Homemade Pond Aerator

[FountainMan]

I love fountains and I love taking old appliances apart. The other day I got ahold of a old hair dryer. I managed to salvage the blower assembly and the heating coils (Not used in this project)

Anyway I also found a floating container I bought at Lowe's. The blower assembly consists of the motor, motor housing, propeller, and discharge funnel. I glued these together since the normal housing isn't holding them together.

Anyway I took some plastic rods and glued them to the sides of the motor housing. These hold the motor and aerator inside the float. Then I soldered some wires to the leads on the motor and glazed them in hot glue to water proof the contacts.

I set the unit in the water and anchored it. Then I wired it to an old laptop AC-DC adapter.

Here is the end result

This design works off of the same principal that larger "Lake" type aerators work off of. Basically an open propeller. This is like a downsized version of a larger aerator.

Sorry I didn't get pictures of the process. I was so wrapped up in the project I didn't get pictures of the assembly.

 

[HTH]

Nice!

That might be great to run on days when on needs to cool the pond.

Any chance of seeing pictures of it outside the pond and off ?

I recall that blow dryers motors are low voltage DC and use the heating element to drop the line voltage.

 

[FountainMan]

Here ya go.
I didn't want to have to re-install the fountain so I took some photos of it off. I managed to get various shots of it off and some of it running.

 

[HTH]

From what I can see you are running the motor under water? This works (unless on has added salt enough to make the water conductive and I do not know what that level is) but I wonder how long the motor bearings and brushes will hold up.

 

[FountainMan]

I too have wondered this. I keep the fountain mostly off.

Right now I'm trying to email Conair of the dryer I got the blower assembly out of. See if they can sell the individual blower assembly. I'd love to produce the aerators and sell them. Make it into a small business. I'd love to sell the aerators.

 

[HTH]

I too have wondered this. I keep the fountain mostly off.

Right now I'm trying to email Conair of the dryer I got the blower assembly out of. See if they can sell the individual blower assembly. I'd love to produce the aerators and sell them. Make it into a small business. I'd love to sell the aerators.

I think you will need to switch to a sealed motor. The commutator, brushes, or bearing really should fail.

I do have to say that blow driers are a wonderful parts collection. I love the way the air tunnel is shaped. Makes we want to build an RC hovercraft.

Still what you did is great. Just do not see it as long lived.

EDIT: Found this
Most low voltage DC motors will run happily under water Spray with WD 40 every time you use to reduce rust risk. try it you may be supprised. Well maybe not in the pond

 

[FountainMan]

I think you will need to switch to a sealed motor. The commutator, brushes, or bearing really should fail.

I do have to say that blow driers are a wonderful parts collection. I love the way the air tunnel is shaped. Makes we want to build an RC hovercraft.

Still what you did is great. Just do not see it as long lived.

EDIT: Found this
Most low voltage DC motors will run happily under water Spray with WD 40 every time you use to reduce rust risk. try it you may be supprised. Well maybe not in the pond [/size]

The motor is sealed with hot glue. Wouldn't WD-40 be toxic to the fish? The RPM's are lower and the water helps cool the exterior. If it rusts I'll replace it with with one from Radioshack. I only run it when I'm outside then turn it off. I'm still going do some testing before I consider marketing them. I want to build them to last. I'm still new to it but am still learning. Meanwile still waiting for a price quote on the plastic hardware from Conair. Someday I'm also want to design a solar module for the aerator.

 

[HTH]

The motor is sealed with hot glue. Wouldn't WD-40 be toxic to the fish? The RPM's are lower and the water helps cool the exterior. If it rusts I'll replace it with with one from Radioshack. I only run it when I'm outside then turn it off. I'm still going do some testing before I consider marketing them. I want to build them to last. I'm still new to it but am still learning. Meanwile still waiting for a price quote on the plastic hardware from Conair. Someday I'm also want to design a solar module for the aerator.

WD-40. Yes it would be bad that is why I sad "Well maybe not in the pond"

You were talking about selling these and for that make shift solutions will not cut it. You need a motor designed to run in water.

 

[FountainMan]

WD-40. Yes it would be bad that is why I sad "Well maybe not in the pond"

You were talking about selling these and for that make shift solutions will not cut it. You need a motor designed to run in water.

Searched for "Low voltage submersible motor" and basically got pumps and not actual motor assemblies. I also typed researched the anatomy of a motor and am thinking about applying lubricant to the brushes and commutator to reduce wear and tear assuming that's the cause of failure. Then sealing the exterior of the motor. Even soldering fins on the sides of the motor to dissipate heat although I'm not sure this is important being it's submerged.

I've found out about this stuff called PondSkin which is basically a liquid pond liner that may work to seal the motor while being non-toxic to fish. Doing these things is there anything else that could cause premature failure?

I can't find the sealed submersible motors you were talking about at least not the small ones. The submersible motors I did find were the large Horsepower motors. But I can probably modify a hobby motor to run for long periods of time.

 

[HTH]

try adding DC to your search "DC submersible motor"

most of the results require large purchases
the first few I looked at don't look to be sealed

It will not be wear and tear but corrosion that will kill the motor. Commutators are copper or a copper alloy that will soon oxidize in water. Maybe the submersible ones use bronze.

 

[FountainMan]

Found a motor on Alibaba. Like you said 1000 pieces min order. I think I'm better off buying motors from radioshack spraying WD-40 inside them then sealing the outside with hot glue. I've run my current aerator for a few days now and oxidation hasn't occurred yet. I think I sealed it pretty good.

 

[FountainMan]

Got reply from Conair and the fools won't sell the parts. But one thing I have learned about is making a clay mold and plactic pellets and using a heat gun to melt the plastic and make my own parts. I'll have to learn more about this. I'm definitely going to try and produce the aerators and market them one way or another.

 

[HTH]

I would do a LOT of testing on your modified motors to see if they will hold up.

Nothing like selling a few 100 and getting them all back because they died.

You need to think about your warranty period and replacement costs.

 

[FountainMan]

Today I've had my current aerator holding up fine. Been running it for a few hours.

I wouldn't sell anything if I thought it would break down.

If I do get into selling these I'm thinking of offering a discount to forum members. May even consider a contest for beta testers.

 

[FountainMan]

The more I think about the less enthused I am about selling them. Back to the drawing board. Oh well the idea was fun while it lasted.

If I obtain any more hair dryers and am able to make more aerators I'm thinking of giving some away here on the forum to those interested. But that's if I'm able to obtain them.

If anyone wants an aerator please PM me in advanced.