Low voltage
 

Hi,

I wasn't going to put a water feature in my garden but as time has gone on I have decided that the extra dimension would be welcome. I have a low voltage cable that I have already laid at the bottom of my garden so I am limited to a low voltage pump. Whilst at the garden centre yesterday, I saw this water featu http://www.oak-barrel.com/stainless_...lver_tower.htm
I think this stainless tower would look fantastic down the bottom of my garden, on a slate bed with some grasses in front of it, lit up a night. I have 2 issues, firstly all these kits come with a high voltage pump, which I can't use and secondly, the price seems way high. I can get a stainless tower made to my spec for about £60, I’m guessing but I'm sure I can get a decent pump for around £100.

Why pay nearly £300 when I can build one for half that price? It seems to me that the only reason these features use a high voltage pump is that the whole of the tower contains water, what a waste of energy! Wouldn't a more economical solution be to weld and seal plates 6” from the top, then drill a hole in it for the hose to go through? Then when the trough fills, it spills over the front. If you made the front edge 5mm lower than the back, the water would fall over the front and you hardly notice the difference in height. In conclusion, hopefully because less water is being used, the pump can be less powerful therefore a low voltage one can be used. Can anyone recommend a pump and suggest anyways helping the planning and production of this project? How do I work out how powerful I need the pump to be? How will I know how much water I need to move?

Low voltage
 

"sanchez" wrote:

Hi,

I wasn't going to put a water feature in my garden but as time has gone
on I have decided that the extra dimension would be welcome. I have a
low voltage cable that I have already laid at the bottom of my garden
so I am limited to a low voltage pump. Whilst at the garden centre
yesterday, I saw this water featu http://tinyurl.com/drt6q
I think this stainless tower would look fantastic down the bottom of my
garden, on a slate bed with some grasses in front of it, lit up a night.
I have 2 issues, firstly all these kits come with a high voltage pump,
which I can't use and secondly, the price seems way high. I can get a
stainless tower made to my spec for about £60, I’m guessing but I'm
sure I can get a decent pump for around £100.

Why pay nearly £300 when I can build one for half that price? It seems
to me that the only reason these features use a high voltage pump is
that the whole of the tower contains water, what a waste of energy!
Wouldn't a more economical solution be to weld and seal plates 6” from
the top, then drill a hole in it for the hose to go through? Then when
the trough fills, it spills over the front. If you made the front edge
5mm lower than the back, the water would fall over the front and you
hardly notice the difference in height. In conclusion, hopefully
because less water is being used, the pump can be less powerful
therefore a low voltage one can be used. Can anyone recommend a pump
and suggest anyways helping the planning and production of this
project? How do I work out how powerful I need the pump to be? How will
I know how much water I need to move?

I don't know that I've ever heard of a low voltage pump. How many gallons of
water do you need to move every hour?


San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo.

Low voltage
 

sanchez wrote:
Hi,

I wasn't going to put a water feature in my garden but as time has gone
on I have decided that the extra dimension would be welcome. I have a
low voltage cable that I have already laid at the bottom of my garden
so I am limited to a low voltage pump. Whilst at the garden centre
yesterday, I saw this water featu http://tinyurl.com/drt6q
I think this stainless tower would look fantastic down the bottom of my
garden, on a slate bed with some grasses in front of it, lit up a night.
I have 2 issues, firstly all these kits come with a high voltage pump,
which I can't use and secondly, the price seems way high. I can get a
stainless tower made to my spec for about £60, I'm guessing but I'm
sure I can get a decent pump for around £100.

Why pay nearly £300 when I can build one for half that price? It seems
to me that the only reason these features use a high voltage pump is
that the whole of the tower contains water, what a waste of energy!
Wouldn't a more economical solution be to weld and seal plates 6" from
the top, then drill a hole in it for the hose to go through? Then when
the trough fills, it spills over the front. If you made the front edge
5mm lower than the back, the water would fall over the front and you
hardly notice the difference in height. In conclusion, hopefully
because less water is being used, the pump can be less powerful
therefore a low voltage one can be used. Can anyone recommend a pump
and suggest anyways helping the planning and production of this
project? How do I work out how powerful I need the pump to be? How will
I know how much water I need to move?

I would guess the reason they use a 'high voltage' pump (by this I
guess you mean a mains voltage pump) is because it's simpler and
easier. Just for clarification, since you seem slightly confused AFAIK
(I don't design pumps and I'm not an electrical engineer so perhaps I"m
wrong) a low voltage pump is unlikely to be more energy efficient or
energy economical then a high voltage pump. Of course, you probably
can't get such a powerful low voltage pump but AFAIK there is probably
no reason you can't have a low power high voltage pump which will
probably be more energy efficient and therefore more energy economical
then a low voltage pump of the same effective pumping power. The only
real advantage of a low voltage pump that I can see is that it may be
safer or at least less dangerous if it becomes damaged, and possibly a
little cheaper.

In you case you clearly have no choice but don't be confused about the
difference.