I have long wanted do it yourself make a small stand-alone fountain. Small size is a fundamental factor, since there is not much free space on the table. Rather large fountains are usually offered for sale, so there is only one way out - do it yourself!
To make the fountain we will need: a micromotor from the camera, a plastic gear, pieces of plastic, hot melt adhesive, a plastic cap from a deodorant, a body from a ballpoint pen, foil, a battery, a shell, a plastic reservoir, a switch, a charging connector, a resistor and LEDs.
We make the pump on the principle of a centrifugal pump. That is, water enters the reservoir through the inlet, where a wheel with blades spins. As a result, the centrifugal force directs the water to the edge where the outlet is located.
For the size of the motor from a slightly processed plastic gear we make the impeller, which will pump water. Now we make the blades from pieces of plastic and gently glue them to the impeller. After the glue dries, we process the ends with a file so that they do not protrude beyond the wheel.
Then we make the body of our pump. For this we need a plastic cap from an ordinary deodorant. We saw off everything superfluous from it and drill two holes: a large one for water drainage and a small one on top for the motor axis.
Now, using hot-melt adhesive, we attach the motor and the outlet pipe to the body. As the latter, you can use the body of the ballpoint pen. We try to glue the motor as accurately as possible without any distortions so that the impeller does not cling to the housing during operation.
As soon as the glue dries well, we cut out a panel with a water inlet from a small piece of plastic. Then we glue it tightly to the body, and our pump is ready. With its modest size in test trials, it gave a column of water with a height of about 20 cm and a thickness of the inner diameter of the handle body when powered by a 3.7 volt battery. Of course, if you narrow the outlet, then the flow will be higher.
Now we proceed directly to the manufacture of crafts. It all depends on your tastes and imagination. I imagined my fountain as a hill with which a stream of water falls, changing direction when it falls. You can make it from a simple foil by crumpling balls from it and connecting them using hot-melt adhesive. It’s better to color the finished slide.
As a source of water, I took a beautiful shell of a suitable size and made a small hole in it for a tube.
Then we attach the pump and decorative elements to the slide. The pump must be located directly below the slide through which the handle body passes.
The role of the water tank will be played by a small plastic box. I also decorated it with foil balls.
Now carefully insert our slide into the prepared tank, glue the switch, battery, charging connector, LEDs for backlight and resistor (I used SP5-3 per 100 Ohms) to adjust the flow rate. After that, with the help of hot glue, glue our slide to the edges of the tank.
Then carefully mask the junction of the slide and the reservoir with the same foil balls and finally paint our fountain, while not forgetting to protect the non-painted elements homemade.
After the paint has completely dried, we pour water into the tank, turn on the fountain and enjoy the result of the work done.