Fountain Set-up Procedure

D0124 Standing Leone Fountain

A. Materials Needed

1. Supplied with fountain: clear plastic hose, black rubber plug (only for fountains where pump cord goes through the middle of the bowl); pump and Kryton "Krystol Hydrostop" (if you purchased these with the fountain)
2. To be purchased: plumber's putty (building supply, hardware store), household Vaseline (drugstore, pharmacy), pump and Kryton sealer (if not purchased with fountain), and shims (e.g., pennies, washers, anything that can be used to progressively raise and level a fountain part by small increments)

B. Procedure

1. Test the pump to make sure it is operational. A kitchen sink filled with six inches of water is sufficient. Only plug the pump into the electrical socket after the pump is submerged. Running a pump dry will destroy it. Also, examine any control on the pump so that once the pump is installed, you will know how to increase/decrease the water flow. Removing a faulty pump is time-consuming.
2. Touch up any scratches on the fountain pieces with touch up stain. Let dry.
3. After ensuring that every piece of the fountain is absolutely dry (not in contact with rain/wet ground for several days,) water seal every piece with Kryton sealer. Be sure to cover ALL sides of every part, working methodically to ensure complete coverage.
4. Prepare the area on which the fountain will stand. A concrete pad or gravel base is fine. Ensure that the area is packed down and reasonably level.
5. Place the four (4) lion-paw feet in their desired locations and level them.
6. Place the large bowl onto the feetl.
7. Install the pump. Feed the pump cord down through the bowl and base to the ground. Then, reaching under the bowl grasp the cord and pull it out toward the back. When pulling the cord through, leave about eight inches of cord between the pump and the inside of the large bowl.
8. Make sure the walls of the white plastic pipe (through which the pump cord passes) are clean. The black rubber plug needs to seat well into this pipe to prevent leakage.
9. With some household Vaseline lightly coat all surfaces of the black rubber plug. Open the slit in the side of the plug and place the pump cord into the centre of the plug. Place the plug into the hole in the fountain bowl, thus making a watertight seal around the pump cord. Make sure the top of the plug is level with the top of the white plastic pipe and that the slit in the plug is completely closed. Add Vaseline to the top of the rubber plug.
10. Level the large bowl using either a 48-inch level or a straight board with a smaller level. Shims (pennies, washers, etc.) must be used between the feet and the bowl to get the top level.
11. With the plumber's putty make a roll about 3/8 inch thick and about four feet long (this roll can be made from smaller pieces put together.) Lay the roll of putty along the top back edge of the bowl, attaching it to the concrete trim pieces on either side. Any water that splashes on the back of the fountain will often run down and under the back behind the fountain. This line of putty will stop any potential problem.
12. Place the large fountain back into place atop the back edge of the bowl (and seated on top of the putty) and secure it to the wall behind with a heavy-gauge galvanized wire. Drywall alone is NOT strong enough to hold this fountain (see set-up instructions for D0123 for more information.) Any putty that squeezes out can easily be removed so that it does not show.
13. Take the ½ inch plastic hose and connect the copper tube in the fountain back to the pump. The hose should slide easily onto the nipple on the top of the pump.
14. Place the pump housing into the large bowl and over the pump. The bottom of the pump housing has grooves in it to allow water to enter. You may want to elevate this housing slightly to allow more water to enter.
15. Place any other pieces of trim that have not already been cemented (these are usually cemented at the factory) the the left and right of the pump housing.
16. Fill the fountain with room-temperature water. Cold water poured into a warm fountain can cause the bowls to crack.
17. Plug the pump into your source of electricity. Always use properly grounded circuits and extension cords. Never run a pump without its being submerged in water.
    
18. Reminder: Fountain bowls and pumps CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO FREEZE WITH WATER IN THEM. If used in an unheated environment (outdoors or unheated house), open the drain plug, remove the pump, and leave the drain open during the winter. Note: If the drain hole becomes clogged with leaves and the bowl fills with water and freezes, it will crack. See manufacturer's bulletin on "Care and Maintenance" for more information.
    
    

C. Adjustments Commonly Needed

1. Water does not flow evenly from copper tubes around the top bowl.
   a. Check each individual tube to make sure no excess concrete is impeding water flow. Excess can be removed easily with a file or screwdriver.
   b. Adjust shims to even out the water flow.
2. Water does not flow out the top at all.
   a. Make sure the plastic hose is not kinked at some point and that water can flow freely from pump to copper tube inside the pump housing.
   b. Reach into the opening in the pump housing, gently pull the pump to the opening and adjust the flow higher.
   c. Check to see if pump is the correct size. Pumps are rated by the height they will raise a column of water. Under 24" need P-60 to P-80; 24" to 48" need P-140 to P-210; over 48" needs P-280 to P-380 or higher. Contact your pump supplier for accurate sizes. Remember, it is not the height of the fountain, but the height from the pump to the point where the water exits that must be measured.
   d. The ID (inside diameter) of the plastic hose also affects the height the water will rise. Any pump will push water higher in a 3/8" hose than in a ½" hose, but more volume flows from a ½" hose.
3. Water flow is too heavy or fountain splashes too much.
   a. Decrease the flow control on the pump.
   b. Restrict the flow through the plastic hose. Many make-shift items will work, e.g., a nail bent into a "U" shape with the hose pressed inside it, a small hose clamp tightened around the hose, etc.
4. Large bowl leaks at plug.
   a. Make sure black rubber plug is pushed firmly into white plastic pipe in the large bowl, so that the top of the plug is level with the top of the pipe.
   b. If necessary, remove the water from the large fountain bowl (a wet/dry vacuum makes short work of this task), remove the black rubber plug and check with your finger to ensure the walls of the white plastic pipe are clean and free of cement. Clean the pipe (your fingernail is often enough), re-Vaseline the plug with cord and insert the plug into the pipe. When plug is seated properly (top of plug even with top of white pipe and slit in plug completely closed,) apply extra Vaseline to the top of the plug and the surrounding ¼" of white plastic and concrete. Ensure the pump cord is snuggly fitted and that the slit in the plug is tightly closed once seated in the pipe.
5. The plastic hose that came with the fountain does not fit onto the pump I have purchased elsewhere.
   a. Plastic hose is manufactured in sizes that allow one size to fit snuggly inside the next larger size.
   b. Measure the nipple on the top of your pump. That measurement is the ID (inside diameter) of the plastic hose you need.
   c. Usually ½" hose is supplied with the fountain. If the pump needed 5/8", all you need is a short length (4") of 5/8" hose from your building supply store. Insert that onto your pump, then place the ½" hose down inside the top of the 5/8" hose to complete the assembly.
   d. This process can also work in reverse with 3/8" hose.
   Note: Using the same size pump, a smaller diameter hose gives a lower volume of water but pushes it higher, while a larger diameter hose gives a larger volume of water but pushes to less height.