Popular Science Monthly 



291 



A Self-Acting Fountain for the 

 Home Conservatory 



THE making of any contrivance which 

 when started works automatically and 

 continually on its own power, is always a 

 satisfaction to those mechanically inclined, 



A garden fountain worked by pressure, derived from a weighted 

 piston on water in a near-by cylinder (note dotted lines) 



and I do not doubt that a fountain and fish 

 pond which I made will be of interest to 

 others. The basin or pond may be of any 

 depth or diameter. The one shown was a 

 large pan taken from the foot of a glass 

 floral stand, which had a projecting neck 

 in the center. This was removed to make 

 room for the center pipe of the fountain. 



With the aid of my lathe I turned a piece 

 of brass tube about i^ in. in diameter to 

 true its end, and with this, using sand and 

 water as an abrasive and keeping the lathe 

 in motion while holding the pan against 

 the tube with some pressure, the neck was 

 easily cut off leaving a hole in the center 

 the diameter of the tube. Another" hole 

 was bored in the same way for the down 

 pipe into the lower tank. The location of 

 this hole was at one side of the center. It 

 may be possible to obtain a basin where it 

 can be bored ready for use. 



The stand for the fountain was built of 

 two tanks made of zinc, the bottom one 

 being set in a molded base. This tank is 

 finished on the top with a flange all around 

 and has a small faucet in the side near the 

 bottom. The top tank, which is slightly 

 less in depth than the lower one, is shown 

 fitted to a %-in. molded board and has 

 three upright pipes fitted in the positions 

 shown. The left pipe passes through the 

 board and the center one is fastened to 

 the bottom with an inlet at each side, as 



shown by the arrows. The right pipe pas- 

 ses through and down to within I in. of the 

 bottom of the lower tank. All of these 

 pipes are fastened to the bottom of the top 

 tank before the two tanks are connected, 

 after which the cover of the top tank is 

 soldered at the joints. 



The center and the right 

 pipe should project through 

 the cover of the tank a dis- 

 tance equal to the thickness 

 of the basin-shell, and these 

 two pipes should also be 

 threaded on the inside, the 

 center one to receive the 

 nozzle of the basin, and the 

 other the plug for starting 

 the fountain. The action 

 of the fountain is as follows : 

 Fill the fish-basin with water, 

 then screw off the upper 

 part of the nozzle and allow 

 the water to run into the top 

 tank until it is filled to 

 within Yl in. of the top. 

 Replace the top part of the 

 nozzle and remove the screw-plug. The 

 water will rush down the pipe on the right 

 side and compress the air in the lower tank, 

 which forces the air up through the pipe 

 into the upper tank, thus compressing and 



The weight of the piston compresses the air 

 which forces the water up through the nozzle 



forcing the water up through the nozzle 

 into the air. 



If the fountain is a very small one it need 

 not be fitted with a screw-plug or a faucet. 



