Works perfectly - 1st time - fewest tools required

I have completed my first laminar fountain using very basic construction techniques and materials. The goal was to make a design that anyone could do and which worked. The design utilizes 6" PVC slip fittings, "flat" end caps and 6" PVC pipe. In my first attempt, I made no effort to try to make the design "maintainable" - meaning - everything gets glued together and once it's glued up - you're done. No "fixing" this one if you dont get it right - HOWEVER - it worked very very nicely out of the box. Using only very basic construction techniques, I achieved a very good result.

It works from my garden hose (which DOES have a decent volume) - but, I've also now cobbled it into the pool sweep outlet on my swimming pool. Both work fine, although, there is some low frequency "noise" from the pool pump.



Here are some details of the design. I do not yet have pictures of the end result, but I'll gladly share some shortly.
All details of the LPF and nozzle are readily available online.

In the meantime, I am now re-working the original design to see if I can achieve a similar result using 4" PVC pipe and couplings AND to make the nozzle end "serviceable".

Sorry . . . I dont know what I am doing wrong, but I have a drawing of the design and attempted to attach it. . . . dont know where it is.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f34/15/54/17/92/6inch_12.jpg

Maybe this is it ?

Steven in CA wrote:Sorry . . . I dont know what I am doing wrong, but I have a drawing of the design and attempted to attach it. . . . dont know where it is.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f34/15/54/17/92/6inch_12.jpg

Maybe this is it ?

Hi there

And welcome to the forum
Do you have any Videos of your system ?

As I can see from the picture, you have a 6" pvc pipe ?
If that is fact, there you have your problem

I suggest using 8" or bigger for a optimal laminar flow.

I have no video to share without a video camera.

But here are some still images !

You may observe one problem I have - I attempted to use a galvanized steel washer for the nozzle which I then machined down to produce the "knife edge".
Over time, this material rusts and is a source of some distortions.
My next attempts will use a brass washer to avoid this problem.


For very simple construction techniques - this produces a very good result in 6' pipe -
On a not windy day, I have launched very clean arcs from as much as 14 feet.




https://i.servimg.com/u/f34/15/54/17/92/dscn0810.jpg

https://i.servimg.com/u/f34/15/54/17/92/dscn0812.jpg
https://i.servimg.com/u/f34/15/54/17/92/dscn0813.jpg
https://i.servimg.com/u/f34/15/54/17/92/dscn0814.jpg

Steve,

It looks very good, and very well constructed! Be careful of the inlet as the marine epoxy tends to crack overtime, specially if you grab it by the inlet. I know from experience. If you can't get your brass washer to work or if you want one that is marine grade brass, then I have some left that I can sell.

Thanks for the advice, John.

I was aware that the "weld" between the inlet and cap would be a weak point - not a structural piece of the final product at all.
But this was an attempt (my first) to see if someone could build one of these with just the most basic of tools.
In the end - I used nothing more than an electric drill, scissors, and a hand saw for the final product.

The nozzle was "ground" from a 1" galvanized washer using an abrasive grinder set in my drill . . . I used various drill bits to cut the tangential inlet hole and a hand saw to make the various cuts of PVC piping, scissors to cut the mesh which made up my LPF foam (and the screen) - oh, and a hot-melt gun to weld the layers of foam together to make the final assembled "mushroom" LPF shape. . . .

Carefull pre-fitting of all pieces - and careful use of the PVC glue at the joints resulted in a product that worked very very well. . . .
With the one flaw being the nozzle itself. . . which has rusted out slowly - - and I've seen the stream degrade along with it !

Using the same approach and a brass washer would solve the gradual degradation I'm getting in my stream - so that's an easy fix on the next design.

Also, I've noticed that these designs are VERY sensitive to very subtle changes in pressure - (try tapping on your fountain head and watch the stream) and I think it would be a simple matter to modulate the stream in time with a music source . . . . and, then, if you had a simple little lighting controller that "understood" the transit time of your stream and ALSO triggered by a music source - you could begin to do some REAL neat and tricky things !

But - that's all future experimenting - for now, I want a smaller head to play with.

Ahh there is the pictures :-)

Very nice, and for the first attempt it`s a great job you have done there