01-17-2026, 07:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-17-2026, 08:00 AM by Gone in 60.)
Wow, Pdedse, would like to see that area when it’s not foggy! I’ll bet it’s beautiful.
I took the Enfield to Home Depot after I knocked off for the day to return some 1/2” sprinkler line and several plumbing bits. The line wouldn’t fit in any of my boxes so I just coiled it up and wore it over my shoulder for the short ride.
This was one of those projects that seems simple on paper, but turns into a quagmire of return trips to the hardware store. Mom has a fountain in the front courtyard that is basically a huge, tall ceramic vase about 40” tall and 18” around that 26 years ago, my Stepdad MacGyvered into a fountain by sinking it into a shallow pond and using a pump, PVC pipe, sprinkler hose, and a cookie dish. Water burbles up through the plumbing, fills the dish sunk into the top of the vase, and gently flows over the surface of the vase, returning to the pond. Decorative rocks in the pond and dish hide all of the works.
After 26 years, the pump died. Knowing Mom, she’d hire someone to come fix it and get fleeced so she doesn’t have to bug me. But one look at this homemade contraption would lead to her paying thousands on a new fountain.
I dissected the works and dug out the pump. I figured if it ran for 26 years continuously, better to find another one than to grab something cheap. Long discontinued, I found an NOS pump on eBay. Rebuilt the PVC portion, and examined the now brittle cookie dish. Hmm… Mom has been eating the same cookies for years. Check the kitchen cabinet and sure enough, there’s a container of the same cookies almost gone. Finish off the last few cookies and use the dish to finish the rebuild of Stepdad’s home grown pump works. Should last another 26 years once the new pump comes, right?
Pump received, and I took the works to Mom’s to reassemble the fountain. Easy 20 minute job.
Didn’t realize that this pump was offered in different GPM flow rates, and turns out the last one on earth had more than the original. So, all finished, sink the works back into the pond, check it with a level so the water flows over the vase evenly and plug her in.
The water didn’t burble gently over the sides. It shot up about 10” and then came down and still flowed over the sides. Meh, looks good, it works, job done.
Except Mom didn’t like the new, louder noise from the splashing. Using her vast knowledge of hydrodynamics, she put a rock on top of the pipe where the water comes out, which just made it shoot sideways.
Long story short, after several failed attempts to choke the flow at the pump, I replaced the plumbing with a smaller diameter and it now replicates the original flow. A replacement cookie dish had to be sourced to cut a smaller hole for the smaller pipe but no worries, I was able to consume a new package of cookies due to stress eating brought about by the unexpected complications of the project.
I have been tempted to call Mom a few day on to see how she likes the rebuilt fountain. But, I’ve decided to take it as wrote that she does. And, I can thank my trusty Bonneville down at Mom’s for the multiple trips to the hardware store, and the Enfield for the return of the vast collection of parts that didn’t work when I was done.
I took the Enfield to Home Depot after I knocked off for the day to return some 1/2” sprinkler line and several plumbing bits. The line wouldn’t fit in any of my boxes so I just coiled it up and wore it over my shoulder for the short ride.
This was one of those projects that seems simple on paper, but turns into a quagmire of return trips to the hardware store. Mom has a fountain in the front courtyard that is basically a huge, tall ceramic vase about 40” tall and 18” around that 26 years ago, my Stepdad MacGyvered into a fountain by sinking it into a shallow pond and using a pump, PVC pipe, sprinkler hose, and a cookie dish. Water burbles up through the plumbing, fills the dish sunk into the top of the vase, and gently flows over the surface of the vase, returning to the pond. Decorative rocks in the pond and dish hide all of the works.
After 26 years, the pump died. Knowing Mom, she’d hire someone to come fix it and get fleeced so she doesn’t have to bug me. But one look at this homemade contraption would lead to her paying thousands on a new fountain.
I dissected the works and dug out the pump. I figured if it ran for 26 years continuously, better to find another one than to grab something cheap. Long discontinued, I found an NOS pump on eBay. Rebuilt the PVC portion, and examined the now brittle cookie dish. Hmm… Mom has been eating the same cookies for years. Check the kitchen cabinet and sure enough, there’s a container of the same cookies almost gone. Finish off the last few cookies and use the dish to finish the rebuild of Stepdad’s home grown pump works. Should last another 26 years once the new pump comes, right?
Pump received, and I took the works to Mom’s to reassemble the fountain. Easy 20 minute job.
Didn’t realize that this pump was offered in different GPM flow rates, and turns out the last one on earth had more than the original. So, all finished, sink the works back into the pond, check it with a level so the water flows over the vase evenly and plug her in.
The water didn’t burble gently over the sides. It shot up about 10” and then came down and still flowed over the sides. Meh, looks good, it works, job done.
Except Mom didn’t like the new, louder noise from the splashing. Using her vast knowledge of hydrodynamics, she put a rock on top of the pipe where the water comes out, which just made it shoot sideways.
Long story short, after several failed attempts to choke the flow at the pump, I replaced the plumbing with a smaller diameter and it now replicates the original flow. A replacement cookie dish had to be sourced to cut a smaller hole for the smaller pipe but no worries, I was able to consume a new package of cookies due to stress eating brought about by the unexpected complications of the project.
I have been tempted to call Mom a few day on to see how she likes the rebuilt fountain. But, I’ve decided to take it as wrote that she does. And, I can thank my trusty Bonneville down at Mom’s for the multiple trips to the hardware store, and the Enfield for the return of the vast collection of parts that didn’t work when I was done.
You know what? I actually would like a pickle.
