool I was thinking of some kind of abstract with water comming out of it or having the sculpture rotating but would like to know more about the funamentals and how to go about priceing it.. thank you for any info ..............................................bob  Fountain tips
raferguson -
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - 12:57am
Congratulations on the commission. I am far from an expert on fountains, but I will share a few tips. Be sure that your splashing noise is much louder than the pump. With the design I built, you can hear the pump noise. Consider having multiple vertical drops, each one will make noise. Maybe this was just a problem for the bubbling type fountain that I made. If you make it with copper, the Phos-copper rod is very convenient, brazes with a oxy-acetylene torch (or TIG), no flux needed. Very fast and easy, no leaks. I stopped in a shop that made arty copper fountains, and that was what they used. The color match is pretty good, unless you grind it after you braze it. Be sure to plan for plenty of room for the pump and cord. On the small pumps, the cord takes up a lot of space relative to the pump. Moving parts around water may be troublesome, lots of opportunities to corrode the bearings, unless you design it so the bearings stay very dry, which is hard when water is splashing around. Richard http://www.fergusonsculpture.com  Fountains
bpfink -
Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - 9:22am
I don't normally do fountains but do work with water and pumps and the rest individually. I would suggest you go to a store, fountain selling outlet or stone and garden outlet and talk and find the pump first. Shoot for the right amount of flow and quietness. You may even be able to see it demonstrated there so you can judge it visually. Next get the holding arrangement (a tub or whatever if needed, if it is for an already established pond just get a tub to work with during that stage) and do a temporary set up with flexible plastic pipe you can move about or thread through items as you design it. Then get to work. Choose your media, play with the angles and shapes and get started and let it grow. Eventually a good screen for floating leaf debris and growing algae will need to be a part of it so it does not clog too fast, and a way to still open it so it can be cleaned will be a prime functional must but make those items blend in to the final look. Keep in mind the limits you want it to go to and with the pump running. You can also get a feel for the heights the water can be pushed for the differing volumes of flow, sounds it makes and splashes that might extend beyond areas not desirable. Gardens are never grown in a day and what they slowly become is a major part of the fun and excitement of having them. Be the gardener with a torch. bpfink  Fountains
don johnson -
Wednesday, February 7, 2007 - 2:51am
You left a post with a lot of questions. Besides the flow rate of the pump, you need to know how high it will lift. If the fountain is four feet tall, the pump must excede this height. Multiple drop areas create less splash, especially in windy areas. The shape of the pond greatly affects the splash. For rotating sculptures use stainless steel shafts (300 series) with oilite bronze bushings or a tough plastic such as delrin. The submerged pump is the quietest version, but should have an input filter. Bleach helps the algae, but not so strong as to injure birds. The smaller the tubing, the greater the need for a filter. Design it to be easily removed and cleaned. It will have to be done at least annually. Keep us posted on your progress, Don  Thank You,Don.T,Rafer,BP and
bigbob -
Thursday, February 8, 2007 - 8:57am
Thank You,Don.T,Rafer,BP and Don.J for your very infomative comments... I haven't talked money with him yet.. he's pretty rich and an old friend I'm supposed to do two wall sculptures for his bars too...His "pond" sits in the middle of his brick circle drivewayIt looks like it's about 15 feet in diamiter and about three and a half feet high it looks like he has a pump already installed Im going to take all of you guys advice ... go to store for experts.. check gph.. try and get him to buy one of my already made abstracts<s> and make sure there is a lot of splash to cover noice of pump........Thanks.................bob A 15 foot pool gives you a
don johnson -
Thursday, February 8, 2007 - 10:38pm
A 15 foot pool gives you a lot of room to make a "statement". The bigger it is, the stonger the bearings need to be to rotate. What will make it rotate, water angle or water motor, and you also need a slip coupling for the water supply. A moving feature may double the cost of a non-moving one. A large feature is not practical to move, so maybe place the motor and filter in a below ground vault near the pond. It will kill any motor noise and be easy to service. It sounds like the design is abstract, so have fun creating it. Don |
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ArtMetal
commission for a water fountain
Congrats BigBob!! Get The Money!! This water-fountain is in a hair salon I did last year. It's all stainless. I really don't know anything about the workings of the pumps and what not. But it works great. Remember, ask an expert. Go to a garden supply and get info about pumps and how much water they can move. I went through two pumps befor getting it right. If I can I'll try to answer any questions you might come up with. Don T.