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Customer Reviews:- Was super noisy, but switched out pump and now I love it
Update: We switched out the pump that came with the unit, and now it works wonderfully, quiet, and is super awesome. FYI the pumps for the large and small units are the same - lucky for us. I now love not having to fill the resevoir every other day. You only have to fill it like once a week at our house. Keep in mind if you switch the flow to a higher flow, because of evaporation you'll have to refill it more often. I'd like to change the stars I gave for this product to 4 stars from the 1 I originally left, but for some reason it won't let me. As for cleaning, I've not found it to be a problem (haven't needed to yet) but I am planning on getting a little handled fish net from the pet store to just whisk out the hair etc. that looks like it's starting to float around in there.
Here's my original review....
I already own the small version of the Petmate fountain, and it's worked great for 5 yrs. We opted for this jumbo version so we wouldn't have to fill the resevoir so often. The small one needed a refill every 1-2 days.
The small fountain never made any noise, except for when the water level got too low, and we were very satisfied with it and so was our cat, who loved it!
But this jumbo fountain is ridiculous! I'm very annoyed and I've owned it about 12 hours. When I first plugged it in, it made it's usual startup noise, then got quiet and all was well. But within a few minutes, it started making a VERY LOUD vibrating noise. It's the noise-level equivalent of setting your cell phone on a table when it's vibrating, maybe even louder. You can hear it from every room in the house. I followed the setup instructions, and also the troubleshooting instructions. It's definitely the pump making all the racket, because when I reach in and press on the water flow lever (which is attached to the pump) it quiets down a little. So I'm hoping my husband will be able to McGuyver it, maybe rig it somehow, but if not, it's going to have to go back. I'll update my rating if he is able to shut it up....more info - kitty fountain
My cat and kitten love the fountain, and drink more water than they would from their bowls. The water in the reservoir lasts about 3 days. The only issue I have at all is that the fountain is a little noisy. You would not want it in your TV room. I am glad to have this product, and would buy it again....more info - Best Pet Fountain Ever!
I bought this because my last Petmate Fountain lasted over 3 years and my cats loved it. My cat used to wake me up to turn on the faucet because he liked drinking dripping water so I bought the Fountain and it was great. ...more info - Keeps cats from spilling water
This item keeps my cats from spilling their water but it is hard to keep clean, runs out of water rather quickly, and tends to be quite noisy when it is low on water and even sometimes when it isn't. It does do what I wanted it to, though, and it was not a bad price with free shipping....more info - Almost perfect
This is the medium sized fountain. It's great for our 3 cats. There is a certain amount of intermittent motor noise, but that would be my only complaint. ...more info - Cheap pump makes this a bad purchase
I purchased two of these fountains. One for myself and one as a gift. Out of the two, one of the pumps was dead on arrival. The one that did work began to get very loud over time.
From a general functionality standpoint it worked well. If you have a cat that likes to drink out of a running faucet, bath tub, etc., they may not necessarily like this. As seen in the picture, the water flows down a slide to the bowl. Some cats won't like this as compared to an actual stream of water offered by some other fountains.
For any fountain, I would recommend something like a motion sensor plug to turn the fountain on only when the cat or people are nearby. I haven't personally tried this so I can't speak to how well it works, but this is the idea I have in mind:
SENSOR PLUG
Overall I can't say that I recommend this fountain. The construction is very good other than the pump.
(Also note that it was going to cost me more to ship the broken unit back to CA for repair than it was worth so I essentially lost my money on this purchase)...more info - Works Well -- Has to be cleaned a lot!
