Want to make your backyard super fun for the little humans in your life? What kid doesn’t love to play with water? We made this wine barrel water pump for our little one, and now she enjoys HOURS of water fun while we work in the garden.

I want my yard to be a welcoming place for the kiddos in my life. So when I saw one of these wine barrel water pumps at one of the Waldorf preschools that we visited, I knew I wanted to make one right away. And I am so glad that we did. I can’t tell you how much fun my toddler has had with this free-standing water pump.

It holds about 25 gallons of water, drains back into itself, and is easy enough for my tiny little 2 and 1/2 year old to pump. We placed it close to her sand box so she can easily fill up buckets of water to pour, play, and splash. This easy and fun DIY water pump project has been such a blessing in our life. It keeps my little one busy and gives me time to work in my garden.

It is also amazingly fun when her little friends come over. They have a blast pumping the water and getting wet. Another great thing about this wine barrel water pump is that it gets my little one engaged in the garden. She regularly fills up her tiny little watering can and waters the strawberries, raspberries, and flowers. A little gardener in training.

And finally, what I love about this wine barrel pump is that it conserves water, as it drains right back into itself through the cracks in the top.

NOTES: I want to say that this is an easy project for anyone who knows how to use power tools. And that is NOT me. I have to give TOTAL credit for this project to my amazing partner, who indulges me constantly as I have new DIY ideas around the house. The tools that he used for the project are: a power drill, jig saw, staple gun, and sander.

This water pump holds about 20-25 gallons of water. We put a piece of aluminum window screen underneath the top to keep mosquitoes and random debris out.

I was able to get most of my supplies for this project at our local hardware store. We already had the half wine barrel and used recycled wood that we had laying around for the top. I encourage you to get creative and see what you can find used or recycled. And please, please use caution when using power tools. Missing digits are a REAL bummer.

Have fun!

How to Make a Wine Barrel Water Pump

What you will need:

half wine barrel
20-25 gallon wine barrel liner OR a pond liner
old fashioned water pump (like this)
2 foot piece of pool hose (like this)
threaded fitting to attach hose to pump
clamp to attach hose to threaded fitting (like this)
3′ x 3′ aluminum window screen (usually sold by the foot in big rolls)
10 feet of 1×6 wooden boards for top (we used recycled redwood fence boards)
some 2×6 boards to reinforce top
T50 staples for attaching screen to top
screws for reinforcing top
hardware to attach your pump to top (each pump is different but we used 3 big bolts with nuts and washers)

Directions:

Gather all of your supplies

Drill holes into bottom of wine barrel

Place liner into wine barrel (we cut the lip off of the one we bought)

Place 1×6 boards on top of wine barrel and cut to make a round top, leaving small cracks in between for water to drain through (Tip: place boards on top and trace them from underneath with a pencil. Then flip them over and cut with jig saw)

Place aluminum screen on top of wine barrel and cut it to fit the top exactly

Staple screen t0 boards and use screws and 2×6 boards to attach the top pieces together (be sure screws are short enough so they do not poke through the top) and drill hole into top for pool hose (make sure you visualize where you want the pump to sit on the top)

Sand and smooth the top to make it look pretty

Attach the pool hose to pump by attaching threaded end piece to hose, clamping it to secure, then threading the hose onto pump

Thread the pool hose through the drilled hole. Use appropriate hardware to attach pump to top.

Fill wine barrel with water and place the top on. You are all set to go. The pump may need to be primed by pouring a small amount of water into the top of the pump before use.

CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS!

Pretty fun, huh? Would your kids love one of these?

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Comments

enlargement pump says
June 18, 2014 at 10:26 pm

Great DIY!

I love doing DIY’s and I just got an Idea from your project. I will be making a pump for our tree house. 🙂

Thanks a lot and have a great day.

Emmie

- Katja says
  June 21, 2014 at 2:48 pm
  
  That sounds so fun! I would love to hear how it turns out. 🙂
  
Ann says
April 24, 2016 at 7:12 am

I can’t wait to tackle this project. I’ve been eyeing it for weeks on pinerest. We got the wine barrel on sale a few weeks ago and just need to pick up some of the other things. How long did the whole thing take?

- Katja Heino says
  April 24, 2016 at 7:38 am
  
  We worked on it on and off all day while we also worked in the garden. My husband is really handy so the work went quickly. Taking all of the step by step photos made the process a bit slower for him. 🙂
  
GkKool says
November 26, 2016 at 7:56 am

Easy and cool looking pump, but finding that old fashioned water pump is little hard

Theresa McCaffrey says
April 3, 2018 at 4:54 pm

Is it possible to collect rain water in this barrel?

- Katja Heino says
  April 9, 2018 at 9:32 am
  
  When it rains, water does fall into the barrels as there are spaces between the boards on top. 🙂
  
  - kelly spear says
    April 15, 2018 at 4:04 pm
    
    This may seem like a silly question, but how do you refill the water once the kids use it up?
    
    - Katja Heino says
      April 18, 2018 at 11:04 am
      
      You just lift the top and refill. It’s not nailed down. There are also small spaces in between the wood on top, so when it rains, it fill sup.
      
Nikki says
June 9, 2018 at 8:00 am

Hi Katja! I am going to be making this for my two yr old and I’m very excited. Quick question: did you notice any issues with mosquitoes and the standing water? We live in the country so I’m always nervous about attracting them – I wasn’t sure if they would still be drawn to it if it is covered or not?
Thank you for the great post!! I can’t wait to make this 🙂

- Katja Heino says
  June 16, 2018 at 8:19 am
  
  Hi, Nikki! I did not notice any, but we do not tend to have too many mosquitoes where we live. This has been such a fun outside toy for us. We get so much use out of it!
  
  - Nikki says
    June 22, 2018 at 8:44 am
    
    Thanks so much for the response Katja! My wine barrel and pump were delivered today so I’ll have this done by Sunday and I am SO excited. Thank you again for the great idea :):):)
    
    - Katja Heino says
      June 26, 2018 at 1:30 pm
      
      Nikki- I hope you guys get hours and hours of enjoyment out of it. We sure have! 🙂
      
Rebecca says
March 3, 2019 at 1:15 pm

This is great! I’ve been searching for a tutorial on how to make one of these, thanks! One thing I’m not sure of- what is a “threaded fitting to attach hose to pump” That’s the only thing you don’t provide a link to. Also they make water tight wine barrels, could you use one of those instead of getting a plastic insert?

- Katja Heino says
  March 5, 2019 at 5:24 pm
  
  I can’t speak to the water tight wine barrels, but you can definitely try. If it leaks, you can add the insert later. The threaded piece to attach the hose to the fitting can be found at your local hardware store. I can’t find a link to one. The size will depend on the hose that you use. Take the hose piece to the hardware store and show them the image of the threaded piece I have in my post. I’m not sure what it’s called but it’s smooth on one side (that’s the side you will slide into the hose and clamp down) and threaded on the other side (that’s where hose attaches to pump.) I hope that makes it more clear. 🙂
  
Kate says
March 15, 2019 at 9:44 am

Thank you so much for posting a tutorial! I wonder if instead of a pool hose I can cut a section off a broken garden hose instead? Thoughts? Why did you specifically choose a pool hose?

- Katja Heino says
  March 26, 2019 at 11:26 am
  
  Hi, Kate! I used a pool hose because it is wider. You could try using a garden hose. I just wonder if the diameter is wide enough to get enough water flow. Let ,e know if you try it. 🙂