Solar powered fountain/herb garden

Step 5 Plant those herbs and enjoy

I'll add pictures just as soon as my herbs/solar panels are in place. Some contrasting rocks hide the ABS pipe and really cap off the whole fountain.

I had to add some clear vinyl around the edges of the pipe to keep the water from draining off as quickly. It has been two days, and the water is getting to the plants, but keeping the fountain running.

For the solar panels, I chose to use the part of the fountain already containing everything just because it was easier than building another setup. If you do plan to make your own container for the solar panels, use super glue and clear acrylic. I did some tests with this, and it works very well.

See the video of the fountain in action:

Comments

[grooooovy]

Wow, this is a great idea- you could use this a lot in landscaping. If you're something of an artist, painting the pot would be neat, or using other embellishments.

[sleighbedguy]

I've built just one since, but it still works really well. Using pvc drain pipe and drain fittings for the top eliminates the machining part of it. I'll have to update it.

[TheDragonlady]

I couldn't see from the instructable how you keep the dirt in the planter separate from the fountain, or how you keep the fountain water from just pouring out into the dirt. I would love some pictures of that part of the assembly. Aside from that--mega cool!

[sleighbedguy]

There is a piece of ABS pipe in the center sealed at one end that supports the fountain and keeps the dirt out of the water.  I made a second one last year and had more success using PVC drainage pipe (~$7 10') and actual drain covers.  Then it was just a matter of cutting the bamboo to fit between the slots in the drain cover.

It works a great deal better and doesn't require any machining for drainage.  There was a pretty hard winter here (Houston) so I have to replant nearly all of the plants, but the pipe held up well.

[rauly_zang]

Hola, he hecho una fuente con rueda de agua, si te interesa aqui dejo un link de video.
Hello, I made a fountain with a waterwheel, if you interested this is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nB3lZklvmE