Dancing fountain or Jumping frogs

Mike2545 · 2009-02-19 02:11

I have built a fun project that shoots pulses of water around an indoor pond. These pulses "jump" from one spot to another. It is motion actuated so only runs when someone is there to see it.
This pond is in a dome/greenhouse Located in Perrysburg Ohio.

I use 12 solenoid valves connected to a water line.
These solenoid valves are 24 volt DC and are controlled by a Basic Stamp II via 5 volt relays.
I use 2N2222 transistors to drive the relays.

Because the environment is very humid I went with a plastic enclosure with a gasket and had only 3 through holes. One for the PIR sensor, one for power and the last was for the wiring to the solenoid valves.

You can see a video of the action here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGGjWpk0qy8

The Pictures show the box with epoxied stand-offs to minimize through-holes, and then everything inside the enclosure and finnaly one of the solenoid valves I used.

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Mike2545

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Post Edited (Mike2545) : 2/20/2009 4:16:46 AM GMT

SRLM · 2009-02-19 02:47

I like the project. It's a useful (or at least enjoyable) application of electronics. The next step is to have the Cupid fountain statue automatically pee on people who go by ... [noparse]:)[/noparse]

Chris Savage · 2009-02-19 18:40

Mike,

Very nice indeed. It’s nice to see projects there are out there for everyone to appreciate. Take care.

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Chris Savage
Parallax Engineering

Ezsynn · 2009-02-21 23:43

That's one way to get your own Fountain show. To Improve it, you can add some LEDs (or something stronger) to it for a great performance!

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BWIN ON DA POWAH WIFIN U!!!
(This means the Plutonium Isotope Nuclear Fission And Fusion Reactor Battery Pack you've been hiding inside your jacket!!!)

Cole Logan · 2009-02-22 02:26

I have actually seen something like that done with lights but it really only works when the water streams are going to be continuisly rather then short burst like this

SRLM · 2009-02-22 05:45

@Cole Logan

Why does it only work if the stream is continuous? You can turn the light on and off at the same time as the water, so no problem. You'd have to do some serious engineering to make it look good: you have to immerse the LEDs in the stream and you can't let them break up the flow of the water. Tough, but it should be possible. Maybe shoot the stream and have the LED on the bottom and just touching the water?

Cole Logan · 2009-02-22 15:56

I didn't mean that the streams had to always be on so much as that for realy short burst like the display above you won't be able to get a significent amout of light. Thinking about how to get the light in to the stream I wonder If you used a clear tube and shone the light at a bend in the tube right be for the end of the tube. That way you wouldn't have the light disturbing the light flow but if you got the angles just right you would still have a good amount of light in the water stream.

Mike2545 · 2009-02-22 23:31

If this were in a shaded area or in a greenhouse that was open past 5:00pm lighting may be an option.
The video does not do it justice, it's better in person.

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Mike2545

This message sent to you on 100% recycled electrons.

Timothy D. Swieter · 2009-02-24 01:27

Nice job Mike! I have a half completed home based water fountain idea like yours. When I was younger I tried for a long time to make laminar flow fountains and leap frog fountains. Finally in college I gain enough education on how to really do it (and I met the guy who invented the original laminar flow fountain for Disney).

Great work!

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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC, eProto for SunSPOT, BitScope
www.tdswieter.com

WBA Consulting · 2009-03-07 06:16

Very nicely made project. The finished box barely looks like it's perfboard based. Good job with the wire organization and overall clean appearance.

I want to take my Christmas Light show controller and setup a water show, so I can make use of my hard work for more than only at Christmas. Where did you get the solenoids? They appear to be much smaller than the ones I have found so far.

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Andrew Williams
WBA Consulting
IT / Web / PCB / Audio

Mike2545 · 2009-03-07 07:14

WBA, Thanks for noticing the neatness inside the box.

I found the solenoids on e-bay. Lot of 36 for $80.00 (plus shipping) came out to around $3 per valve. If you look around you can find good values.

