So I bought a house with a big fancy fountain in the front yard. Huge (10ft) with cherubim and seahorses and satyrs.

It was working ok on a hurricane pump that managed a trickle out the top level. Then cascading down two more levels. But then started tripping the GFCI.

So I decided to renovate it. But no matter how powerful and how much head I get from the several new pumps I tried, the water only comes out 2/3 of the way up and never gets to the poor dry cherub on the top.

I tried running a snake down from the top and got down to the next level down and the snake came out at that level.

I'm thinking that I have some broken tubing between level 2 and the top.

Any ideas? My next try will be to run a 3/8 copper pipe down to level 2 with plumbers putty on the end.

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Posted by Macfly

BR & DS

Member since Jan 2016

9563 posts

Posted on 3/22/24 at 7:28 pm to Rebunga

It sounds like a broken or leaky connection near the top, since your pump can push water that high. We have a small 4-tier, 6 ft-wide concrete fountain that just trickled water at the top and I ended up swapping out all the 3/4 inch hose for the repair. Other things that may not apply now, but to check later are debris clogging the pump intake and the setting on the pump that adjusts the flow intensity.

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Posted by mdomingue

Lafayette, LA

Member since Nov 2010

38650 posts

Posted on 3/23/24 at 12:09 pm to Rebunga

quote:
It was working ok on a hurricane pump that managed a trickle out the top level.

What was the HP of the motor and flow characteristics of the pump?

Compare that to the new pumps. It is not simply the flow rate but the flow rate at discharge pressure. ETA pressure would probably be listed in head which would be the water height usually in inches.

Also make sure you are using the same type of pump, centrifugal vs positive displacement. My gut tells me they would usually be centrifugal pumps but I don't know. If you don't have that info but do have the brand and model numbers, I could probably find the info online.

Other than that you may have to find a way to restrict flow at the lower levels to force more flow up.

This post was edited on 3/23/24 at 12:13 pm

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Posted by CAD703X

Liberty Island

Member since Jul 2008

87484 posts

Posted on 3/23/24 at 5:06 pm to Rebunga

quote:
no matter how powerful and how much head I get from the several new pumps I tried

that's a terrible way to talk about your dates

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Posted by Porpus

Covington, LA

Member since Aug 2022

2541 posts

Posted on 3/23/24 at 10:09 pm to Rebunga

quote:
So I bought a house with a big fancy fountain in the front yard. Huge (10ft) with cherubim and seahorses and satyrs.

I'm trying to imagine this and how it fits into the whole property. Hopefully it's not sitting in front of an unassuming 1,900 square foot ranch house with Ikea furniture and word art in the kitchen.