How to Choose a Fountain Pump
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Article by: Mike Guista When replacing a fountain pump , Choose the Right Outdoor Bench that Suits Both You and Your Garden or choosing a new one, first there are some key terms to keep in mind: "Head": This is the maximum vertical lift of the pump. , Keeping the Balance of Nature: Pond Water Maintenance For example, a 6' head means the pump , Lanscaping - Planning Your Next Project is rated to pump water , Why Teak Coffee Tables Are Essential For Your Outdoor Space up to 6 feet high. Note, however, that at 6 feet the pump , Gardening as a Hobby would be providing very little water, , Why Teak Coffee Tables Are Essential For Your Outdoor Space with gallons per hour around zero. So if you need to pump, , Landscaping Your Patio say, 200 gph at 72", you will probably need about a 300-600 gallon per hour pump , Constructing a Garden Path to do the job. See a "pump curve" for the amount of water , Home and Garden Decor Needs pumped to various heights.Major pump manufacturers , Choose the Right Outdoor Bench that Suits Both You and Your Garden include pump , Winter Injury to Trees curves on their boxes, brochures, or other literature. You should take a good look. "GPH": Gallons per hour, usually rated at different heights "GPM": Gallons per minute, usually rated at different heights "Pump Curve": The amount of water , Lanscaping - Planning Your Next Project volume "curved" according to various heights. A 500 gallon per hour pump, , A Look at Fall Flower Bulbs for instance, might pump , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (part 4) Environment 500 gallons per hour at 0" lift, 350 gallons per hour at 24" of lift, and so forth. When buying a pump , Making a Splash with Water Features in the Garden for the first time or when seeking a replacement pump, , A Smoke Bush Unlike Any Other it is essential that you know how many gallons per hour you want to pump , Choose the Right Outdoor Bench that Suits Both You and Your Garden and at what heighth (head). Water Volume: The total volume that you will be pumping is controlled by a few factors. One factor is the size of the pump, , Tulips as covered above. But you also must consider how wide your tubing will be. Tubing is measured in two ways: inside , The Truth About Geraniums diameter (i.d.) and outside , Tulips diameter (o.d.). Very skinny i.d. tubing will greatly reduce water , Lanscaping - Planning Your Next Project flow. Many customers are shocked when they find that, after hooking up their 500 gallon per hour pump , Winter Injury to Trees to ½" inside , How to Prune Lilac Shrubs diameter tubing, they are only getting what they consider a trickle. Well, about the most they will get is 200 gallons per hour or so under the very best conditions. They have restricted the flow too much by choosing skinny tubing. When purchasing a pump, , Tricky Seed Sowing Techniques find out what size of tubing is supposed to go with it. Another problem is running the tubing too far. Long lengths of tubing create resistance. If your pump , William Baffin Climbing Rose calls for ½" i.d. tubing, for instance, but you are running the tubing twenty feet from the pump, , Keep Your Bird Feeders Filled For The Spring Rush it is a good idea to use ¾" tubing instead so as not to cut down too much on flow. How much water , Shed Kits do I need? What size of pump? This question is answered in part by whether you want a "trickle" or a roar. When you buy a fountain, you will usually find a recommended flow. For waterfalls, , The Coliseum Is One Of The Best Complete Hydroponic Systems On The Market use this as a rule of thumb: for every inch of stream width or waterfall , Landscape Wallpaper "sheet," you will need to deliver 100 gallons per hour at the height you're pumping. So if you are building , Tricky Seed Sowing Techniques a 12" wide waterfall , Gardening as a Hobby that is three feet tall, you need to buy a pump , Patio Canopies: Protecting Your Patio From The Elements that will be pumping 1200 gallons per hour at three feet of height. For ponds, , Weeds - We Need 'Em whenever possible, it is a good idea to recirculate the water , Teak Planters - Accent Your Outdoor Space with One once an hour, more often if possible. Thus, if your pond , Garden Heating the Traditional Way is 500 gallons, try to buy a pump , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness that will recirculate water , Keep Your Bird Feeders Filled For The Spring Rush at a rate of 500 gallons per hour. For really large ponds, , Color in Flowers Arrangements this is not necessary and is far too expensive. For a nice waterfall , Weeds - We Need 'Em effect, we usually advise about 4000 gallons per hour or more at the top of the waterfall. , Cornus Mas 'Golden Glory' This creates enough volume for a wide, crashing spill. Adjust stones , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness to soften the splash if desired. When Is an External Pump , Patio Canopies: Protecting Your Patio From The Elements Appropriate? "In-line" pumps , How to Prune Lilac Shrubs provide the "most bang for the buck" in two ways. For one, the purchase price is quite reasonable for the high volume