Pioneer Ceramic Drinking Fountain Big Max , 128 oz,Black

I bought this fountain to replace a competing major brand's stainless steel pet fountain because I was sick and tired of scrubbing rust off the "stainless" steel.Like the competition, this Pioneer fountain has a large capacity (holding a full gallon of water) and a replaceable activated-charcoal filter cartridge. Unlike the competition, it is rustless, nearly silent, and does not splash water everywhere. Water simply wells up on the upper level and flows down a waterfall to the lower, instead of having multiple splashing streams. If you can hear the Pioneer from across the room, it means the water level is low and you need to top it up.I had a reusable filter for the previous fountain that could be cleaned and refilled from a jar of aquarium-filter charcoal. I have not found such a reusable filter yet for the Pioneer, nor figured out whether it is possible to refill and reuse the filter cartridges that come with it.Weak points of the previous fountain included the plastic clips that held its main parts together, and fragile plastic top parts that adjusted its water flow. The Pioneer SO FAR does not seem to have any such weaknesses. It has fundamentally six parts — the main bowl, the waterfall, the pump, the two-part pump housing, and the filter cartridge. Its pump seems to be about the same size as that of its predecessor, but the Pioneer puts much less demand upon it, calling upon it only to raise filtered water a few inches, not force unfiltered water up nearly eight inches through a filter and then out through fountain streams. It does not out-of-the-box have a pre-screen before the pump and filter to catch pet hair, but there is a somewhat popular modification involving wrapping a piece cut from a sheet of aquarium filter around the pump housing. There is only a single flow adjustment, on the pump itself; I just left it on full and that seems to be fine.So far we have had no problems with this pet fountain, and unlike its predecessor it does not splash water over the nearby wall.

Let me start by indicating we have owned the regular sized Pioneer Ceramic Drinking Fountain for almost 11 years with no complications nor complaints. So, what made me buy this? The size. We were going on an extended trip and I wanted to make sure the cats continued to have a fresh supply of water during our absence rather than just leaving extra bowls of water down. Additionally, I also knew someone who had owned the stainless steel version and her cats loved it. I chose to stick with the black ceramic so that both of the fountains would match.--------------------------------------------------------Pros--------------------------------------------------------• For those owning the smaller Pioneer Ceramic Drinking Fountain you’ll be happy to know the pump, and fountain casings are exactly the same. Therefore you can continue to use both and not have to worry about having to buy different size filters. Uses same filters. Plus, if one of the pumps fails you can always go down to the one fountain with the same pump.• Ceramic Drinking Fountain allows me to run the ceramic pieces through my dishwasher, including the sanitize feature without risking health concerns of the plastic breakdown or melting near the heating unit. Thus making cleaning the unit easier. However, I must note that you will still need to clean the pump and pump housing by hand since they are plastic, but a small fist size item is much easier to clean than the whole unit.• As I stated in my previous review of the original Pioneer, plastic can allow for soap or micro-bacteria to adhere due to the porous nature.• Heavy so it makes it much harder to tip over- one of my cats is always swatting at other bowls I put down for him and has turned over several.• Cleaner design, allows pets who want to drink from moving water to do so without having stretch neck the water standing water reservoir (think of it from a cat or small dog’s view rather than a larger dog). One of my cats loves drinking from the top part because he doesn’t have to bend down at all. It is face level.• Pets have fresh constantly filtered water, without having to change out the water daily• Ceramic comes in black or white, and there is a stainless steel one which may match someone's kitchen appliance themes (yes I realize some people care about this kind of stuff).• This larger fountain holds enough water to satisfy even a large dog for about a day, so with my 2 cats I typically have to add additional water every other day.--------------------------------------------------------Cons--------------------------------------------------------• Reminds me of a small toilet bowl with a cover for water to run down (sounds exactly like one when you hit the two ceramic pieces together)• Much louder than the Petmate, about the same loudness of the trickling water as the Drinkwell (can be irritating to some people if their fountain is anywhere near their main living areas listening to water dripping constantly, it will be peaceful to others)• Even with the large bowl there is currently no way to add an additional reservoir add-on. Unlike the Petmate, you cannot just simply slide on an attachment which holds more water.• I can only comment on the black ceramic, which can make it difficult for people to see the water level to know if they put too much water in, or need to add water (easier to listen to the sound of the water or pump). I believe this is why several people have complained about leaking in the smaller version on this one. The nice thing about the larger Max version over the smaller version is there isn’t the power cord outlet tube located under the top part of the fountain. But keep in mind the water is moving underneath where the pump is located, so do not fill the fountain all the way to the top. I usually leave about ½ inch to an inch from the top. After 11 year with the smaller version, we’ve definitely learned to hear differences in the sound of the pump that indicate it’s time to add water, but I learned that with my four previous plastic fountains too.• Still have to wash some of the pieces (pump and pump housing) by hand so not completely dishwasher safe• Same as any pet water filter, the cost of the filters can add up. And unlike fish filters you cannot just add carbon and fiber to a snap together unit. I suppose one could try, but the filter housings in this unit are fused together. Nice thing is the same filters work in the regular Pioneer Fountain as the Pioneer Max Fountain.• The ceramic unit will be much easier to break if you drop it while cleaning it (Trust me I've dropped the others a few times when hands have gotten wet). That being said, I’ve had no cracks or breakage in the original ceramic unit we’ve owned for almost 11 years, but I haven’t dropped it on tile or hard wood either.