My mom and I both have one of these and we both agree; they are nice to have and the cats certainly like them, but they are a pain to clean! Mine is 3 years old and the pump has never burnt out, mostly because I'm careful about keeping the water level up, but I have also spent some time cleaning out the pump with dish soap and a tooth brush. I actually bought a special brush (like a small bottle cleaner) to clean the rest of the fountain - so it's not exactly low maintenance. Also, the filters only last about a month, not 3 months like the package says. Think about getting a bigger fountain if you have more than two cats or a dog, because they could drain the water level rather quickly....more info - Mixed Feelings
I bought this for my two small min pins. They were totally freaked out by it at first but after an hour of staring at it they loved it. They drank so much more water compared to a simple bowl. However after a while it got so time consuming to clean and the slime build up was gross. It started to grow a variety of colorful slime. I think the pink slime it grow is what really freaked me out...GROSS...There were too many tight spots to get into. I ended up having to clean it everyother day. I had it for about 3-4 months before the motor died. It also didnt hold that much water. Im currently searching for a new one....more info - Reservoir hold only 50 ounces, not 216 ounces
I ordered the Jumbo size, which states "capacity of 216 ounce reservoir." I was therefore not happy when I received it to find that the water reservoir actually holds only 50 ounces. Even counting the water in the bowl, it only holds a total of 124 ounces. I have no idea how they're claiming this holds 216 ounces! The water capacity simply wasn't big enough to keep me from having to check it constantly to avoid the pump running dry....more info - Sometimes what seems like a great idea isn't
I bought this from a pet store because I thought constant fresh water was a great idea. But it isn't really fresh water it's water being recycled through a charcoal filter. Like anything with standing water it must be cleaned. After struggling with this product for a year I finally gave up and went back to putting fresh water in a bowl twice a day for the cat - and that is much easier. Not to mention the cat didn't seem to care one way or the other. Save your money and buy more catnip - something the cat WILL care about! ...more info - The Drinkwell Platinum is much better and cleaner product
We previously we had this model (the Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow) for about 2 years. The motor ran well and it never broke, so I gave it 2 stars. But it is an older outdated model and our pet store stopped carrying the filters. So I decided to upgrade to a newer product, the Drinkwell Platinum fountain.Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
I would definitely recommend the Drinkwell and NOT this product. The new Drinkwell has been wonderful because I've definitely seen all three of my cats drinking MUCH more water in the last two weeks than with the Petmate fountain. I can promise you I've found the proof in the litter boxes.
The Drinkwell's water stream is much stronger and circulates the water better than the Petmate. It gives the water the power to move most of the debris toward the little trap. That keeps the water bowl so much cleaner; where as with the Petmate, the debris would circulate until it either sank to the bottom or stuck to the bowl walls. In addition, the Drinkwell's filter is designed SO much better (6 divided coal sections). The coal in the Petmate's filter would just clump at the bottom (i believe it has 2 divided sections).
The Drinkwell also holds a lot more water. Both products are dishwasher safe, so regular washing is easy for either. However, I can say the old Petmate has many tiny corners which made it a pain when it came to scrubbing off the mineral deposit build up (but my guess is the new one will be too).
I would recommend paying the extra $20 and going for the Drinkwell Platinum and staying away from this old model....more info - petmate deluxe fresh flow
I really like this product. I find that my cat drinks more, which is great.
I am having a problem with the flow lever. It turns so HARD that the tab broke off the first time I used it. Now I can not finger turn it. My daughter has the same unit and her flow lever turns with ease.
...more info - pet water dish
Great product at half the retail price. Cats love it. Just do not over fill. fill the reservoir only. I topped off the dish by adding water to the outside and overfilled..resulting in a wet floor. Works great if you don't overfill. ...more info - works great
Works wonderfully! We have two young kittens who are getting used to it, and I was worried that it would rattle like the one I had gotten for our previous cats who'd passed away earlier this year, but it is great! The kittens have no fears of it and it is silent and without problems. Easy to assemble and minimal maintenance. ...more info - Fresh Flow Cat Fountain
This is a great product, received very fast on normal shipping, going to buy another one for my other Cat right now THANKS, Wil...more info - Love Fresh Flow Fountains But..............
