Technical look at a floating solar fountain.

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Odd title because I couldn't go as deep as I wanted on this one. The electronics in the pump and the solar pulse module are potted completely in black resin.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
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11 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 611

@deerlakediver5554 5 лет назад

Turn the pump sideways underwater, to make a solar powered jet boat! Mount a neodymium magnet on the platform to make the whole unit act as a compass, and it should travel in a straight line across a lake for miles.

@dsloop3907 5 лет назад

Just make the water exit 90 degrees from the base and that would work. Take to ocean with note in a bottle and release.

@CptJistuce 5 лет назад

@@dsloop3907 "Help please. Stranded on island with shipping crate full of solar fountains."

@peterzingler6221 5 лет назад

@@CptJistuce sending out an army of those thinks lol

@millomweb 5 лет назад

I think it better if it would follow an underwater track / guide - then it could go round the pond making the fish dizzy.

@KiwiMaker 2 года назад

@@dsloop3907 Yess! i want to see this done now :)

@lostjohnny9000 5 лет назад

I love the pump. The pump is so tiny and works on DC. All the tiny submersible pumps I've used run on 50Hz and no more. This thing is so quiet and mysterious. A bit like the Dyson motor AvE reverse engineered.

@DerHeilendeLotus 5 лет назад

You can buy those pumps on their own from eBay too. It's kinda like an aquarium pump, just it runs on DC.

@gioandres1249 5 лет назад

It looks perfect for making a solar powered sailboat. Turn it 90° upside down, attach on the top the battery, esc, servo control, etc. Add a servo for the sail and one for the pump and voilá.

@Vladankunka 2 года назад

Hi, Clive. I used to disassemble that fountain too. In the small black box is a circuit that works as follows: The solar panel charges a capacitor of about 4700uF. When the voltage reaches a certain level - I think 5.2V will turn on the power to the pump. This is because the motor needs a higher inrush current in order to spin. In a way, the circuit can be called what is called a "crowbar circuit". A much larger and thus more powerful photovoltaic panel would be needed. The pump electronics are the same as in any cheap PC fan. Just structurally, it is a miniature of the synchronous pump from the washing machine - the winding is wound twice and the current according to the rotation of the rotor switches the normal 2-channel Hall switch - the same as in the fan

@TechyBen 5 лет назад

The (pump) power from these tiny panels is amazing. Love this little design. :)

@willybee3056 5 лет назад

I saw a program that explained how very little surface agitation of the water of a pond inhibits mosquito production. Other than being a novelty, this may have a practical use.. Thanks for sharing your videos. And keep up the good work.

@tin2001 5 лет назад

Ah... So that wasn't my imagination.... I chucked one of these into my dog's water bowl (its more like a kids pool) last summer to see if it would help keep the water cleaner for longer. After a few weeks, I realised I hadn't seen any mosquitoes hanging around like they had been. And it did seem to help keep the water cleaner - probably because it was a little cooler from the increased evaporation. Mine started falling to bits though so I will probably build a more permanent, non-floating one for next summer.

@trm7782 5 лет назад

tin2001 maybe add a uvc light too? They can prevent the reproduction of organisms to a degree

@willybee3056 5 лет назад

@@tin2001 The article that I saw was about a gadget that was small and solar powered. If I remember right, it flopped around on the surface of the water. It was small and cheap enough to be air dropped into swamps in the 3rd world back countries to try to control the mosquitos. The program was looking for donations.

@ahaveland 5 лет назад

Would also help to oxygenate a pond. Could also be useful to pump coolant around pipes on the back of solar panels, increasing their efficiency and collecting thermal energy.

@parkerlreed 5 лет назад

New camera seems much more pixelated zoomed in.

@MichaelKire 5 лет назад

Yup, it is. Very pixilated

@lets_just_say_im_innocent 5 лет назад

Maybe its using digital zoom instead of optical zoom. That is probably why

@rimmersbryggeri 5 лет назад

@@lets_just_say_im_innocent They were all digital zoom. Cheap phones seldom have optical zoom.

@PaulSteMarie 5 лет назад

Odd. I'm watching on a 42" display and don't see any pixelation.

