Solar pump for water feature advice please

hi all

I am thinking of creating a small water feature in my garden using an old Belfast sink I have as the sump. I also have a circular stone thing with a hole in it which is obviously intended as a water spout. I would like to mount this on the wall above the sink and have the water coming out of the spout and falling into the sink. I cannot easily get power to the end of the garden so it will have to be a solar pump however on searching online for solar pumps I am only getting the sort with a fountain attachment which float on top of the water. My question is would I be able to adapt something like that for my purpose or would it just not be powerful enough? If not can anyone recommend what sort I should be looking for? The spout will be positioned approximately 3 feet above the bottom of the sink.

Thanks in advance

 

You can attach a water pump wherever you wish. I have one of the fountain ones that are meant to sit in a fountain but not float and which can also go up through a rock or whatever. It is an AC pump which is now sitting in my birdbath. I bought a small solar panel, put the inverter and the plug end of the pump in a plastic container concealed behind the bird bath and voila. Solar powered.

Those ones to float on ponds that you are looking at- do they have a tube that runs to the water source. Mine sits in the water and does not.

 

Thanks for reply. I'm not sure if they have a tube as I'm looking online and it's not clear from the details. Need to go out and see one in the flesh I think but it's a long way to my nearest stockist.

 

Just be aware that if you try to lift water any great height you will probably find that these little pumps will not do the job. Raising water for a feature like you describe or a waterfall needs a lot of power as water is very heavy.

 

Hi,
Sounds good to me I like that kind of feature, it can really bring a corner of the garden to life
I've been working with solar powered pond stuff for about 20 years (eek) and I can help I think...
Solar pumps come in two flavours : cheap toys (like the ones that float). They are fine for what they are. If they cost £20 and last a season and look pretty thats fine
The other flavour are "proper" pumps just like mains but instead of plugging into the mains they plug into a solar panel that runs the pump. There are cheap chinese versions of these but proper ones are available. I run solar solutions fountains and put together hundreds, but I'm really not here to promote, they are available elsewhere as well. In a nutshell a good quality solar pump and panel can do the following : lift / raise water a maximum of 3 metres and as much water as a garden hose. I'm always reluctant to add my two penneth to a forum because people always suspect self promotion but in fact the two things I like to promote are wildlife water features and environmentally friendly solutions
Hope you get it going ok.
all the best
alex

 

I think that the best way to tell the strength of a pump is to find the one with the size of hose you need to use for your set up and then look at the gallons per minute it will pump. I use small ones for my bird bath/small fountains and they keep the water moving and splashing. They are 15 & 20 gallons per minute pumps and only cost about £10. Mine have lasted for over 5 years. I make sure to drain, let dry and store over the winter.

My suggestion, get a cheapie pump and play. Then after you've learned, hands on, if you need to invest more money, you'll know what you need.

 

Head height,flow and wattage is normally what i look at. I`d try and get power to it instead of solar personally.