I tried to hook up a solenoid (then pair of solenoids) to my nelson pump - it really didn't work well (when it did finally) and on the whole, I'd say I invested much time and money learning 'how not to' techniques...
Imho if it were refined, it would still just be a quirky novelty, but nothing more.
All that said - I wish you best of luck and hope you have loads of fun doing it!
