High wow-factor

High wow-factor fountains produce spectacular effects suitable for large ponds or lakes. Pumping power of up to one kilowatt is typical.


The effects are produced by The “fir tree”, “bursting jets”, the “jet spray”, giant 5-hole sprays (“Giant willow”), or inward-pointing angled nozzles (“fighting jets.”)

Some effects like the bursting jet depend on high power and high frequency. Others like the jet spray or giant willow use high power but lower frequency combining elegance with visual impact. In all these the advantage of the fluidic mode of control is that long-term continuous operation causes no problems for the fountain.

The “fir tree” is shown coming from the “Shiehallion” big column oscillator, a swept cone monolith made of Dupont’s “Corian”. Operated without fault since 2005 it is the basis for other high-wow-factor effects.
 
The bursting jet comes from a compact column oscillator, in this case made of stainless steel with a vertical straight nozzle and switching up to 5 Hz. An easy task for fluidics but impossible for conventional valves without risk of failure. As with the fir tree the movies show fountains that have worked without failure since 2005.
 
The “Frantic Willow” is produced by the compact column oscillator with a five-hole spray nozzle. In this case the CCO and nozzle are stainless steel and like the other examples, this has operated without fault since 2005.
 
The “Jet Spray” is produced by a jet which is either straight or swirling. Various nozzles can be chosen to give different effects. In this case a narrow nozzle is used giving a tight spray and a very high jet. This option can produce fountains with the highest jets and so could qualify as giving the highest “wow-factor” of all! At low pressure it produces much more tranquil slower effects so it has a wide range of versatility.
 
The arc jets are simply inward pointing straight jets fed from a common oscillator. The low frequency oscillation is controlled by air trapped in a stainless steel sphere.
 
The fighting jets come from the same arc-jet system but the frequency is much higher being controlled by a small air volume.