One of the favorite parts of my garden is the water fountain. I truly enjoy sitting on the back porch on a warm spring evening listening to the water splash over the rocks while I sip a glass of iced tea. For me, this is the perfect way to relax and end a stressed filled day. However, like everything else around the house, the fountain requires a bit of maintenance to keep it operating most efficiently. Besides just the routine periodic cleaning, water fountain pumps must be properly maintained to run at peak performance. But, try as we may to prevent it, time will be the enemy of the water fountain pump and at some point a replacement pump will need to be purchased. I hope the following tips will help you with the replacement process.
When seeking a replacement water fountain pump, keep in mind that you need to purchase a replacement that meets the specifications of your present pump as closely as possible. The first issue will be simple enough to address. Is your pump going to be used indoors or outdoors. While you could conceivably use an outdoor pump indoors, you certainly do not want to attempt to utilize an indoor pump in an outdoor fountain.
The next item of note will be the GPH of your pump. If you did not know or have not already guessed, GPH stands for gallons per hour. Water fountain pumps will generally have a multiple GPH range as opposed to a single GPH output, though single GPH units are available. The pumps will range in size from a GPH of 50-100 that are used in most tabletop fountains to the much larger pumps supplying anywhere from 350-550 GPH for larger fountains. Somewhere on your present pump or in the product information that came with the pump, you should be able to find the GPH. If you purchase a pump that is too small, the pump will not be powerful enough to produce the proper flow. If the pump is too large, it will likely cause the water to splash outside of the container.
Should you be unable to locate the GPH of your present pump, there are is a general rule of thumb you can use as a guide to purchase a replacement. Small indoor tabletop fountains will usually utilize a pump capacity of about 40-70 GPH. Medium sized fountains up to a height of about 36 inches will require a pump of about 100-200 GPH. Large fountains up to 6 feet or so will need approximately 250-350 GPH. As mentioned before, you do not want a fountain pump that is too large. However, when replacing the pump in anything other than a tabletop fountain, you might consider a pump with a slightly higher capacity than necessary so that it will continue to supply an adequate amount of water even after it begins to show some wear.
A couple of other things you should note are the outlet tube size and if dealing with a larger fountain, the head height. The outlet tube size will need to match the opening on the new pump and is the inside measurement of the tube. The head height is the distance between the base of the fountain and the point at which the water is released. Again, you may want to purchase a pump with a head height slightly higher than necessary so the water flow remains strong enough at the release point.
These tips should help make the purchase of a new water fountain pump a little easier to understand. Once the new pump is installed, keep in mind that it will last longer and operate better with a little bit of maintenance. After all, your water fountain is much more enjoyable to listen to and watch than it is to take apart and reassemble once the pump goes bad. Do yourself a favor and put the replacement off as long as possible by taking the time to maintain you fountain in the proper way.
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