Wow! This fountain pump works immediately in the sunshine - no need to charge the battery! The pump started working the minute I took it outside! Placed it in my shallow bird bath that was partially shaded and the water shot up about 4-6 inches. It does float around the bird bath, which I thought would be fine. However, once the sun hit the pump, the water started shooting up over 12 inches! It floated to the edge of the bird bath and shot water onto the ground. Eventually, the floating pump became stuck on the side of the bath from the water evaporating and/or shooting up and out of the bird bath. I ended up with no water left! The instructions recommend using rocks to wedge the pump to keep it from floating around. I tried that next and it seemed to work well. However, I may need to relocate the bath to an area that gets less direct sun. My other option might be to use it in a deeper vessel as a fountain.

This little thing is fantastic! We used it to create a small water feature for our patio with a wide, shallow planter. At first, we suctioned it to a bowl, positioned under the water, and it worked fine. But I wanted to see how it would do floating freely and found that the water sprays up much nicer. I'd guess because the solar panel recieves better sunlight when it floats on top. The bowl we are using is wide enough to keep the water from shooting outside of it so no complaints there. But we experimented a little with a taller, more narrow container and it sprayed out. So I definitely see why there is so much discussion about that. My suggestion is to use the extra suction with the string to anchor it down under the water. That seemed to be the difference for us in how high the water sprayed! I hope that helps! We thoroughly enjoy this! So many options to make an easy to handle, very pretty water feature for little cost!

Company is absolutely GREAT to work w/ when I had a problem w/ the solar fountain I first was shipped. When trouble shoooting didn't work, I contacted the company and they shipped me out another one as an exchange for the first one that I couldn't get to work. The only little concern I have about it is that the water sprays out from my bird bath when the wind blows so had to keep refilling the bird bath numerous times/day. No matter what spray attachent I used, both w/ or without the neck piece, caused the fountain spray to be a bit too high if the wind was blowing. Tried it even without any attachments and same thing happened. Finally took off all the pieces and just let it function as a bubbler instead. Would have preferred to see a pretty spraying effect since that is the whole purpose of a fountain. However, this way no water is being wasted and the bubbler effect still causes the water to move to help attract birds to it and to deter mosquitos..

Love this addition to my bird bath. I know it says it will only work in direct sunlight and not any shade, but my little gadget works even in shade if it's a sunny day. Of course, the highest stream of water is in direct sunlight. I waited a week to write this review to make sure I didn't get a malfunction, but it's still going strong. I do have some tips if you're interested. The suction cups won't stick to the bottom of a smooth birdbath, not even the big one they supplied held the gadget in place. So I got 3 small rocks out of my garden to weigh it down and it works perfectly and gives the feel of a little pond birdbath . Just make sure not to put the rocks directly on top because it blocks the solar panels from sun and it won't work at all, just tilt the rocks up against the sides of the gadget. The birds took a minute to get used to the water shooting up but now they're drinking like champions Pics attached of the water flow and the rocks inside.

I am very pleased with this product. So pleased, in fact, that I ordered another one. And then a third. I am thinking of buying still another one. Why? They are inexpensive, easy to use, and work well. I am experienced with solar fountains and pumps, so I knew what to do: if this is your first solar product, I recommend you read the instructions carefully. They are very clear. I put the solar pump in a bird bath and birds were immediately attracted to the fountain spray. So, I am very pleased with this purchase. Here is one warning, and it is not about the product but about the nature of all fountains: when the water sprays up, sometimes (especially on a windy day) the water will spray out of the bird bath and leave the pump running dry. Then, it will break. I recommend just using the cup without a cover with holes on it (all of these are included in the purchase) to just make a bubbler if you are not at home to make sure the fountain does not run dry.

Works great floating or submerged. I prefer it underwater because, as others have noted, the spray can get really high especially on a really sunny day and shoots out of the birdbath. It emptied my birdbath in a matter of minutes, lol. So, I removed the floating foam ring and stuck the pump to the bottom of the birdbath (there are suction cups on the bottom of the pump). It also comes with a larger suction cup and fishing line so you can use that as well or use it to tether the pump in place if it's floating. The whole unit including solar panel is completely submerged, and I believe this is what controls the height of the water spray as well. The water over the solar panel blocks the sun just enough so that the pump isn't running on full power. The spray more of a bubbling action with the short nozzle attachment (the one that's on the pump when you get it). With some of the other nozzle attachments, you can still get an awesome spray that stays IN the birdbath :D

This is wonderful! Took it out of the box, put it in the bird bath, and it immediately started to spray (in fact, it started to work the second I walked outside into the sunlight, before I got it in the water). Note that it only works while in the direct sun--it doesn't store power--no sun, no spray. Also, it comes with several different spray heads but no explanation of which one provides which pattern or height--you just have to try them out and choose the best one for the setting. Our bird bath isn't very wide, so we use it without any of the spray attachments and we get a nice, low, steady bubbling effect (about 2" high). Finally, you need to make sure it's always submerged--the instructions warn that it could burn out if it isn't submerged. That said, we just love it. It comes with a one-year guarantee that we will hopefully not need; but we like it so much, I'd buy a new one each summer if necessary.

Step 1 said, "Please just put the main unit in the water..." so I did, even though the sticker on the unit said to remove the plastic film first. I was very impressed with the fountain, which started up right away but was too high for such a small bird bath (water was spraying out over the edge), so I took the unit out into the shade and read the rest of the directions. Step 2 said, "If the water shoots up too high, you can remove the cap..." so I did. I also removed the plastic film per the sticker. Without the cap, the unit produced just the right amount of movement. The birds started bathing as soon as I left the yard. Nice to watch them through the kitchen window. They hadn't shown any interest in that bath before the fountain, and now that the sun has left that part of the yard, the pump is resting and the birds are somewhere else.

I've recently dabbled with a few solar powered products and wanted something that would move the water in a birdbath to reduce or eliminate mosquito activity. I received this pump when the summer sun was still high in the sky most of the day. This fountain worked very well when it was in direct, overhead sunlight. If a thin cloud interrupted the sunlight, the fountain's activity would diminish in relation to how much sunlight was available. Now that we are in the Fall months and the angle of the sun is not so much directly overhead, the fountain effect is not quite as strong. I am not disappointed in the product. It does what it can do depending on what sunlight is available. It did seem to help in keeping the birdbath from being a mosquito breeding playground. Note: Make sure you keep ample water in whatever container is used with the pump.

Got this for the mother-in-law. Left it as a surprise in her bird bath. It started out with very little sunlight and produced a pulsating fountain about 3-4" high. ONce the sun got overhead it really started streaming a steady fountain that was way too much for the little bird bath, shooting alot of the water over the edge! Very powerful. You get a variety of nozzles to try out so I think we can settle for one that has more streams but less height for the spray. Another option is to slightly cover some of the solar panels with a plastic leaf or something to limit how powerful it can get. Otherwise, you are gonna need a bigger bird bath, lol. Nice feature is that it floats, so it will adjust with the water level and keep on working. Great value and it works very very well.