Barbed Connector
This is how the accepting piece of the fountain, pump or connectors is designed. It is a tube with an irregular surface to hold the tubing.
Clamp
This secures the tubing to the pump, "T" or manifold, and fountain statue or spitter. It can be either a nylon tie or small muffler clamp. The pressure from the water flow can dislodge the tubing from the pump, "T", etc.
Flow Restrictor
A device used to adjust the flow to a water fountain statue or spitter. The simplest flow restrictor is a piece of bent metal with two holes. The tubing goes into the "V" of the bent metal. A nut and bolt goes through the two holes. As the nut and bolt are tightened, the flow to the fountain or spitter gets less.
A flow restrictor should be placed on the third part of a "T" and open to the water. If it's placed between the fountain and pump with no open end to the water, then there will be a back pressure to the pump. This back pressure can reduce the life of your pump.
GPH = Gallons per Hour or GPM = Gallons per Minute
Water flow is measured as GPH and GPM, "Gallons Per Hour" or "Gallons Per Minute", respectively. For a standard fountain, GPH is used. For large spray rings and very large fountains, GPM is used. The flow that comes out the fountain, water spitter or spray ring depends on
- Distance from pump to outlet.
- Height from pump to outlet. If the pump is in a lower pond and the fountain is in an upper pond, a stronger pump is needed than if the pump and fountain is at the same horizontal if everything else is the same.
- Inner diameter of the tubing. A larger diameter tubing requires a stronger pump to push more water.
- Power of the pump. See "Pumps", below.
A Pump Chart is used as a guideline for selecting the right pump. Bear in mind that the diameter of the tubing can change what you read from the pump chart.
Pumps, Water
A device that takes water in and pushes it out at a particular force. They are "recirculating" meaning that you can place a pump in a bowl of water and it will recirculate the water without needing to add more water to get a flow.
There are submersible and non-submersible pumps depending on the application.
Direct-drive pumps tend to last longer than a magnetic-drive pump which is driven by a magnetic motor. Some customers prefer magnetic drive pumps because they require less energy. For very large pumps, this can be a consideration.
Larger pumps can consist of two separate parts, a motor and the pump. A 1 horsepower pump can have a different water flow depending on the size of the motor and the size of the pump.
Pump flow is usually measured in gallons per minute, GPM, or gallons per hour, GPH (see above) for more powerful pumps.
"T" Connection or Manifold
The "T" connects to the tubing between the pump and fountain statue. The third part of the "T" can be connected either to a flow restrictor or another fountain statue.
A manifold is a connection with several outlets. These outlets can have adjustable valves or flow restrictors on them to adjust the water flow to each fountain or spitter attached to the manifold.
Tubing
Tubing connects the pump to a "T" connector to a fountain staute or water spitter. It is usually vinyl or some polymer but can be copper. The longer the tubing, the more friction water encounters during it's travels inside the tubing. Thus, you'll need a stronger pump if you use long tubing to get the same water height coming out of your fountain. The tubing diameter should match the pump and the fountain. If there is a large difference among the tubing and pump and fountain, then undue stress can be placed on the pump which might wear out sooner than if the diameters more closely matched.
Water Spitter
A statue of an animal or human that spits water out the mouth.
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