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Worried about your pet’s health?
Are they not drinking enough water every day?
The Drinkwell Original Pet Fountain is a free-falling water system encourages your pet to hydrate more.
Know more about this product as you read on.
The Drinkwell Original Pet Water Fountain is a water dispenser that circulates your pets drinking water through activated carbon filters to remove bad tastes and unwanted odors.
The submersible pump draws water from the plastic bowl and returns it back through a fountain spout.
This process aerates the water to make it healthier and safer for your cats and dogs to drink.
The Drinkwell Original Pet Water Fountain has the following features:
- Streaming water from the Fountain encourages pets to drink more
- Circulating water reduces bacteria growth
- Replaceable carbon filter removes unwanted taste and odor from your pet’s drinking water
- Adjust the water flow through a control knob
- Bowl size is ideal for small pets
- Receiving ramp reduces water splash and noise generated by the streaming water
- Power cord measures 6ft long
- Holds up to 50oz of water
- Made of BPA-free materials
- Dishwasher safe
- Made for indoor use only
The circular bowl that can hold up to 50oz of drinking water is shallow enough for small pets to reach.
The fountain spot is situated 5 inches above the bowl to produce a quiet stream of water your pets would love to lap on.
You can find the pre-filter and control knob at the lower right portion of the pet fountain.
A side tab release is also installed on the fountain to allow you to easily drain water from the filter receptacle.
Owners won’t have any problem cleaning the pet fountain since it is dishwasher safe.
Assembling the Drinkwell Original Pet isn’t hard since all the instructions you need can be found in the package manual.
How It Works
The Drinkwell Original Pet Water Fountain has the same filtration system used in other PetSafe pet fountain products.
The water on the BPA-free plastic bowl is drawn into the carbon filter with the help of the submersible pump.
After the water goes through the charcoal filter, it is reintroduced to the bowl for drinking.
The portion of the pet water dispenser where the motor is situated is divided into 2 sections: one-half houses the submersible pump while the other holds the charcoal filter.
You can find the pre-filter and the flow control knob on the portion where the pump is housed.
The pre-filter prevents large, foreign particles from entering the pump and cause clogging.
The strained water is then pumped into the carbon filter on the other side where it overflows and passes through the fountain spout until finally trickling down onto the bowl.
Water flow can be controlled through the flow control knob.
Turning the knob clockwise until it reaches the 2 o’clock position will deliver the strongest water flow to the system.
Turning the knob to the 10 o’clock position will pump the water with the lowest strength.
You won’t have any trouble operating this dog and cat water fountain.
The assembly is pretty straightforward and all the instructions for cleaning and maintenance can be found in the product manual.
Moreover, if you need help in using this cheap water feeder, you can give PetSafe a call anytime using their hotline number.
Maintenance and Support
Charcoal filters need to be changed every 2-4 weeks.
The motor pump should be cleaned every 2 weeks to avoid clogging.
However, both of these schedules may vary depending on the number of pets in your household that uses this pet fountain.
You may have to clean it more frequently if your pets use it often.
Filters can be washed with plain, running water.
Don’t use soap to clean them because you won’t be able to completely remove the material from the filter pores.
Do this often to prolong the life of your filter and cleans it from any saliva sticking to it.
PetSafe sells ordinary and premium carbon filters for your pet fountain.
The latter has more dirt pockets to catch unwanted particles floating on your pets drinking water.
You can put all plastic parts, including those found on the motor, in a dishwasher for cleaning.
You can also hand wash them with the help of a brush and dishwashing soap.
Use a small brush to thoroughly clean the pump and remove any gunk collected.
You can get PetSafes Drinkwell Fountain Cleaning Kit which contains brush specially designed to clean pet fountains from PetSafe.
Take extra care when cleaning the motor pump and make sure you follow the pump maintenance guide detailed in the product manual.
PetSafe voids their warranty on the product if you destroy the motor pump during cleaning operations.
If you need to increase the water capacity of the Drinkwell Original Pet Water Fountain, you can buy an extra capacity reservoir to double the fountains total capacity to 100oz.
PetSafe can help you if you have concerns regarding the maintenance of your pet water fountain.
You can reach them through chat, call, or email.
If you have problems with anything regarding the product, just contact PetSafe through email, chat, or call.
Pros
- Charcoal filter removes odors and bad tastes from the drinking water
- Water flow can be adjusted using the flow control knob
- Product is BPA-free and dishwasher safe
- The 6ft power cord is long enough
- Additional water reservoir to expand fountain capacity is available for purchase
Cons
- Little water capacity won’t help the pet fountain last for more than a day or two
- Weak motor pump
- The housing can be hard to clean
- Bowl may be too narrow to invite two pets to drink at the same time
- Fountain is not meant for larger cats and dogs
What You Can Expect For Your Pet
Pets didn’t have problems using this pet water dispenser, especially cats who love to drink from the flowing fountain.
Some owners who even have more than 5 pets (mixed cats and dogs) at home did have any issues with this product.
The biggest issues owners mostly complain about this product are its motor pump and housing design.
The motor pump is something PetSafe should work on as it has become a common issue shared by their pet fountains.
Many have reported their fountains pump stopped working after a few weeks/months of use.
This happened even though they regularly clean the pump to prevent clogging.
On the issue of the housing design, many owners talk about how difficult it is to clean everything even with a brush on hand.
Slime and algae quickly accumulate and reside on the sharp corners of the pump housing.
Although these particles are practically harmless, pet owners cant get over the fact that their pets drinking water go through all that grime.
The manufacturer suggests putting the pet fountain away from direct sunlight to further inhibit algae growth.
To remove persistent saliva residue, submerge the plastic parts in an equal mixture of vinegar and hot water for a minute or two.
Despite these issues, the product remains well-received among pet owners.
Although it needs to be cleaned more often than prescribed and have lower capacity compared to other pet water dispensers, pets love it and that’s the most important thing for owners of this product.
Important Features and Benefits
Water filtration system
The pre-filter and charcoal filter ensure your pets are drinking clean, safe, and healthy water
BPA-free plastic
The materials used to create this product are non-toxic and safe for pets
Simple design
Pets can easily get accustomed to this new water dispenser
Expandable water capacity
You can purchase an extra reservoir to double the fountains holding capacity to 100oz
Long power cord
You can place the pet fountain anywhere you want, far from electrical sources
My Final Thoughts on the system
The Petsafe Drinkwell Pet Fountain provides a long-term solution for pet owners looking to provide their pets with clean free-flowing water that will keep them hydrated throughout the day
If you buy the extra reservoir, you can leave the fountain for up to five days before refilling which is great for pet owners who enjoy long weekends away.
It doesn’t take up much space so is suitable for smaller living quarters or cluttered homes.
On the downside, the defective design means that one has to be put up with a difficult cleaning routine and a noisy device which can become an issue.
The water that lies in the bowl gets recirculated and if any bits of hair or food drops into the water it ends up clogging the pump.
It is hit-and-miss as you may end up with a defective unit, so I recommend trying to glean any problems early on to make use of the 30 day return period if you need to.
Although the Drinkwell water Fountain is one of the cheapest in its range, the price adds up as you do need to buy the cleaning kit and the optional reservoir is recommended as the water capacity is not enough.
It’s not the cheapest pet water feeder out there and seems to be quite problematic so overall is not worth the money or hassle.
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