Pump Replacement for Smartcat Fountains

The pump replaced was around 8 or 9 years old and what went wrong was the wire at the bend coming out of the unit finally cracked the sheathing. Pump was still working to point.

I'm surprised by all the negative reviews I see for this pump. These are very simple devices. There's only one moving part: the pump impeller. The rest of it is the AC motor winding and the housing. There's not much that *can* go wrong with them. But they will get dirty and clogged. We've kept 3 or 4 cats over the last 10 years, and we've had one of these Fountain watering bowls for most of that time... call it 7 years now. I usually clean the filter & bowl every couple of weeks. I change the filter once per quarter (3 months). Our pump has never failed, but it has lost pressure over time. You can disassemble the pump for cleaning by prying the output side loose using a small, thin-bladed screwdriver. (See the pic.) Once the pump's apart, rinse the parts and wipe them down with a cotton swab. Be sure to swab the output spout. Then re-assemble and away you go. I cleaned the original pump in our fountain this way recently and it works like a new pump now. I was going to post pix of my disassembly but I see that the maker has finally posted this advice. In our case, cleaning the pump once per year would be plenty, so once a month sounds too often to me. But your mileage may vary.

I've had the fountain for I think. Around six years and the original pump finally went out and I replaced it with a Generic universal pump. It worked fine. And it saved me Money or so I thought. I provided the picture to show you what I finally realized after buying another universal pump Around a year later. The chord is very thin and it cracks. So this time I went back to the Pioneer Pet replacement pump and the chord Is twice as thick. In the picture, you can see the difference. The one on the left is the Pioneer Pet and the one on the right is the generic. If you buy the cheaper one, the chord will eventually crack in places where it is under water. If you need anything replaced from Pioneer like the casing for the motor and Amazon does not carry it you can buy it off of Pioneer pet.com. They're customer service is top-notch. You can't beat it. It's easy to install, and the cleaning takes a second. Overall the right call this time. I believe I will actually save money because I won't have to buy a pump next year.

Have had the fountain about four years. Bought a replacement pump before seeing the YouTube video about how to take it apart. Usually during a weekly clean I just run water through the pump to flush crud out through the spout. But if that doesn't work or it dies or flows too slowly, take the time to take the two covers off, remove the impeller, and I flush it out well. If that doesn't work, try it again. Both my pumps wouldn't work and I took each apart twice and fiddled with the cords that go into the transformer box. One pump seems to work better with one than another. Was ready to buy yet another pump but kept trying and have two pumps that squirt fine again. In short the pumps are touchy and require thorough cleaning each week. But this is a great fountain for the money. My little darling would much rather drink out of the toilet or a moldy plant saucer than a pristinely clean bowl of water on the kitchen floor. I have this fountain set up next to her bed in the living room and she loves drinking from it. Update 12/2020 Spent a frustrating night trying to get all the spare pumps I have to work. Cleaned pumps several times and switched out power blocks, nothing worked. So went ahead and bought another one. Next day out of the blue the one that was plugged in started up again. Now I have three spares! Think there might be a temperamental switch inside the power blocks? Oh well. Have had this fountain for I think close to a decade with two different cats. Has been a good value and it's what my cat will use. Again keep cleaning the pump thoroughly and try again the next day before ordering another replacement. Maybe some day will rig up a flower pot fountain or something with all the extra pump sets I have now!

Needed replacement for swan pet fountain which my cat loves. She likes her water to flow. Replacement pump works fine. She is happy again! Very quiet and good value.

Works great with my pioneer stainless steel fountain! My dog loves the flowing water from the top. It did stop working after a month, but following the cleaning process on their website it immediately started working again. Great customer service when calling about why it wasn’t working.

While it works, it doesn’t work nearly as well as the USB powered pump that originally came with the Swan fountain. It’s noisier, and you have to be careful about routing the power cord, but the main problem is that it struggles to prime itself after you change out the water in the fountain. I find you need to run it in the dish without the neck or rubber mating piece until the pump gets going, and then while running attach those pieces. With the original pump you could assemble everything then plug it in to power, and it just worked.

I like the fit of the pump(s) in the fountain, and they perform well if you keep them maintained. I disassemble the pump every second day, clean it and the fountain up with dish soap and hot water so as to keep it running smoothly and also provide my cats with the best, cleanest water. If you live in an area with hard water it really is a good way to keep things in tip top running order. I also replace the fountain filter every two weeks. Good product.

I bought the replacement pump for my cats fountain in December. I chose to purchase the genuine item as opposed to cheaper versions, I shouldn’t have bothered the connection pin to the plug has snapped after just two months use so is now useless, extremely disappointing as the fountain has been brilliant.

Bought as replacement pump for my cats water fountain. Works well.

Recomendado

It’s great to have a replacement available. It works perfectly in the item.

For some reason this order was fulfilled from America, so the transformer came with one of their weedy plug things that look positively dangerous when you’re used to UK BSI 3 prong plugs, but I kept theold one, so fingers crossed it works. The cat will be pleased. Why this order was satisfied from the USA is a mystery, you can buy the Pioneer Pet Fountains in the UK, the stainless steel components will effectively last forever, and the pump has been running nigh on continuously, cleaning aside, since 12th December 2015. They are solid little pumps. My issues are with a useless transformer I didn’t need, anyone want one with the US fitting. I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending the Pioneer Pet fountain range, we have the Rainbow Drop version, the cat absolutely loves it. The filters are easy to replace, it looks great, it’s accessible for the cat to sit and drink from the pump, it’s not too noisy either. I have it in the living room so can see she’s getting plenty of water, it becomes part of the background noise, I notice more when it’s off than on. The old transformer works thankfully, and the cat is delighted that her fountain is up and running again. I’d suggest the manufacturer unbundle tge pump and transformer into two distinct products, or offer different olug type options when ordering,