Author Topic: Low voltage water fountain electrical question  (Read 5559 times)

Bruinguy

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Low voltage water fountain electrical question
« on: August 05, 2016, 10:44:08 AM »
Hi,

I'm a bit out of my element here, but I have been thinking of adding an outdoor water fountain to my backyard.  I currently have low voltage lights run through the area that I'd like to place the fountain.  Can I just connect a low voltage water fountain to that electrical line?

A little more detail.  The transformer used for the lights outputs 12v up to 300 watts.  I'm using about 100 watts of that with my existing lights.  Fountains that are "low voltage" appear to have transformers (?) built into the cords/plugs.  I have seen them listed as using 6v to 12v and 6 watts to 20 watts. 

It would seem like I could just cut off the transformer on the fountain and connect it to my low voltage cord used for the lighting in a similar manner as the low voltage lights are connected and be all set. 

Am I missing something?  Any thoughts?

Shaz_Au

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Re: Low voltage water fountain electrical question
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2016, 11:24:32 PM »
Sounds doable to me but I'd do some more checks
Are the lights wired in parallel or series? You don't want the pump to stop running every time you get a blown light globe.
Is the low voltage cable for the lamps capable of running the combined load of the lights + pump? Melting wiring and it associated risks are not entertaining.
How long is the cable? Particularly with DC wiring you can get voltage drop over longer cable runs and this may cause issues for a pump that might not be noticeable with a light.

Oh and are you happy with the lights always being on when the pump is running and vice versa?

 

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