I recommend everyone that has a Misting Fountain, uses Mist Maker parts, and many Waterfall Fountain users, to read and print out this page for future reference. This article will help increase the life of your Mist Maker and Mist Fountain. Some of what you will find on this page include, but is not limited to:
- How to clean all fountain parts, mist maker fog units, LED lights, ceramic replacement discs and fountain bowls
- the difference in AC power adapters. The type/output DOES make a difference in how much mist your fountain creates.
- DC power adapter info
- How to clean your Ceramic Replacement Disc [or disk] with or without a keytool
- which Ceramic Discs are the best [not just size, but color too]
- Using Scented Oils and/or Essential Oils in your Misting Fountain OR Waterfall
Everyone calls a Mist Fountain and a mist unit [fogger, mister, mist maker] by different names. For our mutual benefit we'll address them as follows:
- a Fountain is the whole thing - the fountain stand, fountain bowl, ceramic disc, mist maker unit, power adapter - all of it together make a Mist Fountain.
MISTING UNIT or MIST MAKER w/ LED ROTATING LIGHTS
- some call this a fogger, mist maker, fog maker, fog unit, or mister. This fountain part sits in the bottom of a Fountain Bowl. It has a row of LED lights around the edge, and a ceramic disc in the middle. We call this entire part, with a 16mm or 20mm ceramic disc in it, a Mist Maker or Mist Unit
- There is a Standard Mist Maker that has 12 LED lights but does NOT have an inline controller and usually comes with a 16mm ceramic disc, but some have the 20mm disc in them.
- Another Mist Maker Unit is the 16 Mode Inline Control Unit with 3 Speeds. You can adjust the colors to all red, all blue, all yellow, etc, or adjust them to rotate all the colors, or just the blue and yellow, or just red and blue, and so on. The 3 speeds adjust the rotation from a slow fade to a strobe effect. The 16 mode Inline Control Mist Maker may or may not come with a wireless controller that allows you to sit on the couch and change the colors such as changing channels on your TV.
AC POWER ADAPTER TRANSFORMERS
- supplies the power to your Mist Unit and your Fountain
- Standard Current AC Adapters
To identify your adapter, look at the label on the back of it
INPUT: 110V - 120V 60Hz
OUTPUT: AC 24V [beside of the 24V will be a number between 500 and 1200 which is the strength of the output of the adapter]
Which Power Adapter To Use With Which Mist Maker
- If your ac adapter is at least a 750m, it is the proper strength to work with a Mist Maker with an Inline Controller, 3 Speeds and 20mm Ceramic Disc. The higher output [higher the number] your adapter has, the more mist your fountain will create. So if you have an AC Adapter with 1000m output AND your mist maker uses a 20mm ceramic disc, you will get awesome misting effects!
- When manufacturers make AC Adapters and Mist Maker Units, they make them TOGETHER, to work TOGETHER. So if you have a 900m or 1000m output, but you replace your mist maker, you may notice a little decrease in the amount of mist you achieve.
- If you have an ac power adapter with an "OUTPUT" of 500m, 550m, 600m or 650m, you need to use the Standard Mist Unit with NO inline controller
- To use the 16 mode Inline Control Mist Maker, you need an AC power adapter with an OUTPUT of at least 750m.
Other high AC ADAPTER OUTPUTS include: 830, 900, 950, 1000, OR 1200, are compatible with the 16 mode Inline Control Mistmaker with 3 speeds whether it has the wireless controller with it or not. If your ac adapter has an OUTPUT of 24v 500 - 700, IT WILL WORK ONLY A SHORT TIME with a 16 mode Mist Maker Unit with Inline Control, or a Misting Unit that has a Wireless Controller. One of these mist makers MAY work for 2 months, or a month, or a week, or not at all if the ac adapter OUTPUT isn't high enough [which means it is not strong enough for the mist maker].
AC/DC POWER ADAPTER TRANSFORMERS
Look at your power adapter where the label is. Look a few lines down where the INPUT AND OUTPUT is listed.
An AC/DC ADAPTER will list something similar to this....
INPUT: AC120V 60Hz
OUTPUT: DC24.0V 800mA
This adapter WILL NOT WORK with regular misting units. The proper mist maker must be made to work with DC power. This simply means that it changes over from House Current [AC] to Battery Current [DC] If you try to use a DC power adapter with an AC mist maker, it might work for 30 minutes, or maybe a week, but more than likely it will burn your mist maker up within a few minutes.
If you do have, or purchase, an AC/DC Power Adapter and Mistmaker unit, they will work with any Misting Fountain as long as you use the Mist Maker that is for an AC/DC Adapter.
- If you have an AC/DC Power Adapter and can't find an AC/DC compatible mist maker unit, you can replace BOTH adapter and mist unit with regular ac powered parts
- Find DC Power Adapter and the DC Mist Maker Units on our Fountain Parts page. These are for indoor use, you just can't mix the 2 together. Our AC/DC powered combo is a very good choice if you are looking for a mistmaker and adapter and want the MIST ONLY, and lots of it.
JUST A COUPLE MISTING FACTS
- IF all your LED lights work on your mist maker but you have no mist- your First Step should be to change the ceramic disc
- If you have NO Mist and NO Lights
- you need a Mist Maker OR
- you need an AC adapter OR
- you need both the AC Adapter and the Mist Maker Unit OR
- make sure the power outlet you have your fountain plugged into works!
NEVER touch the [top] flat sides of the disc with your fingertips.
#1 reason why a mist unit is not misting correctly is because you have touched the disc with your fingertips, cleaned with an abrasive soap, or scratched the disc with something.
