The Bleeding Pumpkin

I'm not much of a fancy jack o lantern carver so I figured I would add some tech to mine this year.

Step 1: Supplies!

The plan basically calls for a water pump to feed colored water up through some tubing and out of the pumpkin. Here are some of the supplies I started out with:

Step 2: Carve Your Pumpkin!

I think everyone knows this step pretty well. I did some quick sketches on paper of various designs and I liked this simple one best.

Step 3: Modify the Tray

The pumpkin will sit on this tray, which sits on top of the reservoir. I drilled a series of holes to drain the blood back into the reservoir.

Step 4: Setting the Pump Up

I cut the tubing to the right length with some kitchen snips and press fitted it into the pump. I also drilled a 1/2" hole through the lower back of the pumpkin and ran the tubing through. The pump is adjustable but even on the lowest setting it had plenty of power.

Step 5: Making the 'wound'

I used a small drill bit to make the exit hole for the blood, up by the pumpkin's eye. It is drilled out larger on the inside to fit the tubing in. The nice thing about drilling into pumpkin is you don't even need a drill, you can just spin the bit with your hand.

Step 6: The Reservoir

The hardest part of the whole project was trying to find a bowl that was the right size! I looked through a half dozen stores and had no luck finding a bowl that was big enough or cheap enough. My girlfriend thought of using an automotive oil drain pan and it ended up being perfect!

Step 7: Light It Up!

Every Jack O Lantern needs a light and a flame would not work well in the wet environment of this pumpkin so I opted to use LEDs. I used one of my red LED boards (which are available in the Instructables Marketplace ;) ) which is powered by a 12volt battery hidden behind the pumpkin.

Step 8: Add Some Decor

I stuck a knife near the wound hole for added effect and put the warning on the reservoir with some glow in the dark orange paint. (which didn't really glow in the end)

If you look close you can see I'm testing the system out with plain water.

Step 9: Set It All Up, Test It Out, and Enjoy!

Put the pump in the bottom of the reservoir, run the tubing up through the pumpkin, fill it with water and try it out!

It took a fair bit of adjusting to get the water spray right so I would definitely recommend adding the red dye only after you make sure its working right!

You'll notice that the blood not only drains out his knife wound but also pools inside and pours out his mouth.

Thats about all there is to it, thanks for reading!