If you are thinking of doing a few upgrades to your garden, have you ever thought of getting a solar powered pump birdbath? In fact, why buy one, when you can make it?

So how will a solar powered pump birdbath benefit you?

The Advantages Are:

a: The moving water in the fountain stop its from going stagnant

b: It uses none of your main power supply

c: The pump works on direct current, so no inverter is required

d: Only a few inexpensive solar panels are needed to produce around 6 volts

e: Batteries are optional, since you usually only want the fountain to operate in the day when the birds are around.

f: You can save more money by making the entire birdbath and fountain yourself, even the solar panels.

g: The birdbath can be placed anywhere in your garden, without the need for unsightly wires.

And what does it take to make a solar powered pump birdbath?

The simplest option would be for you to add solar panels to an already working birdbath and fountain.

The more inexpensive, but do-it-yourself method would be to buy a birdbath that is capable of housing a fountain. Then all you need to do is buy the pump, tubing, wiring, solar panels and batteries (optional).

If you go the DIY route, then you will need to get:

A Birdbath

Here you have a choice of cascading fountains, copper fountains, terracotta birdbaths, resin fountains, or the conventional ceramic birdbath. Just make sure a pump system can be installed on the birdbath.

The Fountain Attachment:

This is optional, but it makes the water spout out the top, instead of just trickling out. It can be found at your local nursery or hardware store.

The Water Pump:

The next part is buying the small dc pump. A typical 6 volt pump should be adequate, but you may need to go bigger, if the birdbath or water feature is larger than normal.

Tubing for irrigation:

When buying the irrigation for the fountain, it is best not to get piping that is too wide, otherwise the right water pressure will not be maintained and the pump will not work properly. So before you buy the wrong tubing, get advice from your local garden center and see what they use in similarly sized birdbaths

Silicon Sealant:

This is used to seal all joins where the water could escape from, and also to insulate any bare wire from getting wet where it has been joined.

Some Solar Panels:

This is what makes this birdbath unique to your average water fountain. Depending on what size pump you buy, will need to get enough solar panels for the fountain to work properly. A a typical 6 volt pump, you will require solar panels with a capacity of at least 6 volts. But is better to be on the safe side and get a 12 volt solar panel instead, for times when it is cloudy and for late afternoons.

NB: You have 2 alternatives for the solar panels:

1 : Buy a small expensive solar kit from Wallmart or Target or any other local supplier.

2 : The cheaper, DIY route and make the panel yourself. Luckily this is actually rather simple for anyone to learn to do. So if you want to learn to make your own, then carry on reading to the end…

To maximize the efficiency of the solar panel, it could be mounted in a simple frame with the ability to be angled towards the sun.

Can anyone build this birdbath?

Once you have all the components and tools at your disposal, putting the system together shouldn't take you more than 2 hours. And within an afternoon you could have a fully functional solar powered pump birdbath.

A nice added extra is to hook up some batteries to the system. That way you can store any excess power, and the pump could run all day and night. If you do want the fountain to operate for 24 hours, then you will need the following:

1) 12 volt battery:

Because the pump is only 6 volts, a 12 volt battery is more than enough. It should be a deep cycle battery (car battery) that can store the power for a longer time.

Solar charge controller:

This is not that important, but to protect the battery from over-charging and to maximize it lifespan, you should a charge controller that sits between the solar panels and the battery.

Other than it being really cheap to make, the big advantage of making your solar powered pump fountain is that once you have that skill it is there with you forever. You could even make it as an eco-friendly gift for your friend's next birthday.