Simple Solar Bird Bath
TAGS: electronics; nature projects; solar; water pumps;
Why I Did This
Wanted to build a bird bath for my flying neighbours that was also self sustaining with solar power and made from spare parts I had.
What bird wouldn't want to dive in this?!
Design Walkthrough
Parts: water pail and lid; dish; 5v water pump and 1/4" hose; USB male end and 5v wiring; 5v solar panel; clamp (for hose); water arrestor piece (for low flow situations)
I filled the pail with water, then assembled the wiring, USB head, pump, and hose to get a working solar powered water pump. Clamped the hose to the dish at a sufficient angle for producing a nice stream, then enveloped an old 3D printed 'channel'-part around the spout to act as a water arrestor (so low flows don't drain back along the hose outside the dish/pail which would otherwise slowly lose the water supply). The dish overflows to the pail top where a small 3/8" drilled hole allows the water to return to the pail reservoir.
Solar powered using 5v USB cord.
Small 5v water pump.
Water arrestor in action; (it's cheap, but it works).
Small paper clamp to secure spout.
Dish and pail (with recycling hole).
Lessons Learned and Future Changes
Better spouting. I could rearrange the hose to point down then I wouldn't need an arrestor, and I could design and 3D print a proper model for holding the spout (like a 'fish spitting' or something).Full energy potential. This setup obviously only works in sunshine, so it would be nice to have a full clock power system. My solar battery setup (with 50w panel, MPPT, and cheap 12v recycled batteries) don't produce enough power for my other typical electric experiments, but this low power water system might be a great use for it.
Does it even work? My old bird bath attracted frolicking robins and finches, so I need to see if this setup will work too.
References
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