Hero's fountain is a device that lifts water to a higher height that it's origin in order to move to a lower position. This simple device was invented almost 2000 years ago and has several variations in making it but they all operate using the same concept. These devices will only run as long as there is water in the upper bottle. When the upper bottle drains out, it will stop flowing, usually drains in 2-4 minutes. The length of time is dependent on the diameter of the nozzle, a very small thin stream may last uptimes about 10 minutes.