@rimmersbryggeri 5 лет назад

@@PaulSteMarie I think they have been watching while i hadnt been fully rendered in HD.

@alis990 5 лет назад

With this new camera, image looks much less crisp, and blurry. Hope it's not permanent.

@askminrui 4 года назад

Change the video setting to 1080p

@maykevin5 5 лет назад

wow, freaky. I've been looking at getting one of these yesterday and today then you come out with this video. I think i'll just run power to my fountain.

@Vinterfrid 3 года назад

Why is that? I've got two of these and they work just great, provided the sun is shining.

@bobclarie 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for your technical breakdown. I have one of these located in our north yard, hence it's shaded from the sun most of the time. So, I found a 6 vdc switching supply and hooked it up to the pump and it is now solar independent. Thanks, Bob

@mitchese1 5 лет назад

I had a solar powered fountain which was not a floating one, just a panel with a little box on the back and then a long cable to the pump. When opening the box, it wasn't potted. It was a six-pin chip (unmarked) which went between the motor, solar panel and a huge capacitor. Under low light conditions, it would charge up the capacitor, and when it had enough energy would dump it all into the motor, then brown out and reset. Based on how yours behaves, I'm sure it's the same circuit under all that potting.

@ijulesy 5 лет назад

was it any good?

@NiHaoMike64 5 лет назад

Basically a simple BEAM robotics circuit.

@qwertykeyboard5901 5 лет назад

@@NiHaoMike64 56k modems?!

@DerHeilendeLotus 5 лет назад

I have a solar fountain too - mine is just a big capacitor, and a completely standard DC pump and solar panel. I replaced the pump after the original one died, it still works fine two years after that. The pump makes a humming sound when there's not enough sun.

@kimsleep4111 5 лет назад

@@DerHeilendeLotus That 6 pin chip can be found in some of the larger solar LED string lights, its just a more butch version of the 4 pin device found in the Dollar Store Solar lights

@Bleats_Sinodai 5 лет назад

You know who's good at de-potting circuits? Guitar pedal hobbyists. They do it often to analyze circuits. Maybe get in touch with them for techniques in de-potting?

@JasperJanssen 5 лет назад

Dave Micolichek maybe they only do it if they want to keep the inside secret?

@kimsleep4111 5 лет назад

@@JasperJanssen That is usually the case

@Bleats_Sinodai 5 лет назад

@Dave Micolichek it usually happens to high end boutique pedals. They even scratch off the names of chips and such so you can't identify them. Just look around freestompboxes and you'll see a lot of stuff like that.

@retrorelicsandrepairs8572 5 лет назад

This video is not as sharp as your usual videos. Your zoomed up shot of the PCB is terribly pixelated

@alexatkin 5 лет назад

Even on my phone it looks really soft.

@SeptrothFFXI 5 лет назад

Hi Clive If the resin is epoxy based there’s a product called “Attack” that will soften and slowly dissolve the epoxy allowing you to see what’s under it.

@idk_what_to_sayyes1038 5 лет назад

i find your voice kind of soothing and youre videos are just great... what a neat combination!

@matjazkajba6150 5 лет назад

"it's a very standard lil' pump" ......*shitty modern rap starts blastin'*

@hgbugalou 5 лет назад

Clive gang, clive gang, clive gang, clive gang, clive gang clive gang, clive gang, clive gang buying Chinese on the ebay checking power factor on the HOPI

@RIXRADvidz 5 лет назад

nope nope, I'm getting Dub Step, OldeSchool DubShuffle... ''it's' a very standard lil' pump''..pump pump pumP pumP pumP pumPPPP pPPump

@ADR69 5 лет назад

Sadly, I get this reference

@spikeydapikey1483 5 лет назад

Nice one. Time to build a bench top xray scanner ;)

@LakeNipissing 5 лет назад

The "X-Ray" did not get used this time. ;)

5 лет назад

I was about to say something similar, too.

