An outdoor fountain’s pump is its most important feature. Without it, water won’t move – it’s that simple. If you own a high quality garden fountain for long enough, you’ll eventually need to be replace its pump. There are a lot of different models out there; some of them have mysterious specifications. What’s a fountain pump’s “head?” How do you know what kind of pump works on your garden fountain? The fountain experts at Serenity Health have provided the following rough guide to outdoor water fountain pumps.
Does the Fountain Pump Fit?
Before you do any shopping measure the dimensions of your fountain’s basin in the location your pump is supposed to sit. Some pumps are too big or awkward to fit in certain outdoor fountains.
Pick WT, Not WP
The most important factor in choosing a reliable outdoor fountain pump is to check whether it’s actually safe to use outdoors. The pump has use a heavy duty, three-pronged outlet. Pumps with this capacity are called WT pumps. The WT designation appears beside their model numbers. Don’t confuse this with a WP pump. WP pumps only need two pronged outlets; they’re not robust enough to support an outdoor fountain’s electrical needs. WTs can be used both indoors and out, as long as they’re plugged into a three-pronged outlet.
Find Your Pump’s Head
In addition to measuring basin space to ensure a proper fit, you need to measure your outdoor fountain to tell how far the water needs to travel. This defines how much work your pump needs to do to function properly. Keep this information handy when you shop for a new fountain pump. When you’re browsing for pumps, look at the listed “head.” This measures how high the pump will push water. The height should exceed the fountain’s height to ensure adequate water flow. This isn’t just important to make sure the fountain looks nice. If your fountain pump doesn’t have enough head to reliably push water over the required height you’ll get inconstant flow back into its basin. This changes water pressure around the pump and sometimes even forces to suck in air, which will damage the pump over time.
Maintain Before You Replace
Buying a new outdoor pump can be a pain, so the best solution is to maintain your current pump for as long as possible. The keys to making a pump last are to keep in immersed in water while it’s on, protect it from bad weather, keep in running continuously whenever you can, and make sure it’s free of grit and debris. If you do all of this and own a high quality pump, you won’t have to replace it very often.
Keep Your Information Handy
The best thing you can do to make pump maintenance and replacement a painless process is to collect all of the information you need in advance. Some fountains come with instructions that explain exactly what you need to do, but failing that, note the pump model as soon as you get your fountain, measure the available basin space for it and check how much head the pump needs to keep a smooth cycle running. Once you know this, picking the right pump – or keeping an existing pump in good shape – is dead simple.
