rain lamp pump

We just picked up a rain lamp from my father in law who just passed away and trying to get working for my wife. The pump is bad and wanted to know where i could get a new one. I have searched ebay and looked on google and have had no luck. Any help appreciated!

Are you sure the pump is bad?

Can you get the pump out of the lamp? Can you open it enough to see the impeller? Does the impeller move? Freely? Can you put power to the pump and see the impeller spinning?

If the impeller is doing its job, then it is more likely you need to inspect and clear/replace some or all of the tubing. If someone used the wrong kind of oil in the lamp the plumbing could be blocked.

If the impeller is not doing its job you should take the pump to your local garden supply. No your local big-box, but a local garden supply or nursery that has parts for fountains. Many of the smaller fountain pumps will work with some fiddling around to get the connections just right. Use vinyl tubing if you have to add anything to the system.

Make sure you use mineral oil in the system, or rain lamp fluid if you can find it.

DO NOT use essential or fragrance oils in the system because they will make the oil go gummy and you will be replacing your pump again in short order.

And takes lots of pictures of the process, please! There are many people who have rain lamps but don't want to try and repair them because of the scarcity of information.

It is completely torn apart and the shaft that spins the gears does not move by hand or when plugged in. They are very simple to work on or take apart its just hard to find replacement parts for them. When plugged in pump makes humming noise but doesnt spin the shaft that drives the gears.ill see if i can find a local nursery that carries fountains....just hope it wont cost arm and a leg!

On 2014-04-16 02:53, flood_bc12 wrote:
ill see if i can find a local nursery that carries fountains....just hope it wont cost arm and a leg!

Shouldn't be too much, you don't need much flow rate because you are only lifting the oil to the top of the lamp. Its not like you are powering a waterfall feature or filtering a pond....

Most statuary pumps should be sufficient for a flow rate and run in the neighborhood of $40. If you can, get one that has an adjustable flow rate. A pump moving 30gph of water will not move as much mineral oil because of the difference in viscosity. An adjustable pump will let you tweak the output so you don't turn your 'rain' effect into a waterfall effect.

Just have a good idea of the space the old pump took up in the lamp and get something that will fit in the space. You can use vinyl tubing to adjust the output of the pump to the correct alignment for the original plumbing of the lamp.

Found a small fountain pump at rural king for $15. Hadto cut cord for pump and connect to rain lamp electric cord. Wire nuts and some electricaltape and new hose from pump outlet to lamp and put it back together. A lot less cluter in bottom of lamp and works great. Also pump is adjustable....cant beat it for $15. Thank you for your help...my wife loves it

On 2014-04-20 18:03, flood_bc12 wrote:
Found a small fountain pump at rural king for $15. Hadto cut cord for pump and connect to rain lamp electric cord. Wire nuts and some electricaltape and new hose from pump outlet to lamp and put it back together. A lot less cluter in bottom of lamp and works great. Also pump is adjustable....cant beat it for $15. Thank you for your help...my wife loves it

Please post an update on the longevity of that pump. My gut feeling is it will not last long, as they're not made to handle a liquid thicker than water. Hopefully it works though, thanks for the info!