@MrFurriephillips 5 лет назад

Damn! This exact comment was what I scrolled down here to say ;)

@lostjohnny9000 5 лет назад

Nitecore TIP very good xray for cheap plastic

@millomweb 5 лет назад

Yeah, must be loads of old x-ray equipment knocking about. Get 2 Clive as obviously you'll have to take one apart - oh, maybe you won't LOL

@ManuelMcLure 5 лет назад

It looked like the camera was doing digital zoom - when you zoomed in on the PCB at the end it was very pixelated.

@LakeNipissing 5 лет назад

Agreed... quite blurred / pixelated. The component IDs were essentially unreadable.

@bigclivedotcom 5 лет назад

Rather disappointingly the close focus of the Honor 8X boasting a 20 megapixel camera is poor compared to the old Moto G6 Play with its humble 12 megapixel camera.

@brucesyahoo 5 лет назад

It looks like it only takes 1080 off the sensor then digitally zooms into that rather than native 1080 from the zoomed in section that many other phones do in video mode.

@leexgx 5 лет назад

Not all phones have 4-8x optical zoom

@wobblysauce 5 лет назад

@Jeff121456 5 лет назад

That little blurp of water it generates in less than optimal conditions is a rather underwhelming fountain experience.

@KitsuNoir 5 лет назад

It's a slightly nicer burp if you have a cap on it rather than leaving it bare, but the fact that it stops like that is pretty lame and "less than optimal" is almost the whole day.

@ColinRichardson 5 лет назад

He did say he ran it open barrel and not with the caps on it.

@Jeff121456 5 лет назад

@@ColinRichardson I have one. Even with the various tips it is about as exciting as a dripping faucet.

@okcantbelieveit294 5 лет назад

Jeffery Rowan . You get the dripping faucet for nothing. You’ve got to pay for that piece of poo. I know, I’ve got one.😳

@rich1051414 5 лет назад

Seems a bit vigorous when the sun is out as well... Maybe this needs a battery in there, with the pump current limited to the right level. That would cost a few cents more though.

@robjw66111 5 лет назад

oh that with a nice led display - what a super combo that would be. Thanks BigClive!

@damlitproductions8126 5 лет назад

Good of you to have a all Black video, Clive really does make all feel welcome to his channel,,!!

@kenjones3253 5 лет назад

Nice video - we have an earlier version of this fountain where the pump floats below a circular disc, the nozzle pokes through and the solar panel is connected by a couple of yards of cable. It doesn't have the purge you showed at low light so sometimes it airlocks

@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT 5 лет назад

I had a pump like that in a small pond, a couple of years ago, and it didn't last the summer - the solar panel got whitish from dried limestone from the water and the pump got stuck several times with small debris. After one time too many of not cleaning the pump inlet after it got stuck, it no longer worked (probably due to the steep rise in current you noted). I left it in the pond for a few more months and the solar panel de-laminated and was ruined too. From my experience it only works well with clean water indoors - outdoors it goes bad too quickly and it was not cheap.

@Farmelle 5 лет назад

14:43 "it seems to lock pretty well" as the screen is filled with pixelated and unreadable text...

@amorphuc 5 лет назад

Thanks Big Clive. I got one of these a I think a year or two ago. Same sort of performance and I wondered what sort of circuitry might be in the mysterious potted resin box. Nice to know the pumps don't typically start in lower voltage scenarios hence the charging capacitor. Neat. There you go, sacrificing a purchase for the greater good. My questions and then some - answered!

@tazz1669 5 лет назад

Why do I feel the urge to buy one and I don't even have a pond, must be the Big Clive effect.

@drteeth7054 5 лет назад

That is why I am looking at the comments, for a BC linky

@bigclivedotcom 5 лет назад

Just search eBay for solar fountain.

@dsloop3907 5 лет назад

Subliminal adverts?

@CptJistuce 5 лет назад

Because it is ADORABLE.

@RWBHere 5 лет назад

@@dsloop3907 I have this almost irresistible desire to adopt a cat now.... BC is a really dodgy character!

@MickeyD2012 5 лет назад

We want to see more of the cats.

@erlangga1953 5 лет назад

agree

@randynovick7972 5 лет назад

Aye. Nothin' like a Manx stubby.

@angiee33 5 лет назад

Take apart a cat, Clive.

@briandeschene8424 5 лет назад

The Original Gamer When cat channels start taking electronic tat to bits maybe. Not until then please.