#2 reason why a mist unit is not misting correctly is due to improper cleaning of the ceramic replacement disc, mist maker unit, or even your fountain bowl.
CERAMIC REPLACEMENT DISCS
NEVER TOUCH THE DISC WITH YOUR FINGERS - I can't stress that enough, but I hear of people touching the disc and then they call me wanting to know why the New Ceramic Disc they just ordered from me doesn't work! My first question is always "DID YOU TOUCH THE DISC WITH YOUR FINGERS?" 95% of the time, that is the answer I get. So one more time DO NOT TOUCH THE CERAMIC REPLACEMENT DISC WITH YOUR FINGERS !
- the oils from your fingertips can ruin your replacement disc, a new disc or old one. The DISC is what makes the mist!
- Best way to clean the disc - take it out of the mist unit IF you have a key tool. [see below]
A good replacement ceramic discs come with a black rubber protective washer around the disc. Place a soft paper towel between your fingers/hand and the new disk to remove the protective black rubber. ...let the towel be between your fingers and disc at all times. The solid white side goes facing UP toward you.
IF YOU HAVE A KEY TOOL FOR DISC REMOVAL
A keytool comes with all new replacement Discs [or it should, if one doesn't come with the disk, then DON'T buy it!]. Don't touch the disc with your bare hands! but take the disc out of the mist unit carefully using the key tool
- Touch only the outer edges of your ceramic disc.
- Wet a cotton swab or soft cloth with gentle soap and water and clean both sides of the disc.
- Take the disc out occasionally to clean it IF you have a key tool for that purpose
- clean the top of the disc regularly [see below]
- Completely dry the ceramic disc before putting back into mist unit.
DO NOT try to take the disc out with anything but the key tool
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A KEY TOOL
- Wet a cotton swab with gentle soap and water
- GENTLY clean the top of the disc.
- Do Not touch the top of the replacement disc with anything else, especially your fingertips
- the oil from your fingertips can damage the disc...then it will not mist.
Clean the disc weekly if used daily for best results.
Different Sizes and Colors of Ceramic Replacement Discs
-16mm disc -about the size of a dime when IN the mist unit
-20mm disk -about the size of a nickel when IN the mist unit
-20mm discs create more mist than the 16mm
- Replacement discs come in different colors - gold or silver color or white
The white discs are a bit better replacement discs. With proper care they will work a bit better and last a bit longer.
CLEANING THE MIST UNIT-FOG MAKER UNIT
- Wet a cotton swab with gentle soap and water.
- GENTLY clean around each of the LED lights around the outer edge of the Mist Maker Unit.
- Clean the ceramic disc while you are at it
OR LIKE THIS
- You can put the mist maker unit in a bowl of soapy water to clean it and clean it same as above. Be Careful! I've broke one of the LED lights off when cleaning the mist maker unit. I really wanted to get that baby clean! But I used that mist unit and the same disc for at least 6 more months, everyday!
like that dude from Ripleys......... Believe It ...... Or Not!
CLEANING YOUR FOUNTAIN BOWL, MIST UNIT, AND DISC TOGETHER
YOU MUST Keep the water and the Fountain Bowl clean. Everyone's home environment is different, so adjust your cleaning times accordingly.
The easiest way to clean your fountain bowl is in your kitchen sink.
- Run soapy water in sink
- unplug adapter from the wall and mist unit
- You may want to dip some water out of the bowl before lifting the bowl out of the fountain stand
- Carefully pick your bowl up and out of the fountain stand and carry to the sink.
- Dump the dirty water out
- put your bowl and mist unit in the dish water - keep end of cord out of water!
- wash it - use cotton swabs for mist unit and disc
- dry with soft cloth
- put fountain back together
- add clean water to bowl
- Enjoy
White Rings Around Your Found Bowl?
Now the folks that are supposed to know about these things say DO NOT USE DISTILLED WATER IN YOUR FOUNTAIN! They say that you do need some minerals in the water to make your fountain function correctly.
So, when you get that white ring around your fountain bowl that is caused by Mineral Deposits In The Water [and you will get it] clean it off like this.....
- Use white Vinegar to remove any rings or stains from your fountain bowl caused by mineral deposits. Take a clean cloth and place it over the top of a bottle of white vinegar. Now turn the bottle upside down to get the cloth wet with vinegar. Use that vinegar soaked cloth and wipe the white ring off your fountain bowl. It is simple and efficient.
I personally use regular tap water, aka city water in all my fountains.
USING SCENTED OILS IN A MIST FOUNTAIN
- I Do Not Recommend Using Scented Oils in a Misting Fountain, [simply because many people use too much oils and don't change water, or clean the mist maker and ceramic disc as often as they should when using scented oils] but many people do and it is a great way to use your fountain as a Fragrance Diffuser in your home. BUT, Use Lightweight Oils ONLY. You must change the water, clean your fountain bowl, mist maker unit, and ceramic replacement disc more often if you use oils in your fountain.
- Use ONLY a couple drops oil per clean bowl of water. You will clog your mist unit up and/or the ceramic disc with too much oil. That is not saying you can add a couple drops of oil each time you add water! It means only one or two drops each time you dump all the water out of your fountain bowl and clean all the parts as instructed above. Then fill your fountain bowl back up with clean water, then add one or two drops of scented Fragrance Oils - Lightweight Oils ONLY - like those found on MyFountainDesigns Custom Blend Fragrance Oils Page.
HOWEVER, Real Essential Oils can be added as desired
I hope this will help you with your Misting fountains and your Mist Fountain Parts. I have used and sold the Mist Fountains and Parts for 5 years and everything you have read has been personally tried, experimented, and found to be fail safe when following these instructions.
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