Maintenance and repair of the "clock" fountain in the "Evropeysky" mall

The creators of each fountain want to make it unique and memorable. The biggest, tallest, most beautiful and so on. Fountain "Clock" in TC "European", created in 2006 and modernized in 2013 by Aqua Logo Engineering, perhaps, the most creative. At first sight only 12 Roman numerals in the round bowl of "The Hours" fountain justify its name, there are no arrows.

Three-minute Clock Fountain Show at the Evropeisky shopping center

But after looking closer you notice with surprise that the fountain of the "European" shows the exact Moscow time. Only the time is not indicated by hands but by the change of color of original dial plate elements. The Roman numerals (clock) are permanently lit under water in blue, except for the one that indicates the current hour. It is red. But the lights on the sides of the fountain bowl, the minutes and seconds, behave differently. All lanterns on the inner rim of the fountain bowl (seconds), gradually become red, until the circle is closed. Then, on the outer rim of the bowl, the next minute light turns red, and the seconds count down the minute again, in an arc changing color from blue to red.

The most patient spectators will discover that at the beginning of each hour the fountain turns into a chime, with a three-minute volley of powerful jets in the central bowl, reminding of the transience of time. And the most attentive will inevitably inquire and find out that the number designating four o'clock in the afternoon in the form of "IIII" is not an error, but the meticulousness of fountain designers. They have not been lazy to go deep into the centuries-old history. It turns out that the Roman numeral "IIII" was traditionally used on the dials of clocks before the XIX century.

The logo "e" of the Evropeisky shopping center in the central bowl of the fountain Clock

Another visual appeal of the fountain is located in the central bowl of the fountain. Submerged in water is the blue logo of the Evropeisky shopping center in the form of a stylized letter "e" with a halo of five-pointed stars made of stainless steel. During the hourly three-minute fountain show straight from the "e" to seven meters up jets of water from the main nozzle, and around it the fountain nozzles at a height of 5 and 3 meters create a two-tier jet flower. Under each star there is a pump, and in the center of the stars the nozzles form a ring of foamy columns of water. A multitude of pumps and tri-color lights, controlled by a computer program, create a vivid and memorable spectacle of playing water.

Fountain Clock in the atrium of the Evropeisky shopping center

The fountain is located in the atrium of the shopping center and can be seen from four levels. But not all parts of the fountain complex are visible. From the external bowl of the fountain water runs down the mosaic wall into the big lower bowl located one floor below. To get a good look at the waterfall and the eight domed fountains in the lower bowl, you have to go down one floor. Here, in the half-light shimmering glare wet wall of the waterfall, rippling water umbrellas small fountains, creating the atmosphere of a seaside park, a place of dating.

The lower bowl of the fountain. In the background is a waterfall on the wall

How and who maintains this complex hydraulic structure? It's no secret that no one knows their child better than the creators. That's why the administration of the "Evropeisky" shopping center trusts specialists of Aqua Logo Engineering to improve, regularly maintain and, if necessary, repair the fountain "Clock".

The fountain in Evropeisky, just like the fountain in GUM, is serviced by two specialists at the same time once a week. Two of them work simultaneously due to the need to be at the fountain and in the technical room where all the equipment and all the controls are located.

Each element of the fountain lights is checked and cleaned

Maintenance of the fountain begins in the evening after the visitors leave the shopping center and continues throughout the night. Automatics of the fountain is turned off and in about 40 minutes water is manually drained from the circular bowl of the fountain. The small layer of water left at the bottom is used to wash the decorative bodies of the Roman numerals. The red and blue lights are checked.

Central fountain bowl

Then the water is drained from the central bowl, and the operation of the nozzles and pumps located there is checked and adjusted if necessary. It is important that the jets of the same type of nozzles are the same height. Adjustment is carried out by special taps, available under each nozzle. The submersible pumps of the foam fountains located under the stars are cleaned.

Decorative element "Geyser"

The "Clock" fountain has many lights - they are hidden in each element of the clock figures, in each "minute" and "second" as well as in the "geysers" under the glass flasks. If any light fixture fails to light, it is repaired on the spot or replaced. The glass covers of luminaires and "geyser" bulbs are cleaned with brushes.

Adjusting the bottom bowl fountains

When everything is checked, cleaned and fixed, the water is poured. After the central bowl is filled, the work of the fountain show and all the lights are checked. Now you can move on to the bottom bowl. There is not much work - you need to check and adjust "only" 8 fountains with their pumps, nozzles and underwater lighting from 17 white spotlights. Here they work without draining the water, but in high boots. The water is clear, so you can clearly see the debris at the bottom, which must be got rid of, so as not to have problems with clogged drainage holes.

This is not the end of fountain maintenance. Now we have to check all the equipment in the technical room, located under the bottom bowl.

In the technical room at the intake tank

The first thing that catches your eye here - a tangle of pipes of different diameters, cables, fixtures and, of course, a huge blue tank with water. This is the intake tank, or rather, the reversible tank. After all, it both takes in water from the fountain, and gives it back automatically or manually. The level of water in the tank is not constant and must be within certain limits. For maintaining the level sensors, which include, if necessary, an emergency pump, quickly compensating for water loss, for example, on the evaporation. Operation of these elements must be checked.

Next to the reversible tank there is a sand filter that maintains water transparency. Since the filter is contaminated by debris suspended in the water, it must be periodically flushed with a reverse flow of water.

UV sterilizers

Bacterial outbreaks in the fountain are prevented by two powerful UV filters mounted on the wall. Each contains five UV lamps in quartz housings. Special automatic calculates the operating time of the lamps, at a certain threshold, the lamps should be replaced or cleaned from fouling. To clean the lamps UV filters are disconnected from the fountain system and transferred to a closed mode washing with oxalic acid with a special pump. After an hour of washing quartz lamp shells become transparent again.

Fountain control system Clock

The work of the fountain is automated and controlled by a computer program and switching system hidden in the electric boxes. The computer display shows a conditional image of the fountain with all its lights. During maintenance, the operator in the technical room turns the system into a manual control, so that together with his partner upstairs he can check all elements of the fountain step by step. The maintenance of the unique fountain lasts all night, but the result is impressive.

Fountain in action

We maintain fountains not only of our own design and manufacture. See how we take care of the antique fountain in the main shopping center of Moscow - GUM on Red Square.

Our address: Moscow, 42, Dmitry Ulyanov Str., YPC Business Center, 5th floor, 3rd floor, office 24. Opening hours: Monday-Friday from 10:00 to 19:00.

Phones: +7(495) 775-31-78; +7(495) 935-81-86.

Email: ale@aqualogo.ru