I have 3 cats who refuse to drink water from a regular bowl. The 1st fountain I purchased for them was a Fresh Flow and they loved it. I wanted a 2nd fountain and since they also like drinking water from a running tap, I thought I would try the Drinkwell, which has a larger water capacity. They definitely prefer the Fresh Flow. When my Fresh Flow began to make noise after 1 1/2 yrs, I purchased this new Fresh Flow Fountain in the larger size. Although it is silent when you 1st turn it on, after a short while, it begins to make a very annoying noise. I think this particular fountain must be defective, because I have since bought another Fresh Flow (but again in the smaller size) and it is totally silent. My cats definitely like the Fresh Flow almost to the exclusion of the Drinkwell, but this large size one is just too noisy to use....more info - Great Product
This fountain is a great idea. I have 2 of them. The cats took a little time to get used to them, but now therre is no problem. The fountain will let you know when it needs more water,as it will wheeze and chug very loudly.It also does this when full,but a slap usually stops the noise(this is the only complaint). The cats drink a lot more water with these fountains. Great for multiple pet homes!...more info - 1 kitty likes the other won't go near it!
I purchased this product for my 17 year old cat, Shadow, whom is experiencing kidney irregularities on the advice of our vet. Shadow will not go near this thing. My guess is that it is too loud for her. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and this machine is too loud for my small place. If I had a larger living area it probably wouldn't bother me. The reason that I rated this product on the high end is that my other cat, Sandy, whom is 11 years old loves it. Sandy no longer plows me down to get in the shower to drink the water when I am done. I have not noticed an increase in my electric bill and I have had it plugged in for about 1 & 1/2 months now. Shipping was fast and the price was great. So, in conclusion.....to each their own....more info - The cats love it!
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2B8ZXD575MRIP I have two cats & two dogs: Snappea, as seen in the video, used to prefer drinking out from faucets, and Sweetpea, she's not drinking enough water and prefer to dip her paw in the doggies' water bowl.
It has been running for a month now, cleaned once and so far so good. Snappea has stopped hogging faucets and Sweetpea is slowly getting used to it....more info - great purchase
I read all the reviews and was not sure to purchase the petmate deluxe
fresh flow pet fountain size jumbo. It was on sale so I decided to try
it. Easy to put together doesn't make any noise unless the water is low.
Cats like it. I don't have to keep filling a water bowl every day, once
a week I clean it out and put water into it. would recomend it.
...more info - Highly disappointed with this fountain.
I wanted a fountain which actually had running water for the cats. This fountain was so bad that I even propped it up at an angle trying to get the flow to be noticeable. My pump died as well within a year.
The stream of water was so slow that mold (that yucky orange stuff) coated the ramp where the water "flowed".
Sadly I will be looking for a new fountain....more info - My caats love it
My cats love this fountain and are finally drinking enough water. It's very quiet. I can't hear it at all (except for when the water runs low--then it's a little louder). It doesn't splash at all. I have two cats, and I probably could have used a slightly larger version--they're drinking much more water than they used to, so I have to refill it every day or two.
I highly recommend it!!!...more info - Try the Drinkwell Platinum instead!
I have ordered the (blue) Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain 3 times in 4 years, but I have finally decided to stop ordering this one and try a different fountain. The first one lasted quite a while before it started to have problems. It started to leak a lot of water all over the floor. I read in one of the reviews that the cause of the problem was the filters. So, I took the filter out and sure enough, it solved the problem (but after having such a huge leak, I've always kept the fountain on a cookie tray to keep the water on the tray). But then the pump started to make loud noises (even though I cleaned the fountain weekly and kept it full of water). So, I ordered a second one since they aren't that expensive. The 2nd one leaked water right away, so again, I took the filter out, but after a while, it was leaking even with the filter out. So I ordered a 3rd one and this one only lasted 4 months until the pump totally broke somehow (the water would not go down the ramp at all). I also could never use the filter because of the water leaking. So, I finally ordered a more expensive fountain, The Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain, and I LOVE it and my cats love it (my review is on the Drinkwell page). Wish I would have bought this one the first time! ...more info - Does what we need it for but is a pain to clean
We got this to encourage our 12 year old cat to drink. He no longer was inspired to drink out of a dish and had taken to licking faucets and off the bathtub floor. He became dehydrated so we were instructed by our vet to hydrate the cat intravenous with a saline drip every evening. The cat didn't like this at all and started to hide from us so we purchased this fountain. As soon as it was on he ran over and drank for ten minutes. Problem was solved immediately.
