Every year in Green Industries it is like tradition to set up the water pump for an artificial stream that we have. However, when we plugged the pump in, the water flowed for a couple seconds before sputtering to a stop. However, instead of throwing it out we decided to try and repair it.
The first thing we did was unplug the pump and unattached it from the hose that runs to the top of the stream. We checked the hose for any obstructions, as well as the tube that connects the pump to the hose. We cleaned out the hose and the grate that protects the pump from any sticks and leaves, but we concluded that this probably wasn't the reason for the pump not working, as there were not that many obstructions. So we continued to disassemble the pump. After taking it apart, we removed the motor and used steel wool to clean out and polish the barrel of the pump where the motor sat, removing any imperfections that might be rubbing on the motor, slowing it down.
After we polished the barrel, we polished the motor as well, and greased its connection to the pump housing, which allows the motor to spin more freely.
Next, we put sealant around the motor to make sure no water could get into the housing and potentially fry the motor. From there we slid the motor back into the pump and sealed it up. After applying pressure for a minute or so, we left it overnight to set.
Finally, it was time to reassemble the pump. It was easy since we had already taken the pump, so it was a simple retracing of our steps to put it back together. We put it back together and stuck it in a bucket of water to test it out... and it worked! The pump pumped water out of the bucket and onto the grass. However, when we went to connect it to the rest of the stream system, nothing happened. We came to the conclusion that the pump simply was old and no longer had enough pressure to pump the water up the stream.
Even though we didn't "accomplish" what we wanted to in this project by getting the stream up and running, we did learn a lot. We spent a lot of time disassembling the pump and seeing all of the different parts that make it up and what they do. In conclusion, we may have failed at our goal, we definitely did not fail to learn more about pumps and pump safety.
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