@simonhopkins3867 5 лет назад

You mean you want Clive to do more outside testing. Maybe more solar power, floodlights, explosives. How about cat repellent 😂

@b5a5m5 5 лет назад

That is a neat little product! I can imagine having a few of those floating around in a paver encircled kiddie pool!

@MitsumaYT 5 лет назад

The camera used here is pretty bad, or the settings. Image quality is kinda garbage, everything is blurry and zooming in doesn't make that better. Audio seems fine for the most part, I think it lacks a bit of clarity as well. Interesting fountain though.

@jamiepreston1980 5 лет назад

Hi Clive, firstly great vid and excellent channel. For info I had one of these for a while but after it stopped working I dug into the resin. Your correct there is a capacitor inside but also a small circuit board with an inductor, control chip and a load of smd components. Unfortunately it's not quite as waterproof as you first think, but I suppose 2 odd years use from a Chinese ebay items not to bad :)

@jonathantatler 5 лет назад

Thanks! You answered a question I just made!

@gavincurtis 5 лет назад

I was wondering if they were using some kind of buck regulator based on the hysteresis of pump as clouds passed overhead... I also suspect they are brushless. Was there a brushed DC motor in yours or brushless?

@jamiepreston1980 5 лет назад

@@gavincurtis Mine is a brushless motor like in Big Clives video. I wish I'd taken photos when I dug through the resin. The circuit board looked similar to what you get in the little garden solar lights. The problem with mine was water damage/corrosion on the components - I believe the resin seal around the output cable to pump isn't 100% so water tracks up to the circuit board. I got mine working again by removing the circuit board and connecting the solar output direct to the existing capacitor and pump. Probably not the best and although I say it works now it needs a lot more sunlight before the pump kicks in (due to charging the capacitor). Like you say I guess the original circuit must have some form of boost control to allow for low input from the solar panel. If only I'd taken photos I would have sent them to Big Clive after seeing this video as I'm sure he would know or figure out what it did....Big Clive the oracle of all things electrical :)

@jamiepreston1980 5 лет назад

@@jonathantatler your welcome, maybe I should apply to be Big Clives sidekick, not sure if 'Little Jamie' has the same appeal though :)

@tomschmidt381 5 лет назад

Perfect timing. My wife wanted to add a fountain in our granddaughter's wading pool. I nixed the idea on grounds of electrical safety, then the same night Clive shows an eBay solar fountain. Here on this side of the pond they cost a little over $6 US. I wonder if eBay prices will go as a result of this video. It never occurred to me to search for a solar fountain.

@martinclemesha4794 2 года назад

I had one of these in my bird bath for a while. A bit of wind and the fountain would drift to the side, and basically drained the water over the side :0). Good little gadget though.

@alexandergreenfield2331 5 лет назад

Another great video. Any chance you could review some full scale solar cells / mppt chargers / inverters Clive. I'm sure they'd be extremely popular. In the diy market the panels can be had for around 33p a watt and chargers and inverters becoming much cheaper and a little better. But it would be great to have a properly impartial in depth look at the tech.

@maicod 5 лет назад

Clive are you following CuriousMarcs's team's efforts to restore an Apollo Guidance Computer ? They had to CAREFULLY mill and pick out resin to fix a module of it.

@F0NIX 5 лет назад

That pump is identical to several pumps I have seen in water fountains made for cats drinking water. I have had several of them, where the bowl was in different design but the pumps was identical. They where powered by a little AC-adapter. I don't remember what voltage they run at, but as the pump you had here looked identical I presume the voltage was the same too.

@muzikman2008 5 лет назад

Your right, our cat has a water fountain that uses the same pump with 3 suction cups that stick to the base. It runs off a 5V USB phone Charger. Great little pumps but not very powerful. I wanted to make a BIG waterfall for the cat but it wasn't powerful enough to get the required head :-)

@Furiends 5 лет назад

I absolutely love these little pumps. In my project making an automatic sprinkler for 12 pots I was originally disappointed at the pewny power these put out. However they are so cheap I just bought 6 of them and run them together. There's 3 lines going out to 4 pots each with two pumps in series. The pumps use about 4 watt each so 24 watts total which are split over 2 USBs that are just bused together with a capacitor so the motors can start gracefully. A lot of USB power banks also don't like the ripple and awkward current draw off these motors so you should add a capacitor. Technically you also need a diode to be complaint with USB but since its only the power bank that I plug them into I skipped that.