We picked this one because our experience with the cat drinking from the faucet told us that he would spread water all over the place if the water was in a free fall. This fountain has the water run down a ramp. He drinks from the top of the ramp and ignores the water in the tray. Our other cat will not drink from it.
Since it helped our cat avoid a health crisis, we are happy with it but there are a few problems we would like to pass along. First of all it has to cleaned at least twice a week, either from dirt that falls it or the pump gets clogged with cat fur. The design makes cleaning more difficult than it should be as there are lots of nooks inside the fountain that accumulate dirt and slime. The biggest problem for us is that it's a roach magnet. The same nooks in the dry part of the fountain (including the underside) are a great place for baby roaches to congregate and hide. This could be designed to eliminate the hiding places....more info - fabulous product
I LOVE...LOVE....LOVE this fountain. My only regret is that I didn't get the jumbo size. My dogs love it and drink a lot more water. Very quiet when running. This is a great product. I'm thinking of buying the jumbo one and giving this medium one to my mom for her dog....more info - absolutely silent operation
I have to be honest here. I just got this water fountain yesterday, but my first impressions are very favorable. It was a breeze to put together. That maybe because I had another pet fountain, and although it was a completely different make and design, it was based on the same idea. The instructions however were quite simple to follow. I do feel I need to point out something that i discovered accidently. After I had put the unit together, as instructed, filled it with water and turned it on. I was initially disappointed because it was making a rather annoying gurgling noise. However, when I disassembled and reassembled the parts around the water pump I discovered that one of the top parts that fits onto the water pumps outlet nozzle just hadn't quite set right, but when it WAS in place correctly the noise disappeared, and I mean DISAPPEARED! This thing is asolutely dead "turnded off" silent when it's running. like I said at the beginning of this review, this unit is brand new to me, so only time and proper maintenance will determine it' true worth, but for now I think it's great. ...more info - Reservoir hold only 50 ounces, not 216 ounces
I ordered the Jumbo size, which states "capacity of 216 ounce reservoir." I was therefore not happy when I received it to find that the water reservoir actually holds only 50 ounces. Even counting the water in the bowl, it only holds a total of 124 ounces. I have no idea how they're claiming this holds 216 ounces! The water capacity simply wasn't big enough to keep me from having to check it constantly to avoid the pump running dry....more info - Great Pet Water System
Petmate Deluxe Fresh Flow Pet Fountain Medium, Bleached Linen
This is a great watering system for pets. It encourages your pet to drink more water. We replace the water once per week with bought drinking water. Our tap water is extremely hard and would eventually damage the pump, which happened to our first Petmate Fountain. The constant hum of the pump can be a bit bothersome, but once the radio is playing music the hum is less audible. All in all we are very satisfied with the product. ...more info - Pet Mate Fresh Flow Fountain ( a must have for my cats)
My cats love this fountain. They can't wait for the water to flow down. They lick it right as it flows into the bowl. This is the second one for me. Suggestion...take it apart about once a month to make sure the motor is free of any particles or cat fur. It saves on the motor....more info - Good for nothing!!
This was great for a month.Then the pump gears started to grind.It continued to work but it was extremly loud....more info - Good water bowl for multiple pets
This is a good product if you have multiple pets. We had the smaller one (next size down) and it ran out very often with our 2 small-breed dogs and 2 cats. THis bowl only needs to be refilled about every other day, even with all 4 of them drinking from it, so it's a much better solution. Now if I could only keep the toddler from trying to use it as a pool......more info - My Cats Love It
I've had this fountain for over 2 years now and my cats still love it. So if they were writing this I'm sure they would give this 5 Stars, however since I'm the one that has to clean it and buy the filters I give it 4.
Cleaning: This thing is a pain to clean. I even put it in a separate room away from their food so they would stop dropping their food in the bowl. But because paws still like to go in the water it still needs cleaned once a week and I dreaded doing it. If purchasing I would invest in some pipe cleaners because there are some hard-to-reach places - including the reservoir.
