Lewisia Battery Backup Solar Fountain Pump with LED Lighting 8W Solar Powered Water Pump Kit for Pool Koi Pond Garden Bird Bath

Ok, I was skeptical. I'll admit that some of the comments were discouraging, but I've got to say, it is exceeding expectations today.When this arrived, it was rattling. I was told to look at the diagram to assemble--there was no diagram. Told to clean the pump regularly by removing the screws. Since it was rattling, I took out the screws (these are seriously horrible and the heads started to strip--one of my discouraged moments) to discover the screws are for an external box and the actual pump was inside. The cover had come off the working part of the pump, but it snaps right back in place; it's the way you get in to clean the pump. Put it back together, cursing the screws. I unplugged the pump from the solar panel and went outside to put it in the ground for at least a day to charge (of course, make sure the switch is on). Called my friend and told her to come the next day and we'd start the fountain experiment.Hilarity and blown theories later, we came up with the perfect combination of urn, support that prevented filling the entire urn with rocks (upside-down planter to narrow the space needing rocks but allow water to fill the base, pump on top of planter, upside-down plastic mesh basket over the pump to keep it from floating up (another discouragement) while being high enough up the urn to allow the light to shine up under the fountain part. After completely wearing ourselves out from emptying and refilling to find a solution, we couldn't get the pump to pump high enough to fill our spitter. We even opened the box again to make sure we hadn't gotten silt in the pump. This is when I got very inventive and wrapped the case in velcro cable wraps to avoid the screws ever being an issue again. Still wouldn't work and sounded like it was dying. We weren't about to empty the urn again, and I didn't want to encourage mosquitoes, so we scraped away the top rocks, took the spitter off, and let the pump gently circulate the water all night. Sighing and discouraged, she went home and I went to bed. This morning, however, I went out to clean up, and the pump was happily spraying water everywhere. Yesterday is sounded like it was straining; today it's silent. I quickly finished reassembling everything and now I have a cool fountain for my butterflies and bees. There is strong sun now, and it's even prettier than the picture below. I don't know what the problem was yesterday, but today it's fantastic. I'm considering getting another one for another remote area of my yard.*UPDATE* One week later (seemed like a failure point from other posts), and it's still going strong. Was a little cloudy today, but it ran all day. Still very pleased, and I will be ordering another.Further update: 9/5/17. Still going strong. I went out during our local visit from Tropical Storm Harvey, and even with the reduced sunlight, it was running! Then last night, at 11:30, after a nice sunny day, I went out to pick up some tools I left outside, and discovered the pump was STILL going strong and the little light was making the whole pond glow. I'll be putting in another pond and have now ordered a second pump, but unfortunately it will take a while to get here.Update, June 2018: I have both pumps going this summer in my little urn for butterflies and bees. I hooked up everything, turned on the pumps (of course, nothing happened because it needs a mo'), came back half an hour later, and everything was running. The water level got too low at one point, and it was several hours before I noticed, but I added water, turned the affected pump off and back on, and it started working in a couple of minutes. I can't say how pleased I am. If it's been a sunny day, they are running well into the night with the little led lights showing ripples and rocks. Very nice set.

Came with an exposed wire where the lights should have been.

First off - I have to say I really do Love this! I had one of those cheap solar fountains with no battery backup and had to be in direct sunlight for it to work. I loved having moving water in my courtyard... but was disappointed with the other cheap one because it would only run for a few hours a day. That cheap one kicked the bucket less than a year of having it. So I did some research this time and found this amazing Lewis Battery Backup Solar Fountain Pump! It makes me smile every time I walk outside! I love the battery backup! I have friends over at night and now I can have my cute water feature splashing a little water in the background. PLUS I LOVE the little lights it has! My birdbath is painted blue inside and it is so pretty lit up from the inside! I have one thing that I wish they would have a feature to automatically stop the fountain if it runs out of water. Luckily, I was at home when it happened, but high winds blew all the water out while it was working (the sprinkles from the fountain were being blown outside of the bird bath) and I heard a really annoying sound. It was the fountain still pumping without water. Again, lucky I was home to fill it with water. Even so, I really do love, love, love this fountain! :) It was definitely worth the money. I like the long cord it comes with for the solar panel. My courtyard has a big tree that shades the area after half a day but I am able to place the panel in a good spot to get more sun! I love this battery backup fountain... probably even more now since I am coming from owning the other cheap kind that always left me disappointed! :)

The media could not be loaded. I originally started with Lewisia 1.5W Outdoor Solar Fountain Pump Waterfall Decorative Submersible Kit. It was not a good option at all-- only ran in direct sun, the slightest shadow or cloud would cause it to shut off instantly, and it died after a week.I decided to try this one with the battery backup, and it is much, much more reliable for my needs (in a DIY birdbath/fountain). It will run in overcast/nighttime conditions-- but ONLY if the battery still has juice left.Mine will run after a mostly sunny day until approximately 2am before running out of juice, which is maybe a little long, but not a problem, it's nice for when we're sitting on the deck after a late evening.The problem, though, is that since it ran out at ~2am, it doesn't start back up until at least 9am generally (and that's if it's sunny-- if it's a cloudy/stormy morning/afternoon, it may not charge at all, and then won't run in the evening or night at all).I wish this had a timer, or more battery power. My ideal situation would have it run from ~5am (when the birds are getting up and tend to flock to my bird bath) to ~1am. (or, 24 hours would be just fine too). This is an option for people with electric plugs outdoors, but my apartment does not have them, so solar or battery power is my only option.The only other thing I can think to mention is that this pump is significantly taller than the other. I ended up having to swap out my bird bath plate (an ~18" terra cotta saucer) to a Bloem SDC24-42 Dura Cotta Plant Saucer, 22-Inch, Living Green, which has higher side walls to keep the pump submerged enough to run steadily. I'd personally suggest something at least 3" deep for it, but if this is for a bird bath, this is likely too deep for your birds so you will need to fill the basin halfway or more with rocks/stones so they do not drown (especially small birds like hummingbirds), and maybe even more rocks/pebbles if you want to make sure you don't end up drowning our friends the bees, which will often visit for drinks.The LED is a nice touch that I didn't think I'd care much about, but it's quite pretty when it catches the streams of water cascading down at night.All in all, this is a solid pump, but could be improved.Edit: still working a year later after storing away in the winter. Removing the fountain from its larger housing worked perfectly. Would buy again.