@longhairedcountryboy2363 5 лет назад

Needs integrated LEDs and a switch. so as to charge in daylight and have a lighted fountain at night. Great channel Clive, keep it up! Amateurs like me get some education with our entertainment. 👍

@Mighty_Cat_Mods 5 лет назад

We have one of these. It takes more than just a slightly bright day to make it work, sadly. We were considering adding an extra solar cell or a battery (in our application it's in very shallow water so doesn't need to float), but there may be difficulties keeping it waterproof. Nice cat. We like cats.

@MrPlytiger 5 лет назад

that is a really good solar panel to be able to pump that much water

@carlosguillermomesa41 5 лет назад

Nice video Clive! You can peel the epoxy resin using "epoxy paint remover". Dip the potted part for a couple of days and the resin will dissolve without affecting the markings on electronic components! Very handy!

@Channel205UK 5 лет назад

Ive got one of these, filled an old plastic storage box with water, put a water lily in it, and floated my pump. In full sun its really powerful, to the point I now run it without any nozzles or it sprays all over the gaff. In part sun the intermittent surges are not great but it does circulate the water, for a tenner it's tip top.

@RIXRADvidz 5 лет назад

having sold many of these back in the very early 21st century, they failed miserably as water has minerals in it that build up on the inside and outside of the plastic housing for the solar panels and they eventually die, as do the electrics and the actual pump motor, I hope the Modern Version has been improved and lives to pump for all eternity.

@raymondmucklow3793 5 лет назад

Cool fountain. Might help with aeration on some ponds and or fish tanks. I've ben trying to come up with a weather proof aeration system for my dad's pond for years. The best I came up with was a Chevy 350 water pump attached to a windmill with a simple spray outlet. The hurdle is getting the initaial start, And building the whole thing to pivot. Cheers from I smell like fireworks we did ours last night. Kansas

@Aristo12 5 лет назад

The new camera sounds pretty good. The colors of the videos seem good. When zoomed in however, the video looks like it has been recorded in 720p and up-scaled to 1080p.

@licensetodrive9930 5 лет назад

I paused at 6:00 and I'm guessing it contains a big capacitor - I was given a small solar panel for powering a little water pump once, and it had a potted black box stuck to the back, which contained a big capacitor, but no diode so as soon as the sun went, the solar panels soaked up all the energy from the capacitor...

@Robothut 5 лет назад

I had one of these solar fountain's 15 years ago. Never worked very, well took mine apart as well.

@blancsteve4819 5 лет назад

Solar powered cat hydrator.

@millomweb 5 лет назад

Great - cat approaches to drink, blocks the sun off - so it stops ;) Needs a NOT gate in there somewhere!

@blancsteve4819 5 лет назад

@@millomweb those cats are clever. They could learn to operate technology if we allowed them to be more than pets. What is needed it an interface for cats.

@LakeNipissing 5 лет назад

Clive, you always find some of the craziest stuff on eBay. I should get one of these and launch it on Lake Nipissing! :)

@LakeNipissing 5 лет назад

... or maybe record a video of it going over Niagara Falls!

@bigclivedotcom 5 лет назад

There's a temptation to let one loose in the sea.

@LakeNipissing 5 лет назад

@@bigclivedotcom If it is sealed well enough, should be tolerant of salt water too.

@KWfirewood 5 лет назад

I had never heard of (or thought about) solar powered fountains before this video. Bought one off ebay with the larger separate solar panel, and it's just the ticket for a small pond I made last week. Only annoying thing is it blocks very easy with any debris in the water.

@KWfirewood 5 лет назад

Oh and made a tether for it to keep in the middle of the pond, bit of cord and a small scrap of lead as a weight

@kewakl8891 5 лет назад

I was hoping for the Vice Of Knowledge!

@maicod 5 лет назад

the kittycats replaced it :)

@Paul_Au 5 лет назад

@@maicod I was trying to see if the cats had tails. Results of my investigation to this point: Inconclusive.

@maicod 5 лет назад

@Pauloo7 clive took the wrong bits apart

@jerryaguirre23 5 лет назад

The problem with these is the float over to one side of the pond they are in. With any wind the output is blown over the edge eventually running the pond dry.

@nogravitas7585 5 лет назад

you could fashion a little anchor for it and tie it to the cable underneath.

@danthemancasey 5 лет назад

Just got one of those, underwhelming as a fountain, but perfect for standing water to eliminate mosquitoes!

@by14996 5 лет назад

Oh that darn potted resin, I was hoping to see the "Vise of Knowledge" come into play!

@MichaelBeeny 5 лет назад

I think your're new telephone (camera) is a little soft in comparison to the former, also slightly low on contrast. Might , as you said be down to the settings, time will tell.

@Ultermategamerz 5 лет назад

I don't know if you have this where you are but in NZ and Australia we have a product called ESOL (Epoxy Solvent) which will for alot of things like that potting material if you leave it soaking will disolve it all away leaving the PCB and components mostly untouched. Maybe worth trying it out if you can get it and reveal the secrets within

@Zodliness 5 лет назад

I recently modified one of these to run either from it's solar panels or from a 5v power pack for demonstration purposes, as you just can't rely on the sun to always show up on cue!

@Palmit_ 5 лет назад

BC is a very clever individual, in many ways. :) Primarily because that any old cheap tat is incredibly interesting once he pays attention to it enough to show us. He just explains and shows and destructs stuff. It's "What's inside" with, the important bit, the little tidbits of absolutely rare knowlege and amazing little stories, expertly, yet naturally explained. The, (can i say 'trick'?) in appeal is the persistent camera adjustment for the viewer. Otherwise, it's Scotsman smashing stuff up.

@taxiscot 5 лет назад

@bigclivedotcom, the water control port ( as you called it ) is called a volute ( source - i am an electo-mechanical engineer/ motor winder )

@crazygeorgelincoln 5 лет назад

I do like hearing about you filming device experiments .

@SkylosSobaka 5 лет назад

That's definitely poor digital zoom... not optical. Everything goes pixelated - on 1080 youtube full screen on my 55 inch tv is very obvious. But it should have more than enough pixels to do that. Maybe a poor algorithm...

@jamhough22 5 лет назад

Hi Clive, 20 Megapixel doesn’t mean anything without a decent lens, and when its using digital zoom (as you are) its really poor quality, i cant make any detail out and thats using 1080p at my end. Either the camera and lens is poor quality or the focus is way out of alinement, i don’t blame the operator in this instance!

@jovangrbic97 5 лет назад

Could you do a test on the pumping capacity of such a small jet type impeller pump, what its max head height is and maximum liquid throughput? (hold a hose upright until it can't pump any water out, and stop the time it takes to fill up a cup of water?). Would be quite curious what the performance specs are or if anyone knows...

@NapoleChan 5 лет назад

A couple of those would be pretty good to use to aerate a small outdoor koi pond or something like it if it wasn't convenient for you to use a electric pump of sorts. Plus breaking up the water surface would keep stagnation keeping bad microbes/algae/mold from gaining a foothold in any outdoor garden water feature. But I could be wrong with it's aeration potential, but it could definitely be able to compliment a underpowered pump and add some water feature action. I got a turtle in mine and she likes to climb stuff so I could see her sinking it when she would try. Shes got plenty of basking rocks but will climb the tiny head of my fountain trying to balance like a spinning plate on a stick. At least the small jet of water will power wash her shell bottom while she attempts climbing the impossible.

@zorgatron8998 5 лет назад

The "pulse" starting of motors is also prevalent on two things I've got; the Toyota hybrid air conditioner compressor motor is variable speed and when it is on its lowest setting, it will pulse itself on and then drop down a few milliseconds later to a constant speed. Dyson fans also seem to use a brushless motor and pulses when turned on.

@Petertronic 5 лет назад

Interesting as ever! New camera is inferior unfortunately. The megapixel count has little to do with quality, it's all about the lens. I can see they've cheaped out on the lens on this device.

