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solar powered water fountains
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Posted by dogs_dolls z5MO (My Page) on Wed, Mar 16, 05 at 22:24
| Just got a catalog in the mail with several versions of solar powered water fountains. The solar panel comes with a 15' power cord to operate the fountain. Gives you some room to place the fountain nicely. Anyone have any experience with these?? Price seems to be $80 to $100. I would love to have a fountain that did not require a plug in! The catalog is Alsto's.....www.alsto.com |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| I have seen these also. And wondered how well they work. I would love to have one that doesn't require power as I have no power supply near my gardens. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| I asked the same question last summer. Didn't want a fountain that required being plugged in. A few people replied, and the consensus seemed to be that solar powered fountains will work on a sunny day. Iffy on cloudy days. Also, they're not as powerful as regular plug-in fountains. I opted to make my own regular electric fountain. Would still love a solar one though. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| well since I did not rec. anything really negative (can you tell I really want this fountain??) I am going to order one! I am sure I can live with less powerful and not working on cloudy days, since I have nothing now that does anything! hah. I will let everyone know how it works. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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- Posted by jkom51 Z9 CA/Sunset 17 (My Page) on
Fri, Mar 18, 05 at 14:16
| We have one. Here's the thing -- it not only does not work on cloudy days, it will STOP working the moment a cloud passes over the sun, or the sun moves out of direct alignment with the panel. It takes full direct sun to keep the water pumping. When it's working it works very well, but you have to keep turning the solar panel to follow the sun. A better bet is the solar pump with built-in battery from Silicon Solar. So far it's the only one I've been able to find that is reasonably priced. You'll have to supply your own fountain, though. The plastic pumps themselves are very simple and easy to replace if they break. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Day and night solar pump
RE: solar powered water fountains
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I agree with faltered and jkom
I asked several landscaping experts in my area about these last summer. They all advised against them unless you live in a very sunny and cloudless area or would be satisfied with it working occasionally. Most of the garden centers here in western NY won't even fool with stocking them. The one that jkom mentioned sounds like a good solution. Penny |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| I bought one last year, and attached the solar panel to the top of my pergola. We were able to maximize the time that it runs by placing the panel at an angle. We tried various positions until we found the best one. You all are correct that it stops when the sun is not out - - but we have an abundance of sunshine during our summers. And I love my little fountain. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| I love ours. We purchased the copper one last year and it's been great. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| Here is a link for a solar lily pad which is pretty cool, because the panel is built right in, no wiring is required. I just placed it in the water and I have an 18 inch high fountain that uses no electric. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Bird Watcher
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| very nice, squirelly! i would like one for bird bath. do you think any are small enough for that? |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| I purchase a solar fountain from Silicon Solar (www.siliconsolar.com) They really have a huge selection of great products. I know a lot of problems with solar fountains is they don't work when there is shade or blocking of the solar panel, solved. The first thing I did was ask the sales rep what could be done for this, they shipped me a battery backup solar fountain! Awesome, try it out! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Silicon Solar - Battery Bckup Fountain
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| Thanks for that link, apf. I am really interested in this battery backup solar fountain. It would save me money compared to having electrical work done and I would rather not have the line buried someplace where it will surely be in the way someday. Please, do tell more particulars ... How long have you had yours? Have you noticed any deterioration of the battery storage capability yet? How loud is the pump? Does the battery have enough juice to run all night? Thanks in advance. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| apf24, did you actually speak with a live human being at Silicon Solar? I ordered the 9 volt "Day and Night Solar Pump", but received the cheesy 6 volt solar pump kit you can get for 30-some dollars on Ebay. And Silicon Solar's "state of the art" solar spot light is the Malibu brand light that's sold at Home Depot. When I call I get a recording suggesting that I enter the "Silicon Solar Online Chat". Well, no one's there. Right now I'm pretty upset with Silicon Solar. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| Solar fountains are great. I have used one for several years in a small pond and it provides the sound of water and helps keep the water clear. I would advise, though, being careful with Silicon Solar. I recently ordered the fountain with the battery to run when the sun's not shining (it sounded great) and it arrived with pieces missing and didn't work. I really got the run-around from customer "service" when I wanted to return it--the worst I've ever experienced. This is probably a good product, just be careful with this company. I would be interested to know if anyone has found a similar fountain elsewhere. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| I also found reason to be wary of Silicon Solar. No one was ever in their Online chat room, no one ever answered the phone, and no one ever responded to the email I sent. I wondered if they were still in business and decided that even if they were, I needed more faith in them before I bought anything. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| I bought one of these several years ago, and it has been a mixed bag. On the one hand, I really love the way it looks and the sound it makes on our deck. On the other hand, it has been somewhat fragile. I have broken or cracked two of the bowls (although I was sent free replacements), and we have found the solar panel somewhat fragile. After havuing it for a while, I decided I'd rather have it plug in, so it would work in the shade or twilight. That works better for me, and now I plug it in in the morning and unplug it after dark. This year, though, when I set it up, the pump wouldn't work and I think it needs to be cleaned, but I don't know how. I'm waiting for my father to come over to look at it and hopefully show me how to do it. It might seem like this is a lot of bother, but even with all the annoyances, I'd still buy it again, and it's so annoying partly because I like it so much that I hate to be without it. I surround it with potted plants, and it's just a lovely thing. |
RE: solar powered water fountains
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| You might go over to the Pond Forum. A few weeks ago I read a thread about the solar pumps and seems like they had a lot different sites and pumps listed there as well. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Pond forum
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