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I have a water feature of extreme naffness that i want to add to the garden using a solar water pump. I will probarbly want to raise water from a buried bucket to the frog above on the rockery. Any suggestions as to what i need todo or buy. I am concerned that i need to raise the waterto the rockery and through the sculpture. Do i need to buy piping too?




Answers

 

Excluding the term naffness which is not part of my USA lexicon, you will need a solar pump strong enough to send a column of water up a flexable tubing of appropriate diameter to the top of your spitter which is in this case is a frog. Your maximum height to be successful in this will be no more than three to four vertical feet and no more than that for the most powerfull solar pump available. The specs on the pump will tell you how high it can send water up a vertical hose. The problem with solar pumps is that they stop and go and are not continuous so for the first week or two everything will be running fine UNTIL the pump blades start to get covered with algae and dirt as well as your tubing. At that point you will find that the pump turbine blades will get stuck and the hose will get clogged. This will be a real pain to get everything cleaned out and cleared out when you find out that you will have to do this on a continual basis. Of course you will need a membrane which will prevent water loss from the frog to the bucket. Again, everything will be ok for a little while and then the problems I mentioned will develop.

6 May, 2017

 

Thanks for the information. I will bear that in mind about maintainance and suspected that might be the case. Naffness.....in my frogs case... is that it so kitchy and downright tasteless.. that it i actually like it.

6 May, 2017

 

I think you need to look at a different solution to getting the water up to the 'frog' in you pond... Solar powered pumps just don't cut it - sorry!

6 May, 2017

 

If you go to my blog of 4 July, 2015. You will see photos of my up and running....title..." shade garden solar powered fountain project." It is still running but requires the maintenance mentioned. Love to see a photo of that frog by the way. This blog is located on page 3 of my blogs I believe.

6 May, 2017

 

Loosestrife2. That is exactly the effect that i want and the same scale as what i want the frog to do. It looks super.

6 May, 2017

 

Loosestrife: definition/synonyms of naff (UK slang): uncool, tacky, worthless, cheap, unfashionable, tat, kitsch, tasteless plus a few other more sweary type words which I won't add here, but hopefully, you get the drift...!

6 May, 2017

 

Ahh! The very words used to describe some artists work when they were still alive e.g., ..Lautrec, Van Gogh, Gaugin....etc

7 May, 2017

 

I may start to use some other UK terms to my blog. I did not realise that naff was a slang term as its used widely. Whereas a word like mardy is not and is a word in use in the midlands.

7 May, 2017

 

Well, given that we live in the north of Scotland I certainly know what 'mardy' means...

7 May, 2017

 

Moongrower. I never heard the term in birmingham but when i came to live in nottingham. I didn't know it was used so far north!

7 May, 2017

 

It isn't to the best of my knowledge, I just happen to like 'odd words', but as it is in the dictionary so probably used more widely than you think...

7 May, 2017

 

I have found a dictionary of slang used in the U.K. Not only does it give the definition but also what regions in the U.K. these words are most used in. Most entertaining.

7 May, 2017

 

Mardy bum was what lads in Sheffied used to shout after kids who cried. I've never seen it written down before.

I agree that solar fountains are rather a non starter and its not easy t find solar pumps (round here anyway) They only work on really sunny days and don't lift water very far. I'd love to be wrong as I fancied one too, but gave up.

7 May, 2017

 

Thanks Steragram. I am going to try the solar pump as because my garden has a shared front area with neighbours then option of proper electricity is a non starter. For the sake of 20 quid, its worth a pop as I only want something small and not exactly something like Versailles! ?. You may be right.... but i want to have a go.
.

8 May, 2017

 

Well please keep records and let us know how you get on - I really hope it works well for you. Our pond is too far to lay on electricity and I would like just a little dribble waterfall, just enough to make a few ripples and perhaps a quiet little sound. I'd given up on the idea but perhaps you will inspire me!

8 May, 2017

 

Thinking about it, the term 'naff' seems to have disappeared from common usage in the London area, haven't heard it for quite a while, its been replaced by something else that I probably can't type on here, and 'kitsch' seems to have had a bit of a revival.

9 May, 2017

How do I say thanks?

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