I had been looking for the perfect fountain that wouldn't stand out too much in my room. I've had plastic fountains in the past that would have film grow on them pretty quickly between cleanings so I was unsure that I'd buy one at all. I have three cats and actually bought this one for one of them in particular who loves to knock his water bowl to make waves - and spilled it often. He is very happy with this product. But a pleasant surprise is that one of my other cats is ten years old with a chronic respiratory infection that in his later years has led to high sodium and other bad readings in his blood work. A month prior to getting this fountain he'd been in ICU for a week and after being released I had to administer SubQ fluids nightly. He drank prior to my getting the fountain but once it got here he drank so much more - even sleeps by it sometimes. He's by no means cured but I no longer need to give him the SubQ nightly which is a huge relief. All three cats share the fountain well. Asthetically, it is actually semi decorative and is very quiet. I've cleaned it regularly and the filter is great at stopping the minimal fur that falls in. I have already recommending it to friends and definitely suggest it to anyone looking to purchase it. Hope this helps.

Soweit habe ich nach 2 Wochen keine Probleme. Anfangs hat es sehr geklappert und die Pumpe zog, trotz aufgefülltem Wasser laut Anleitung, Luft. Die Anleitung ist leider auch nur auf englisch und somit nicht mit deutschen Einheiten versehen. In dem Brunnen passen 2 Liter und alle 3 Tage müssen 0,75l nachgefüllt werden. Nachfüllen kann man dann, wenn die Pumpe laut wird. Im Licht sieht das schwarz aus der nähe etwas braun aus und für meinen Geschmack ist der Brunnen für Katzen viel zu groß. Meine große trinkt aus dem Auffangbecken, während die kleine das gefilterte Wasser von oben genießt. Angenommen haben sie den nicht sofort, das ging mit dem Vorgänger besser (Catit Blumentrinkbrunnen ist aber nach 2 Wochen verstopft und nicht zu empfehlen). Ich habe mich bewusst für Keramik entschieden, da Edelstahl Näpfe allgemein nicht zu empfehlen sind. Mir sah der Brunnen allgemein zu langweilig aus, deswegen habe ich Aquarium Deko reingesetzt - stört die Katzen nicht. Die Pumpe surrt natürlich vor sich hin, aber das ist wohl bei jeder Pumpe so. Der Filter ist wirklich sehr klein, hält bisher aber ganz gut. Ersatzfilter gibt es auch außerhalb von Amazon (im Geschäft vor Ort habe ich nicht geguckt). Bei der Reinigung muss man ziemlich basteln da die Pumpe und der Filter zusammen in eine Plastikverpackung gesteckt werden. Hier muss auch das Kabel der Pumpe sehr geknickt werden... Fraglich wann es dort zum Kabelbruch kommt. Zumindest kann hier der Filter nicht verstopfen und der Brunnen nicht überlaufen. Im Grunde könnte man das vom aussehen auch als Zimmerbrunnen benutzen :)Nach dem Austausch des Filters kam die große Enttäuschung. Erstmal waren die Pioneer Pet Filter zu groß, so dass diese sich nicht richtig einsetzen lassen. Und dadurch ist wahrscheinlich jetzt die Pumpe bereits defekt. Die Leistung der Pumpe hat auf jeden Fall stark nachgelassen, so dass das Wasser nur noch minimal als Brunnen runter läuft.