@PerspectiveEngineer 5 лет назад

Oh that's just splendid... Clive

@ExplosiveBoy93 5 лет назад

Seems like a nice plaything for your kitties

@thumbwarriordx 5 лет назад

This is a fantastic concept but wow what a janky unit. You could do such cool things with this idea. It could be like the dancing roomba of the garden pond.

@b3j8 5 лет назад

So funny, the wife just bought one of these off Ebay. And here you are digging into one! Ours seems to work ok for the bird bath. Birds are so far unimpressed. Tough crowd I guess!

@tinytonymaloney7832 3 года назад

I like that, I have a large pond and can't be arsed to take power across, pity there weren't a slightly more powerful one. Another good idea based on the same system would be a mini low voltage air pump which would benefit the pond in the hot sultry days were the fish gulp at the water surface. , 👍👍

@braeburnhilliard8340 3 года назад

That is pretty neat. It makes me wish I had a Jacuzzi so I can put it in there.

@2lefThumbs 5 лет назад

We bought one of thsse two years ago, it's still going strong. We bought it to quickly replace the panel/lead acid battery/pump set up I'd made a few years earlier. We had to replace that when I partially de-potted the pump electronics, there was an electrolytic across the input that blew up quite spectacularly when I got the battery polarity wrong *just once*!

@therealchayd 5 лет назад

The bit around the impeller is called a 'volute'. #nowyouknow

@ajdexter4195 5 лет назад

I was actually looking at getting one of these, for a small pond. Doesn't look bad just to keep the water moving a little.

@RWBHere 5 лет назад

Happy New Camera Era! There is noticeable pixelation when zoomed, as if you are going into 'electronic zoom', rather than using mechanical zoom. There might be a way of stopping that from happening. Anyhow, thanks for the video, Clive. That solar panel unit has interesting possibilities for making a more weatherproof nightlight, maybe coupled to several decently sized NiMH cells, or even to a larger capacity Li-Ion pack with suitable cell voltage regulation.

@gavincurtis 5 лет назад

We have these in our Koi pond. They work very well.

@richfiles 5 лет назад

How long have they run? I'm legitimately curious about that. At $10 a piece, they are more than replaceable, but it'd be nice to know if they have any longevity to them.

@tactileslut 5 лет назад

Aeration of a fish pond is the perfect use for these things. Probably also good for decorating pools and discouraging mosquitoes.

@fart306 5 лет назад

@@richfiles mine went all white and crusty after one summer,(calcium probably), the top was warped badly (heatwave did that ) and the pump was filled with slime,). I didn't remember to get a new one for this summer.

@richfiles 5 лет назад

@@fart306 Okay, so basically, figure on them lasting for a summer, maybe two, and then just replace them? At least theyre fairly cheap. Ever try cleaning them up? A little lime remover and some bleach to scrub the pump. Looks like bigclive's pump could be disassembled for cleaning.

@richfiles 5 лет назад

@@tactileslut My mothers yard flooded this year... I told her we should just dig down a bit, add a liner and some rocks, and make it into a feature! 😅

@T0NGPU 5 лет назад

You basically dump it into the water and here comes the kitty. A fountain that summons cats? I want one.

@kjsud5546 5 лет назад

A fountain that summons pussy.....I'd be down for that

@steverussell1215 5 лет назад

As there are no coils on the rotor and you managed to get the motor to spin by applying a DC voltage, I assume there's some control circuit in the pump potting compound to do the commutation. I've not seen a 2-wire brushless motor before.

@TheAllMightyGodofCod 3 года назад

Clive please show us more of the cats!

@danmick8645 5 лет назад

Those pumps last *forever* too (cat water fountains and submersible pond pumps galore around our house)

@SigEpBlue 5 лет назад

I was thinking that'd make a great low-cost bidet, but then, that's where the sun don't shine. :3

@McTroyd 5 лет назад

Awesome video and a neat widget, Clive! The blurryness when you zoom in looks to be an artifact of what camera manufacturers call "digital zoom." It's attempting to interpolate pixels where there aren't any pixels, and not doing a very good job at that. Dead reckoning, at that "zoomed in" level, I'd guess half the image is interpolated pixels.

