This is one of Mrs Generalle's projects, I thought I'd share it. We got a cast iron pig trough, there are loads about and quite expensive from reclamaition yards and hipster "vintage" outlets. Dead cheap if you are patient, I think ours was about 20 quid from a smallholding near Bolton. Something like this Google pic,
Drilled a hole in the bottom, to take a hosepipe snugly. Got a fitting and stuffed it into an old bucket and shoved the hose on. The bucket fits snugly inside the trough.
The little lugs on the end of the hose have holes in them for a wire to pass through for a mesh screen to attatch to. I just smeared loads of silicone yog around the hose to seal it up before painting.
A cheap ebay solar powered pump inside and we have this! The colour is Hammerite hammered copper (or bronze. I can't remember). I thought it would look horrid but I like it. Please excuse the stack of pallets on the lawn.
Fast forward a couple of years and it was looking tatty, I hadn;t painted it very carefully and the paint was all flaking off. I spent ages rubbing it down and repainting it. Mrs Generallee made a bulrush out of some old copper pipe and stuff. In a bucket for testing purposes.
Stuck onto the top of the pump. The mesh over the inlet to the bucket is to stop leaves and junk going down the hose and blocking it up.
Then when the sun comes out it bursts into life.
The tape is just marking the water level to make sure it's not leaking. The slate is temporary so any beasties or insects that fall in can hopefully get out again. The big pebbles wil go back in as they look nicer and cover the screen nicely.
That's it, thanks for looking.