Same size pump for 3 different size of bowls?!!I purchased and returned this product 3 times now. QA sounds like an unknown / unnecessary and costly process to this manufacture.Therefore, before using it, fully investigate the condition and look for any small or BIG crack / track / scratch in or outside of both bowls. Even one little tiny crack can and will hurt your pet -- that includes the "invisible to human's eyes" scratches.Just noticed there is also no word of lead-free anywhere on the box or manual or even vendor's web site. So, unless the vendor makes an official comment here or update the product description, I do NOT recommend buying or using it anymore.

I love how big it is, it's also quite heavy so pretty hard to knock over. One of my 3 dogs started to drink from it before it was even plugged in! Happy to report that they now use the fountain instead of drinking from the toilet :) the only thing preventing me from giving it 5 stars is the fact that it isn't tall enough. We're gonna have to built a step to raise it from the ground as 2 of my dogs are elderly and have issues reaching so low.ETA:I've had this for 2 years now, the dogs still love it. The pump gave out within the first 5 months, since they are so expensive on amazon, i bought a cheap knock off on a chinese website, it's been running ever since. Found out recently that replacement parts (pump, plastic case for the pump..) are way cheaper if you order directly from the pioneer pet website.

Although it took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to place the component together, once we figured it out it works great. I also ordered the separate brush kit for cleaning the dog slime and some extra filters. My pooch started drinking out of the garden fountain we purchased this summer and as soon as we stored it for winter she got fussy about drinking water to the point where the only got liquid she was getting was the water that we added to her food. She also ate a lot of snow but that was it. We thought we would give this a try- porcelain is nice- more hygienic although the pump components are plastic so we are careful to clean as much as we can. And she likes it! Yay! She prefers the pump on full- there is a tiny switch on the pump I didn't notice at first that controls the flow. I imagine the porcelain part is dishwasher safe for the odd extra cleanse. Pump is very quiet but be careful to keep the water topped up as the pump sits level with the basin so a low level will overwork the pump and cause noise and overheating.Also, because it is porcelain and fairly heavy, be careful when picking it up to clean as the dog slime will make that little sucker slippery.It is a very classy dish overall and looks very nice in our kitchen- glad we picked this one for our fussy furry friend

This is the first pet fountain we've tried and we love it! We're a multi-cat household so we got this larger version in hopes it would keep up with all of them. It's a beautiful design. Easily tucked away and matches existing decor in our home. The ceramic is heavy so the bowl isn't easily moved which is a plus and it's easy to clean. Cleaning out the filter is also quite simple. It's quiet, but it almost seems like the motor is insufficient to pump the water at times. Like mentioned in other reviews the water slowly flows/gurgles in the top part and you can barely tell if it's on. We've recently had issues with the motor not being able to push the water from the bottom up into the top "fountain" part, and thus causing a slow leak by the water dripping along the interior of the upper portion of the dish to the floor. Not a big issue if you have the fountain on a waterproof mat or tile floor, but something to be aware of all the same. However we've had ours for over a year and this is the first issue we've had.We're currently looking to purchase another fountain since this one is such a hit with the cats (prefer over regular bowl now) and we'd like them to have one on each floor. We will likely buy the teardrop version from the same company as it seems to be the same fountain we love minus the potential for the leaks. A wonderful product!