tipping water feature

Tipping water feature

Tipping water feature like those bamboo deer scarers

Ever wondered how they work or what else you can do?

Well, I made this one to show you how it works

You can use any shape* or size of container you like, this one happens to be a cut down plastic milk bottle, but the principal is the same.

		Here is the container filling up

		Here it is just before it tips

		t tips so quick i could not get a picture of it, this is it returning to the upright position. You can also see that the "axle" goes completely through the container

		To make sure it always returns to upright i had to add some weight, 3 x £1 coins, but only because the container weighs so little

		Here it is mounted onto a pump. The left "leg" goes down to the same level as the sump the pump is sitting in.
The principal is very simple, Once you have chosen your container, you fix an axle 1/3 of the way up from the bottom, NO MORE. When the container is full that means that 2/3 is full and as it is now out of balance it tips over and empties, returns to the upright position and starts again. I actually used a very small copper pipe for the axle and soldered it onto the main copper feed pipe If you have a bigger or heavier container you may want to use brass nuts and bolts on either side instead of having it run through, these you will then have to support by a bracket. *Your container must have vertical sides, if it is slightly conical if you use bolts they will be pointing at an angle (they must be horizontal) and also 1/3 the way up may not work. Why don't you try making one and send in a picture for publication? Water feature ideas home since 15 April 2006