On a side note, I had to install a "shock absorber" in the water line. The rapid closing of the valves was having an effect on the pipes in the building that supplied water to the green house. Luckily I had an old expansion tank from a boiler that worked at quieting the water hammer.

I have one person wanting me to build a "dancing fountain" for their home [noparse]:)[/noparse]

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Mike2545

This message sent to you on 100% recycled electrons.

steve_b · 2009-03-09 20:30

Back in the 80's, Niagara Falls (canadian side) had a show called "Waltzing Waters". It was a big water show set to music and lights. Was a hit for years until someone needed a parking lot!

I just might "borrow" your idea and do something similar for my outdoor pond! What did you use for your water pump?

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<FONT>Steve

What's the best thing to do in a lightning storm? "take a one iron out the bag and hold it straight up above your head, even God cant hit a one iron!"
Lee Travino after the second time being hit by lightning!

Mike2545 · 2009-03-09 20:53

The water for the dancing fountain is fresh city water, it is plumbed into the water line, no pump, I was afraid of two things if I used a pump
1) Debris getting lodged in the solenoid
2) Turning the pump on and off may have undesired delay times

We need to add water to the pond on a weekly basis as is,so this does it in a fun way.

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Mike2545

This message sent to you on 100% recycled electrons.

SRLM · 2009-03-10 01:13

If you needed more pressure (bigger fountain) I was thinking the easiest method would be to have a large water tank on your roof (or a u tube that goes to that height). Your pump pushes the water up when the tank starts to empty out, while the gravity makes a nice, smooth and (near) instantaneous flow. It certainly would be quite a bit of work, but you get several tangible benefits.

Mike2545 · 2009-03-10 18:34

In this case, greenhouses don't have roofs, they have glazing, made of glass or polycarbonate. Usually you don't want to shadow a greenhouse with structures, it's no good for the plants inside and would mess up the overall look we have going.

But otherwise it would be like having a water tower.
I found it easier to attach directly to the water line.

This is a picture of the greenhouse where the dancing fountain is located.

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Mike2545

This message sent to you on 100% recycled electrons.

mimiyum · 2009-03-14 08:37

Timothy D. Swieter said...
Nice job Mike! I have a half completed home based water fountain idea like yours. When I was younger I tried for a long time to make laminar flow fountains and leap frog fountains. Finally in college I gain enough education on how to really do it (and I met the guy who invented the original laminar flow fountain for Disney).

Great work!

How bout something like this? The more laminar the flow, the better it catches the LED light located inside the nozzle

I'm looking into the more sophisticated software and hardware to use in our dancing fountains as in our website http://www.industronfountains.com

I'm learning a lot from these forums. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

Timothy D. Swieter · 2009-03-16 02:44

Mimiyum -

Hey, what a small world. You and I have a e-mail conversation going on through Brilldea for this. I will respond to your specific questions in an e-mail, but I will provide some general thoughts here.

I think a controller could be made with an SX or Propeller (I prefer propeller). The Propeller can have sequences I/O for controlling the solenoid valves. Depending on how advance you want to be, the Propeller could also control the lighting in the nozzle (LED?). The controller could have an internet connection for getting data/schedules. It could also have a DMX-512A connection for controlling the sequence. Even one more, the Propeller Controller could have an SD card slot and preprogrammed shows/sequences could be included on the card and played back. There would be the initial controller design, but that shouldn't be too bad. Then it is making the electronics assembly and integrating it into your current control system. If you are using PLCs now, then perhaps a Propeller based controller would be cheaper - and customized to your applications.

Other fountains have used custom controllers or used items like Gilderfluke's or Alcron McBride's show controllers.

I have am passionate about theme parks, themed entertainment and all things in the effect world. I haven't had a chance to work on a real fountain, but I have been dreaming about it for a while. I drool every time I see a WET design.

We can talk more in our offline e-mails.

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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, 3.0" LCD Composite video display, eProto for SunSPOT
www.tdswieter.com

Dancing fountain or Jumping frogs

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