Filters: For 2 cats a filter would last about a month, if I rinsed it when I cleaned the fountain. And when the filter becomes dirty all the carbon chunks sink to the bottom of the filter impeding on the water flow making it weak. I wasn't impressed with filter ability as I expected it to actually filter. Filters run about $6.99 for a two pack.
This sounds like less than a 4 star review but after 2 years of buying filters and cleaning the fountain every week a lightbulb finally went off in my head.
I ran out of filters and couldn't get to the store for a few days so I just cleaned and refilled the fountain without the filter. Genius! The water flow stayed strong and since the flow was circulating faster and stronger it keeps the fountain cleaner longer. And since I got rid of the filters I've been having to fill the reservoir more probably because my cats drink from it more due to the stronger current.
So I would recommend this fountain to my friends and tell them to eliminate the filters but still keep an eye on the fountain for cleanliness. ...more info - not what was pictured!
when i ordered this product, it was listed as white and was a slightly different model. the product was that was delivered was simply not what was pictured or described. that having been said, the bigger problem was that the thing arrived with broken parts. suffice it to say, not a good purchasing experience!...more info - Not overly pleased
Had our Petmate for just over a year. I just tonight threw it in the garbage. When we first got it, it took my 2 cats over a month before they would go near it. They seemed to like it okay after that. About a month ago I found it had been leaking a little. I took it apart, cleaned it and it appeared to be okay. I never did figure out why it was leaking or from where. Tonight after being gone all day, I came home to find a big puddle of water on the floor. Again I can't see why it's leaking or where it's coming from. I had it setting next to the microwave stand which now has water damage around the bottom. Leason learned. I guess the cats will just have to get used to the old fashoned bowl of water again....more info - works great...
What can I say, my cat loves it. The only problem was the motor for the pump was very loud. I called Petmate and they sent me a new motor (seems like they knew about the problem) and it was quite as a mouse. Since Petmate was quick to fix the problem, I'll be sure to buy from them again. ...more info - Highly disappointed with this fountain.
I wanted a fountain which actually had running water for the cats. This fountain was so bad that I even propped it up at an angle trying to get the flow to be noticeable. My pump died as well within a year.
The stream of water was so slow that mold (that yucky orange stuff) coated the ramp where the water "flowed".
Sadly I will be looking for a new fountain....more info - Cat water dish
The pet smart water dish was noisy when it arrived and the manufacture was prompt in replacing the motor. Works well, Rusty seems to like it. Would purchase it again. Useful as you only need to add water about every other day. After a couple of weeks took it apart, which is easy and ran it through the dish washer. Bill...more info - Cats Love It
My kittens love this product. Although sometimes they use it as a foot bath. They love to put their paws under the flow and I have to clean litter off the bottom of the dish. The pump is very quiet. The only drawback is the filter location. My kittens can get their paws in the hole and have shredded the filter a little bit....more info - Requires daily fiddling, but cats love it!
I bought a Drinkwell fountain for my 3 cats because they would rather drink from the toilet then a fresh bowl of water. They absolutely love it! I've never seen my cats drink so much water! Because of the traffic this little machine sees, I have to give it two reservoirs full of replacement water every day, otherwise it makes decently audible sucking noises. Another downside... you DO have to take it apart to clean now and again, not just as a health precaution, but because the fountain gets dirty every couple days with food bits, fur, etc. Even placing it away from the food only buys a couple extra days of clean water.
I don't mind the maintence of the Drinkwell... You have to put it together when you buy it, so you are already familiar with how to take it apart so as to clean it. Replacement filters can be found at your local Petsmart.
I love and recommend this little gizmo for anyone with health concerns, picky drinkers, or animals who suck down water like a sponge!...more info - My cats use it all the time
My vet suggested I get one of these fountains after my cat had a urinary blockage. She said it would encourage him to drink more water. My cats love it. I have 6 cats and they all use it. I have now bought 3 of them to put in different places in the house. I have never had a problem with the pump, but I do clean mine out every couple of weeks since I have so many cats. ...more info
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