I've got an old cast iron hand pump that I want to use as a water feature. I
was planning to screw a piece of PVC into the bottom and let the water fill
the cylinder then out the spout. However, the interior of the pump has quite
a bit of rust in it. Will this harm the goldfish? Is there anything I can do
about this?

Tim Wardell
Dallas, TX
Zone 7/8

Tim, there are several ways to kill the rust. One would be to have it
sandblasted on the inside. Use a chemical called "Navel Jelly" you can buy
it any hardware store. Or use muratic acid solution and leave the pump in
the solution for a day or so. It depends on how much you want to remove and
how aggresive you want to get. I would then paint the inside with an
applicance (epoxy) paint to combat further rusting. (check Harbour Freight
as they sell new ones too and not work to get it in shape)

Good luck


Jon Nyhus


"Tim Wardell" wrote in message
. net...
I've got an old cast iron hand pump that I want to use as a water feature.
I
was planning to screw a piece of PVC into the bottom and let the water
fill
the cylinder then out the spout. However, the interior of the pump has
quite
a bit of rust in it. Will this harm the goldfish? Is there anything I can
do
about this?

Tim Wardell
Dallas, TX
Zone 7/8

In article , Jon wrote:
Tim, there are several ways to kill the rust.

Here's one of the best ways. It sounds complicated, but it gets rust
off anywhere, and all you need is a battery charger, some lye, and a
bucket:

http://www.bhi.co.uk/hints/rust.htm

Kelly

Kelly,

My daughters have collected a ton of railroad
spikes (we live a block and a half from the
railroad tracks and while younger the twins were
fascinated by trains and anything that dealt with
them) do you think these would work as the iron
electrode???

Tom L.L.
------------------------------------
"Kelly E Jones" wrote
in message ...
In article ,
Jon wrote:
Tim, there are several ways to kill the rust.

Here's one of the best ways. It sounds
complicated, but it gets rust
off anywhere, and all you need is a battery
charger, some lye, and a
bucket:

http://www.bhi.co.uk/hints/rust.htm

Kelly

In article ,
Tom L. La Bron wrote:
Kelly,

My daughters have collected a ton of railroad
spikes (we live a block and a half from the
railroad tracks and while younger the twins were
fascinated by trains and anything that dealt with
them) do you think these would work as the iron
electrode???

Sure. I've used iron rebar (the stuff used to reinforce concrete, you
can get it cheap at your home improvement store). One tip: If you're
trying to de-rust the INSIDE of something, you need to put the
electrode inside of it (but of course not touching it). There pretty
much needs to be a line-of-sight between the electrode and the rust.

Kelly

"Jon" wrote in message ...
Tim, there are several ways to kill the rust. One would be to have it
sandblasted on the inside. Use a chemical called "Navel Jelly" you can buy
it any hardware store. Or use muratic acid solution and leave the pump in
the solution for a day or so. It depends on how much you want to remove and
how aggresive you want to get. I would then paint the inside with an
applicance (epoxy) paint to combat further rusting. (check Harbour Freight
as they sell new ones too and not work to get it in shape)

Good luck


Jon Nyhus


"Tim Wardell" wrote in message
. net...
I've got an old cast iron hand pump that I want to use as a water feature.
I

The quickest solution would be to run a piece of pond grade hose thru the pump.
I doubt if the rust inside the pump would get in the pond. Happy water gardening.
was planning to screw a piece of PVC into the bottom and let the water
fill
the cylinder then out the spout. However, the interior of the pump has
quite
a bit of rust in it. Will this harm the goldfish? Is there anything I can
do
about this?

Tim Wardell
Dallas, TX
Zone 7/8