I have a medium sized fountain in my backyard that I have to clean out
every few weeks. I have a pump to drain the water, but it cannot pick
up small debris at the bottom of the fountain such as leaves and tiny
rock fragments. Is there a pump that I can get so that I can suck out
the debris using a hose before I drain the fountain?

Thanks

A "Shop-vac" type of thing would work. Many of them come with a large
suction hose and a fitting where you can screw on a garden hose if you
want to redirect the outgoing water so you don't have to keep empting
out the tank.




On Sep 29, 4:25*pm, " wrote:
I have a medium sized fountain in my backyard that I have to clean out
every few weeks. I have a pump to drain the water, but it cannot pick
up *small debris at the bottom of the fountain such as leaves and tiny
rock fragments. Is there a pump that I can get so that I can suck out
the debris using a hose before I drain the fountain?

Thanks

wrote in message
...
I have a medium sized fountain in my backyard that I have to clean out
every few weeks. I have a pump to drain the water, but it cannot pick
up small debris at the bottom of the fountain such as leaves and tiny
rock fragments. Is there a pump that I can get so that I can suck out
the debris using a hose before I drain the fountain?

Thanks

Spa shops make a small vacuum that is driven with a garden hose, and they
have a large hypodermic syringe looking thing that is for just that.

Steve

On Sep 29, 9:54*pm, "SteveB" wrote:
wrote in message

...

I have a medium sized fountain in my backyard that I have to clean out
every few weeks. I have a pump to drain the water, but it cannot pick
up *small debris at the bottom of the fountain such as leaves and tiny
rock fragments. Is there a pump that I can get so that I can suck out
the debris using a hose before I drain the fountain?

Thanks

Spa shops make a small vacuum that is driven with a garden hose, and they
have a large hypodermic syringe looking thing that is for just that.

Steve


Seems it would be easier to drain it first, then use a shop vac to get
the remaining water and debris.

Depending on the size of the fountain and whether you can extend a hose
below the water level, you could use a siphon hose with sufficient
diameter to also handle the debris.
Start the siphon by submerging the entire hose, making sure that no air
is in the hose. Hold your finger or palm of your hand over one end of
the hose while taking it out of the water and extending it over the edge
and below the water level. A 1.5 inch pool vacuum hose will drain a 400
gallon spa in about 10 minutes. Work quickly if you just want to remove
debris without completely draining the fountain.

Dennis wrote:

-snip-
I see that wet vac such as Ridgid 6 gal vacuum comes with a filter in
it. Will the filter get clogged with all these leaves and small rocks?
I have never used a wet vac before and am not sure how much the vac
can handle.

All the wetvacs I've used have been wet/dry vacs. You take the filter
out when sucking wetness [the filter is just for dust].

And be sure to thoroughly dry the vac before putting the filter back
in. Even if it doesn't get moldy, the dampness makes concrete out of
the dust and ruins the filter.

Jim

Dennis | 2009-09-30 | 7:50:26 PM wrote:

I see that wet vac such as Ridgid 6 gal vacuum comes with a filter in
it. Will the filter get clogged with all these leaves and small rocks?
I have never used a wet vac before and am not sure how much the vac
can handle.

The filter is for airborne dirt, not for liquids. You remove the filter
before vacuuming up water.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX USA