Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 91.djvu/307

 Popular Science Monthly

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��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.

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