Hotel Fountain
 

I am hoping that there are some folks in this group who might be well
versed in the construction of commerical fountains. We were in Las
Vegas last weekend at the Embassy Suites Hotel next to the Convention
Center. In the lobby of the hotel was a very interesting fountain with
a feature that I would like to be able to copy in my own fountains.

What was special about this fountain was the amazing appearance of the
water jets. The water projected from rim of the circular fountain
towards the center in streams about 3/4 of an inch in diameter, arcing
up at about a 45 degree angle. There were perhaps a 16 of these arced
streams around the circle, but what was special about them was their
perfectly round shape, that was never disturbed or distorted as the
streams arced into the pond. At their largest, the arc was perhaps six
feet high and shot six feet in distance. (The streams changed
constantly in some computer programmed pattern.) Normally, water under
enough pressure to "shoot" that far will be turbulent to some degree -
The stream will break up and distort to at least some degree. But in
this fountain, the streams of water never varied in diamter, never
changed shape, had no air entrained in them, the streams never broke or
changed shape in the slightest from the point where the water exited
the nozzle until it impacted the pond. How do they do that? It was
lovely to see. Is it an additive in the water to increase surfact
tension? (It almost looked like viscous oil, but I touched a stream
and it sure felt like ordinary water.) My step-son thinks it is a
matter of the shape and polish of the nozzle.

Any experienced fountain designed that will share the secrets of this
trick?

wrote in message
ups.com...
I am hoping that there are some folks in this group who might be well
versed in the construction of commerical fountains. We were in Las
Vegas last weekend at the Embassy Suites Hotel next to the Convention
Center. In the lobby of the hotel was a very interesting fountain with
a feature that I would like to be able to copy in my own fountains.

That sounds very similar to Epcot's danceing fountains. They are very
expensive high pressure computer controlled commercial fontain setups, and
the cost is VERY high for the setup and equipment. If I recall, they were
talking $20,000 for a small setup, and up from there.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)
Gareee's Homepage:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine.../mainframe.htm

wrote in message
ups.com...
What was special about this fountain was the amazing appearance of the
water jets. The water projected from rim of the circular fountain
towards the center in streams about 3/4 of an inch in diameter, arcing
up at about a 45 degree angle. There were perhaps a 16 of these arced
streams around the circle, but what was special about them was their
perfectly round shape, that was never disturbed or distorted as the
streams arced into the pond. At their largest, the arc was perhaps six
feet high and shot six feet in distance. (The streams changed
constantly in some computer programmed pattern.) Normally, water under
enough pressure to "shoot" that far will be turbulent to some degree -
The stream will break up and distort to at least some degree. But in
this fountain, the streams of water never varied in diamter, never
changed shape, had no air entrained in them, the streams never broke or
changed shape in the slightest from the point where the water exited
the nozzle until it impacted the pond. How do they do that? It was
lovely to see. Is it an additive in the water to increase surfact
tension? (It almost looked like viscous oil, but I touched a stream
and it sure felt like ordinary water.) My step-son thinks it is a
matter of the shape and polish of the nozzle.



The shape of the nozzle and the water pressure affects the spray pattern,
commercial nozzles come in almost every imaginable fan or stream pattern.
Behind each nozzle is a computer controlled valve. that opens and closes the
valve based on a choreographed program. Hidden behind the scenes is a high
volume pump.

You could reasonably afford to buy and use the jumping jet nozzles, but the
pump and computer controller is probably out of your budget. But if you're
curious, check out this website.

http://oase-usa.com/ft/custom_fountain_nozzles.htm

-S

"Snooze" wrote in message
...

You could reasonably afford to buy and use the jumping jet nozzles, but
the pump and computer controller is probably out of your budget. But if
you're curious, check out this website.

http://oase-usa.com/ft/custom_fountain_nozzles.htm

Hmmm each one of those nozzles is custom made, and they do not list any
prices anywhere at all.

I suspect even one nozzle would be out of anyone's reasonable price range.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)
Gareee's Homepage:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine.../mainframe.htm

"Gareee©" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
ups.com...
I am hoping that there are some folks in this group who might be well
versed in the construction of commerical fountains. We were in Las
Vegas last weekend at the Embassy Suites Hotel next to the Convention
Center. In the lobby of the hotel was a very interesting fountain with
a feature that I would like to be able to copy in my own fountains.

That sounds very similar to Epcot's danceing fountains. They are very
expensive high pressure computer controlled commercial fontain setups, and
the cost is VERY high for the setup and equipment. If I recall, they were
talking $20,000 for a small setup, and up from there.


Check out www.wetdesign.com . The main person developed the jumping
fountains at Epcot and then left to form this company. If you do a patent
(www.freepatentsonline.com ) search with the words "laminar flow fountain"
it gets a lot of hits. Also, do a search with the inventor as Mark Fuller
and you get the patents that he has for his company as well. Also look at
patents that reference his and you should get a good idea of how to attempt
it in a backyard way. I also did a google on the same terms and found
someone attempting it as well on this site.

http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/Imagineering/LeapFrog.html

The Discovery Channel show I believe was on Wet Enterprises and the work
that they do. I have always wanted to try it, just never had the time. Let
us know if anything works.

T

A quick google search of "laminar flow fountains" gets to a page with
the following description:

"Dave Ayer, Mark Fuller, and Lee Sim, seniors in the Department of
Civil Engineering at the University of Utah in 1976, designed a
fountain nozzle that produced a coherent and laminar stream of water.
The water jet thus produced looks like a glass rod flying through the
air. Similar fountains have been installed in several theme parks,
including Epcot Center."

That "glass rod" look is a great way to describe what I saw at the
Embassy Suites Hotel.
Thanks for the leads, everyone. Very helpful.

"Gareee©" wrote in message
...
"Snooze" wrote in message
...

http://oase-usa.com/ft/custom_fountain_nozzles.htm

Hmmm each one of those nozzles is custom made, and they do not list any
prices anywhere at all.

I suspect even one nozzle would be out of anyone's reasonable price range.


Manufacturers of low volume or specialty products rarely put the suggested
retail price on their website because their distributors don't like it.
People who buy these nozzles don't just buy the nozzle, they usually buy a
complete setup and installation, at which point nit picking over the price
of individual items is irrelevant.

-S

"Snooze" wrote in message
. ..

"Gareee©" wrote in message
...
"Snooze" wrote in message
...

http://oase-usa.com/ft/custom_fountain_nozzles.htm

Hmmm each one of those nozzles is custom made, and they do not list any
prices anywhere at all.

I suspect even one nozzle would be out of anyone's reasonable price
range.


Manufacturers of low volume or specialty products rarely put the suggested
retail price on their website because their distributors don't like it.
People who buy these nozzles don't just buy the nozzle, they usually buy a
complete setup and installation, at which point nit picking over the price
of individual items is irrelevant.

Yep.. and I notice on one of the pages, I found the comment: For commercial
applications only...NOT for home installation.

So we're talking big buck$.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)
Gareee's Homepage:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine.../mainframe.htm