Solar Fountain, Solatec Solar Powered Bird Bath Fountain Pump 1.4W Solar Panel Kit Water Pump,Outdoor Watering Submersible Pump for Pond, Pool, Garden, Fish Tank, Aquarium

Finally bought this after seeing several advertisements ~ LOVE IT! It has added a little fun to our birdbath and I found I check it reg'ly as it makes me happy. Plus, it has added some fun to our summer yard.I have now bought 2 more (1 to replace the original see info below). I have 1 unit in the bird bath and now added one to our little waterfall/pond (5' x 3' pool). They turn on with the sun and off when in shade so they do not run all the time like a solar charged battery allows. I actually like this arrangement better. The fountain starts spraying as soon as the sun shines on it. It turns off responsively too~ if light is temporarily blocked (a shadow from my hand as I fill the Bbath or a temp pass of a cloud), it turns off immediately. It is so immediately responsive, it gives the impression of an off/on switch. It does not have a switch so If we are leaving for a few days, I just put it on the shelf on our covered deck where it stays turned off until I set it in water again.The different fountain heads in deed provide for a variety of patterns of spray. It is a powerful little thing too , 1 of the heads shoots easily 12 -18" high. If you choose not to use a patterned spray head, water will just gurgle & bubble out of the top which the birds like as well. I learned to put a ring of rocks in the bird bath to keep it centered & prevent it from moving itself too close to the edge & spilling water over the side. Colo had a string of 90+ degree days in Aug this year, so I would fill the bath everyday. If water gets too low the fountain cannot spray. Also, the motor will continue to run if the sun shines on the device but there's no water. This happened 1 or 2 and I could hear it running as soon as I walked out on the deck; it was +30'away which demonstrated the motor has plenty of power. However, It's completely quiet while in water.After 3 months of use it just quit working BUT I feel there was 1 too many times I let it run completely dry. I ordered 2 more to replace the original and added the second unit to our lil pond /waterfall area. It works great in the pond and scoots itself all over the surface. Another tip to users : I used fishing line to tie a rock to the unit thereby tethering it so it would stay out of the shaded areas and prevent it from getting stuck up against the edges. It is working great and I do not have to worry about it running out of water!As for longevity we will see; I intend to use 1 unit in the heated bird bath this winter. We'll see how cold weather affects it but also keeping in mind Denver temps can be on the mild - moderate side with a mix of cold to comfortable. Generally it is not like the looong freezing winters of the Northern states. If the 2 units do not hold up thru the next few Fall months, I will edit my 3 star longevity rating. it is a fun little feature and I recommend it to others ~ in fact I may put it under the tree this Xmas!********update: the 2 new units i bought since writing this review have held up very well!! I still luv these little fountainheads. I decided to NOT use them Nov-Feb. but outside of that time period they are in water & working almost everyday. To store them I simply take them out of water & keep covered thru winter months. I even left them outside on a shelf where they live thru extreme temp changes.I keep the 5 star rating & would go higher if i could for these reasons:longevity excellent,affordability vs value is outstanding,ease of use & maintenance could not be easer or more convenient.I would add a durability rating & give it the highest rating too. This is in consideration of my experience that they are out in all weather i.e. wide temp swings of Co. Springtime -32 -80+ that cause feet of snow, Summer’s extreme heat over100+ , hailstorms & even Fall nites that cool quickly. It’s a wonderful , fun affordable & durable addition to the yard or any body of water u want to make a lil more special but a low work impact! I’ll try to add picts next

The media could not be loaded. Amazon graciously offered me a refund as it was almost a month since I placed my order and it hadn't arrived. I decided to decline the offer and wait a few more days. Sure enough, it arrived. I picked out the most interesting nozzle (B5) and discovered that it shot the water relatively high up, so that within a half-hour it emptied my fountain's 16-inch plastic (veggie) tray, the wind blowing away the water. I then changed nozzles and found that all of them had this problem. It occurred to me that, if I enlarged the holes on one, the stream wouldn't go so high. So I took a 1/16 inch drill bit and enlarged the holes on nozzle B4, lightly sanding down the plastic to remove the stray shavings. What you see in the attached video is what I got. The side spray is minimal and can be reduced further with more enlarging. This enlargement, however, can't be too much, otherwise, the spray stream collapses upon itself for a bubbler effect. Right now, I figure the water supply should last 3-4 hours (in full sun and slight breeze) without refilling. [Update: I enlarged the holes to 5/64 inch; water varies from 2-inch bubbler to 6-inch spray; water lasts until 6 pm when shade covers tray/bath, and I bring it in to clean for the next day. Further enlarging three of the holes to 5/32 inch will turn the fountain into a constant bubbler.] Note that I centered the fountain in the tray with crescent pavers, also that the see-through plastic tray gives one a good view of the water level. While the robbins and cardinals have tried it, I am still waiting for my hummingbirds to check it out. An expert says to place the fountain near a bush so they can easily find a safe place to dry off. Another note: If you see the height of the fountain reduced, clean not only the pump filter, but blow out the nozzle. I hope this helps (both you and the manufacturer's engineering department)! BTW, I enjoy looking at the fountain while writing books. Here's one, a best-seller at Mount Vernon: George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key – the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul