Comments on: Article on Wall Fountains

By: Artibee

Artibee — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:19:42 +0000

I must admit I was wary when I ordered this; The price seemed too low and I wondered how sturdy it might really be. And then it arrived. Apparently the weight problems mentioned by other reviewers have been resolved as the shipping charges seemed appropriate. I was concerned that the large box had been substantially smashed in on two sides but, when removed, the fountain was in good shape. Initially I was perplexed by the instructions which for a pedestal and bowl fountain but it took only a bit of thought to conquer the problem. (Rather than try to mount the circulating pump through the hole in the back, one brings the hose through the front and lays the pump in the basin of the fountain.) To test it I hung it in my kitchen and allowed it to run for several hours as much to clean it as to verify that the mechanics all worked. Next test was to mount it on the side of the garage that forms part of the walls for my front garden. The only problem here was that there was no adjacent electrical outlet but it was an easy task to drill a hole through the wall and access an outlet in the garage. This is a West facing wall and can heat up to above 120 so I wondered how the resin might survive. Happily, after noon, the sun puts that area in shade and I’ve had no problems. Aesthetically it makes an attractive focal point for what was a dull area. I’m considering using a dry brush and some of the paint the colour of the garage to highlight the piece. If I have one modes complaint it’s that the water tends to run out rather than shoot out the lions mouth but, lacking that, it produced a pleasant water feature noise that accentuates what is really an entrance to my home. Several guests have commented on it and I’m well pleased. Given the price and ease of installation and final effect, this is a great addition as well as a great buy.One further suggestion. If you live in an area prone to high heat you will need to replenish the water supply at least daily. Also, when filling it the first time do NOT attempt to fill the basin completely. There’s a opening in the rear that keeps the water from overflowing from the front.

By: Crayton

Crayton — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 02:03:09 +0000

Despite the other review I took a chance hoping that the shipping problem was corrected. As of today, it has not. Mine came with a large crack on the side of the bowl. I don't know if the pump worked as I never even tried it.

Of course, Amazon has been great so far on the return. I just had to box it up and leave it on my front door. UPS picked it up next day.

Item looks exactly as it does in the picture, meaning you can tell it's plastic-y. OK value for money, if it came intact.

By: Lamance

Lamance — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:45:29 +0000

This idea behind this fountain is good, but the execution and packaging are very poor. The fountain is molded from a large, thin, continuous piece of plastic resin. The bowl below is much more massive than the rest of it.

Either in manufacturing, packaging, or shipping, any significant force on the plastic will cause many large cracks to develop at the junction points between the bowl and the flat part containing the lion's face. All 3 of these I have now received have been damaged in this way, two of them so severely that you could flex them and they were not solid and they leaked. The third one was also damaged, but I decided to try repairing it with Silicone glue, so I kept it.

I have two more of these coming and I fear that they will also need to be returned due to breakage.

Another issue of concern is that in their attempts to hide the power cord for the pump, they run it out through the back of the bowl through a flexible piece of plastic. Most probably this will mean that when the pump dies (and outdoor pumps die after 2 or 3 seasons, at least mine have) it will be impossible to replace the pump with another one except if you are willing to cut the cord on the old one (to maintain the seal in the back of the bowl) and to put a new pump in with the cord running outside of the bowl. Or, you will just decide to toss the whole thing in the trash at that point rather than replace the pump.

ADDENDUM: The other two fountains I ordered have now arrived and they were in acceptable condition, a few small cracks but nothing serious. This is in spite of the fact that one of the two boxes delivered today had significant external damage. I haven't been able to correlate the external shipping box condition with the likelihood of damage to the contents. This means that 3/5 fountains I had shipped to me were damaged, and probably all 3 would have been returned by most customers as I doubt there are very many other customers out there who would have bothered to repair the one fountain I repaired, with silicone glue.

FINAL ADDENDUM: Call me a glutton for punishment, but what I wanted was to replace two old rusting iron wall fountains with these plastic ones, plus add a 3rd, plus have a spare. As a result, I ordered two more of these expecting to get maybe one of them intact to complete the foursome I wanted. These two arrived today with the bodies of the fountains intact. One of them however had the pump in pieces, presumably from trauma to the box on the way from China to Amazon, then to my door. I put the pump back together (most people would probably just have sent the thing back) and it did work, so I'll keep both of them. When they work, these are nice fountains and a good deal for the price. Perhaps the price is so cheap because the manufacturer offloaded them on Amazon, knowing there was shipping damage to the container(s)? There's no way to know this, however Amazon has been very supportive through this ordeal.