kitchenaid kd-17 hydrosweep pond pump changes for 2013

[rollermatic]

i did a post back in 2009 showing how i made a pond pump display out of a kitchenaid hydrosweep. i got the idea from an old ad i saw back around 1972 of a kitchenaid pump and hydrosweep floating in a pond shooting huge jets of water up into the sky! i decided to make my own.

this pic shows the original design in 2009.

 

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the original design had a

kitchenaid upper spray arm support mounted on a pvc toilet flange that was mounted to a 4 ft. circular peice of plywood.

 

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this floating platform had peices of 2x4

mounted on the bottom to give it extra buoyancy.

this was later modified to having peices of 2 inch pvc pipe with end caps on each end to keep water out mounted to each of these 2x4 planks for even more buoyancy!

 

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the pump was mounted underneath

this structure via pvc pipe and reducing bushings in the toilet flange.

 

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another original design

i tried with the pump and pvc pipe and toilet flange. shown here before mounting on the floating platform.

 

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another pic of the

upper spray arm support and toilet flange combination.

 

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hydrosweep is on

and entire platform ready to be launched!

 

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backing up a minute here it is

being tested to see how much water the pump will push thru the hydrosweep.

 

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here it is in action

in close up.

 

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another pic of it back in

2009.

 

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that design worked well until

the pump went out last summer. the wooden platform was also showing it's age so i decided to start over and try ti simplify the design itself. i kept thinking of an automobile inner tube design.

 

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so here it is back in action for 2013!!!

simple! take an inner tube and put a colorful (blue or green) laundry basket inside it! mount a hydrosweep upper spray arm support on that same toilet flange. reduce it down with bushings and connect it via 1 1/2 inch pvc pipe to a new submersible pond pump with a high output volume. this one is a 5500 g.p.h. pump.

float the inner tube in a pond and there you have it!

 

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and

again!

 

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this is so much better!

the inner tube won't rot out like the wood platform or become water logged. the pump is easily lifted out of the laundry basket for cleaning and the entire unit is much lighter and easier to launch and pull into shore.

 

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i actually finished it back in march and

tested it at the time of our last snow here in cinti. this year. pump would not stay upright but kept tilting until i connected a wire harness to it to keep it centered and vertical inside basket.

 

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could not wait for that snow to be

gone and spring to be here so i could sit on this bench and watch that hydrosweep go round and round while feeding the goldfish and koi.

 

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that hydrosweep spins really fast

and i clocked it at around 120 rpm. if i remember i think i did drill an extra hole or two laterally in that hydrosweep to give it extra push on it's spin!

all in all it's a complete success and is miles above the original design as far as simplicity goes!

thought someone might enjoy this!

 

[turquoisedude]

Looks great, Pete! Nice idea to replace the wooden platform with the inner tube and laundry basket - this should last a looooonnnnng time now. Now, let's just hope the snow is gone for the season... The pond and surroundings look so serene!

Hubby has also seen your pond in previous threads and has generously offered to dump my KA Electra portable in our creek and use it as a fountain pump. I can't repeat what my reply was.... LOL

 

[washerman]

I Want

That is so cool. I wish I had a pond of my own so I could do something like that!