@Petertronic 5 лет назад

Even so, it's never going to focus well due to poor lens quality

@KiwiMaker 2 года назад

I love how simple it is, just throw it in some water! I wonder what circuit it uses to only turn on once it has enough voltage.

@robt2151 5 лет назад

Black cables and especially black plugs are a real pain. I usually lop them off, slip two bands of coloured heatshrink onto the the cable (one at each end) and replace the plugs with white ones that I can write on.

@redstoner2006 5 лет назад

i think this is the perfect solution for my cat's always asking to drink from the tap....

@maicod 5 лет назад

the running water makes them wee :)

@volvo09 5 лет назад

My cats love the tap, even over a clean fountain... The fountain excitement only lasts a day or two, then it's back to preferring the water dishes or waiting at the tap.

@maicod 5 лет назад

@Matt Quinn this is why I love cats they don't care what their owner wants they go their own way and still are either cuddly creatures or nice passers by

@m101ist 5 лет назад

What if you make it smaller and put it in drink, you would not need a A plastic straw. Solve the problem of plastic straws ending up on the sea.

@BoB4jjjjs 5 лет назад

Excellent little pump. better not let her see it or she will want one! Camera is fine but not to good close up, but otherwise fine. Zoom appears a bit touchy!

@dvobgo92 5 лет назад

awesome video! just a quick input on the new camera. the quality isn't nearly as good when zoomed in as your older setup, i think it was an ipad?

@NicksStuff 5 лет назад

That's a cute little design

@johnmathias9892 4 года назад

Thanks Clive. I thought the rotor end was sealed. I made a mistake of pouring gravel into the water whilst it was on. It got jammed.

@bigclivedotcom 4 года назад

You can easily disassemble the pump, so it should be possible to clear the grit out.

@georl1 Год назад

I've bought several of these solar power floating fountains and I've noticed that some work great and others don't work at all. I don't know why but that;s my experience with these gadgets.

@nofider1 5 лет назад

Hi Clive ....I think its called a "Volute" in bigger pumps. Thanks for upload :-)

@lee98210 5 лет назад

The kitties seeing big clive beard, "our leader are here, come all come to our kitty lord"

@T3chFlicks 5 лет назад

This is awesome - keeping the solar panels cool as well ayy

@albear972 5 лет назад

This is the silliest thing I have ever seen! No, seriously. Just because it can be done, now comes the proverbial question. Why?

@millomweb 5 лет назад

Clive, do remodel this device into a power boat. I think reconfigured as a boat floating round your pond would be far more interesting.

@Burgattti 5 лет назад

Very spooky this thing been all over my amazon and intreged me so I saved it. Now it's here!

@PvPbomber009 5 лет назад

That thing is very interesting, didn't know these existed

@SusanAmberBruce 5 лет назад

Apollo potted plot! When I saw the LED I thought of a very cheap floating beacon of some kind, possibly transmitting a distress signal, um in teresting

@benwinkel 5 лет назад

George Harrison on solar fountains: "Here comes a kitty do do do dooh....., It's all right!"

@katenunyabizness9221 5 лет назад

Same kind of pump that's in my cat's drinking fountain. The intake grate has a different pattern and the impeller 3 blades and its cover is slightly different. Mainly same idea, different manufacturer imo.

@daniturn 5 лет назад

sorry to say this but i think its time to get a proper stand alone camcorder than using a phone just simply because phones tend to wash out images and as this one has pix-elated the zoom in

@girlsdrinkfeck 5 лет назад

get a pixel 3a phone, pixel has the best camera

@theotherwalt 5 лет назад

Clive has worked on television projects, I was surprised he didn't have pro equipment.

@atalhlla 5 лет назад

I think it’s a matter of convenience/laziness. Digital zoom on phones/tablets has the advantage of being a simple slider or pinch/expand gesture, versus having to hold a camcorder button and wait for the physical elements to zoom, or deal with jimmying about with a DSLR lens. Less time spent playing with the gear is more time pulling things apart in what is fun hobby time, I figure.