How to Build an Outdoor Fountain Using a Coffee Pot

It's simple to turn your coffee pot into a fountain.

Fountains can add a serene element to your outdoor décor. Build outdoor fountains with unusual materials to add a whimsical touch to the landscape. Take a look in your garage for used containers that can act as a reservoir or as a spout for an eclectic outdoor fountain. Build an outdoor fountain from a coffee pot or anything that will hold, spew or channel water. Thrift stores and yard sales are also gold mines for to searching for unusual items to use for fountains.

Things You'll Need

• Cup and saucer planter
• Silicone sealant
• Copper pipe
• Pipe cutter
• Pencil
• Measuring tape
• Drill
• 1/2-inch drill bit
• Copper elbow
• Copper end cap
• Copper tubing
• Solder
• Propane torch
• Copper spray paint
• Small pump
• Scissors
• Plastic tubing

Instructions

1. Seal the drainage hole in a cup-and-saucer planter with silicone sealant. Place the planter in the desired location for the outdoor fountain. The planter should be at least 10 inches tall and 10 inches in diameter.

2. Cut a 4-foot long section of copper pipe, using a pipe cutter. Measure the height of the planter with a measuring tape. Mark the pipe equal to the height of the planter plus 12 inches from one end, using a pencil.

3. Drill a 1/2-inch hole through one wall of the copper pipe, 1 inch above the mark.

4. Solder the copper end cap and the copper elbow to either end of the copper pipe, using a propane torch. Solder the end cap on the end of the pipe closest to the drilled hole. Insert the end of the pipe with the end cap 12 inches into the ground beside the planter.

5. Cut a 10-inch strip of copper tubing. Bend the tubing into a U shape. Bend one end of the top of the U into an inverted U. Bend the other end of the top of the U at a 90-degree angle. Copper tubing is soft enough to bend by hand.

6. Solder the 90-degree angle end of the U into the open end of the copper elbow.

7. Spray the metal coffee pot with exterior copper paint. Let the paint dry. Hang the handle of the coffee pot over the copper tubing U. Bend the inverted tip of the U so that it is pointing downward directly over the top opening of the coffee pot. Fill the coffee pot with water.

8. Place the fountain pump inside the cup and saucer planter. Use scissors to cut a length of plastic tubing to fit the overall height of the fountain structure, plus 10 inches. Thread one end of the tubing through the hole in the wall of the copper pipe. Push the tubing to the end cap.

9. Attach the other end of plastic tubing to the spout on the submersible fountain pump. Run the electrical cord over the side of the planter adjacent to the copper pipe and out to the power source. Fill the planter with water. Start the pump.

10. Move the planter as needed so that the water from the spout on the coffee pot flows into it. The plastic tubing will circulate the water from the planter to the coffee pot through the copper pipe and copper tubing.

References

• The Family Handyman: How to Solder Copper Pipe

Resources

• GrayStone Creations: Frequently Asked Questions about Fountain Pumps