of water , How To proof a Canvas being pumped. But even more importantly, these pumps , A Smoke Bush Unlike Any Other dramatically outperform typical submersible pumps, , Hills and Holes: Not Part of Your Landscaping Design? cutting electrical costs two to three times. Since electrical costs for a large pond , Constructing a Garden Path can easily run from thirty to one hundred dollars a month, choosing the most energy-efficient pump , How to Prune Lilac Shrubs is tremendously important. However, if you need a lot of "head," that is, if you are pumping to a height of more than say, seven or eight feet, or if you must pull the water , Making a Splash with Features in the Garden (not "push", for in-line pumps , Tricky Seed Sowing Techniques push water , Tricky Seed Sowing Techniques fine but don't pull well) a long distance from the pond , Hydroponics Gardening verses Organic Gardening: Which Grows the Best Cannabis? to a skimmer located far away, then these pumps , Keeping the Balance of Nature: Pond Water Maintenance probably won't work for you. How About Battery-Operated Fountain Pumps? We receive many, many calls , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness about battery-operated pumps. , May Gardening Tips for the Southwest While there are companies who manufacture pumps , How To Waterproof a Canvas that can operate on "A" and "AA" batteries, we have not found a battery-operated pump , Garden Heating the Traditional Way that lasts or that is reasonably priced. For those customers who need battery fountains for wedding centerpieces (a common request), we suggest finding the one you want and buying as many as possible at a store like Wal-Mart. You get the whole fountain for as good of a price as we could get you these specialized pumps , Tulips all by themselves! Where is the Pump , Landscape Wallpaper Made? Pumps, like anything else, are made all over the world, and we suggest you buy pumps , Local Flower Shops from someone who will stand by a guarantee and who has testing programs before marketing their pumps. , Garden Sheds - More Than Just Storage It used to be that Asian pumps , Making a Splash with Water Features in the Garden were quite bad but this is changing. What matters most is how well the pumps , The Truth About Geraniums have been engineered and the materials used in the production. Italy for quite a while has been the major manufacturer , What Does A Brassia Orchid Plant And A Spider Have In Common? of fountain pumps , William Baffin Climbing Rose (think of how long Italians have had fountains), but Germany, Korea, Taiwan, and China are making pumps , Daylily 'When My Sweetheart Returns' as well. Most American fountain pump , Wood Fences: Installing Wood Fences for the Homeowner companies (for example, Cal Pumps , Orchid Flowers and Beckett) have their pumps , Garden Sheds - More Than Just Storage manufactured overseas. As long as American engineering is used and the plans , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness are followed, this should not be a problem. Should my Pump , Garden Sheds - More Than Just Storage Have a 2-wire plug or a 3-wire plug? Outdoor pumps , Constructing a Garden Path should always use a grounded, 3-wire plug. Indoor , Wicker Patio Furniture is Gorgeous with Colorful Patio Furniture Cushions fountains sometimes have 2-wire and sometimes 3-wire plugs. For people wanting a really thin cord, 2-wire pumps , The Coliseum Is One Of The Best Complete Hydroponic Systems On The Market provide the more aesthetic experience. Some retail stores require 3-wire pumps , The Coliseum Is One Of The Best Complete Hydroponic Systems On The Market even for indoor , Wicker Patio Furniture is Gorgeous with Colorful Patio Furniture Cushions fountains (though, ironically, they might not for aquarium pumps), and these thicker cords can be hidden by plants, , Landscape Wallpaper stones, , Wood Fences: Installing Wood Fences for the Homeowner or other decorations. All pumps , Lanscaping - Planning Your Next Project must be connected to a GFI outlet for safety. , Garden for Birds #3 Why do pumps , What Does A Brassia Orchid Plant And A Spider Have In Common? burn out so often? 95% of the time the customer has let the pumps , Are Robotic Lawn Mowers in Your Future? get hot , Using Annuals in Your Perrenial Garden by running them dry. Most fountain pumps , Weeds - We Need 'Em are water-cooled and once the fountain is dry they burn up. Usually there is nothing you can do about this other than to buy a new pump. , How To Waterproof a Canvas Also, however, pumps , Tips For Growing Beautiful House Plants Even If You're A Beginner are supposed to be cleaned every so often by opening up the impeller case on the fountain pump. , Tips For Growing Beautiful House Plants Even If You're A Beginner Follow the manufacturer's directions.Michael Guista, who has published two books, owns Fountain Mountain, Inc., which distributes fountain pumps, , Color in Flowers Arrangements pond lights , Mint: The Herb of Hospitality and filters, and fountains. Here are some suggested sites: For Pumps http://www.cheappumps.com http://www.fountainmountain.com http://www.fountaintechpumps.com |
  
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