Fountain Set-up Procedure

D0152 Gothic
D0153 Alabama
D0153b Alabama with Base

A. Materials Needed

1. Supplied with fountain: 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), plastic spray head with telescopic tube
2. To be purchased: 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 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, gravel base or hard-packed soil is fine. Ensure that the area is packed down and level.
5. Place the base of the fountain (D152 and D153b) in the desired location and level it by shimming the bottom. If the fountain is on a solid surface, make sure the cord slot in the bottom of the base is pointed in the direction you desire.
   6. Place the large bowl onto the base (D152 and D153b.) or into its desired location.
6. Install the pump. If the fountain has a piped base (a base with a hole through the centre for the electrical cord), use three people. Have two people tip the large bowl and base together so that a third person can feed the pump cord down through the bowl and base to the ground. Then, reaching under the tipped base grasp the cord and pull it out from under the base, ensuring that the cord lies in the channel in the bottom of the base (otherwise, the fountain cannot be properly leveled.) When pulling the cord through, leave about four inches between the pump and the inside of the large bowl.
7. Make sure the walls of the white plastic pipe in the centre of the fountain (through which the pump cord passes) are clean. The black rubber plug needs to seat well into this pipe to prevent leakage.
8. 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 plug.
9. 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 under the bowl to get the top level.
10. Place the pump housing into the large bowl and over the pump.
11. Attach the plastic spray head. The head fits onto the telescopic tube supplied with it. Then the plastic tube is lower through the pump house opening and attached to the nipple on top of the pump. The head can be rotated to adjust spray pattern.
12. Fill the fountain with room-temperature water. Cold water poured into a warm fountain can cause the bowls to crack. The reverse is also true.
13. Plug the pump into your source of electricity. Always use properly grounded circuits and extension cords.
14. Reminder: Fountain bowls and pumps CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO FREEZE WITH WATER IN THEM. If used in an unheated environment (outdoors or unheated house), disassemble and store in winter. See manufacturer's bulletin on "Care and Maintenance" for more information.
    
    

C. Adjustments Commonly Needed

1. Water flow is too heavy, fountain splashes too much, or flow is too light.
   a. Decrease/increase the flow control on the pump.
   b. Use a larger or smaller pump.
2. 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.
3. The plastic hose that came with the fountain does not fit onto the pump 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.