We bought a Petmate Freshflow fountain for our cat when she had a bladder stone. These fountains are supposed to a) entice cats to drink more, and b) filter and oxygenate the water.
Fine and good — she likes it, and it has worked well until now. I think we bought it early this year — March, maybe?
While we were away, the pump was making noise and the neighbor who was taking care of the kitty unplugged it. Now it doesn’t work at all — no noise or anything. I cleaned it thoroughly and put it back, and it still doesn’t work.
I ordered a replacement I found by searching for the manufacturer and model number — Jebao PP-333LV. It turned out to be the same pump, but with a round power cord that doesn’t fit into the fountain clip (which prevents the fountain from leaking out the back where the cord comes out), and with a flow control lever that is too short, not extending into the fountain bowl where it should be.
I just checked the Petmate website, and while they offer a replacement pump for sale, it is out of stock. I just called them, and they won’t have any until the third week of August.
Meanwhile, I’ve searched again, this time looking carefully at the pictures, and even sites that claim to be selling this pump particularly for this fountain show the round-cord, short-lever version that doesn’t actually fit the fountain.
How annoying!
I found ONE SITE selling the pump with a picture that looks like the original pump — at Underbid.com. I can’t find any contact info or even the name of the actual seller to make sure the picture is what they’re offering.
Frustrating.
Frustrated,
Have you tried to clean the pump? I’ve been nursing one along for a few years and have found them to be pretty resilient.
Read this website: http://petmate.com/pdf/freshFlowInstructions.pdf
and try disassembling the pump, you have nothing to lose.
I do agree that the watering unit has too short a life for it’s cost.
Dave
Comment by Dave — August 16, 2008 @ 10:50 am |
“I cleaned it thoroughly and put it back, and it still doesn’t work.”
I used the directions you linked to.
Comment by Marcy — August 16, 2008 @ 12:06 pm |
If it is too late to take it back, you may want to get a replacement pump. They sell them at Petco, Petsmart, and many online locations.
I’ve had mine for about 18 months. They aren’t perfect–a bit fussy, but the cats love it.
Comment by J Hill — August 22, 2008 @ 11:35 am |
As I explained in my post, I did order a replacement pump but it had the wrong shape power cord and flow control lever. All the other ones I have seen offered online (we have no pet stores here) show the same incorrect picture, except the one I mentioned in the post, and without contact information I can’t be sure they’re actually selling the one pictured. Neither Petco nor Petsmart offer replacement pumps at their online stores.
Comment by Marcy — August 22, 2008 @ 1:18 pm |
Don’t you just love people who reply without even reading your post first??
We’ve had two Petmate freshflows since 2003. When I was cleaning the pump last week, I noticed that the protective plastic cover on the cord near the pump had worn or broken away, leaving an exposed wire; not good for a water-submerged cord. This is the second pump where we ended up with an exposed wire; I think it lasted maybe 2.5 years.
So my husband ordered a replacement pump through Petmate directly and it arrived today. It is an absolute piece of junk! The cord did not include the ring thingy, so there is a gaping hole at the back of the fountain where water can leak out. Secondly, it is really low quality as far as construction is concerned. With this plug, the electrical plug separates from the cord itself (our old had a secure separation point in the middle of the cord – very handy for cleaning the pump). The connection point on the new one is so weak, it disconnects at the slightest pull. I can see one of our cats bumping the fountain or the cord and the cord would pull apart from the electrical plug.
Not sure what we are going to do at this point. I’m disappointed that Petmate would sell us a replacement plug that is missing a part and that’s not made well.
Comment by Teresa — March 9, 2009 @ 3:23 pm |
Teresa,
Did you throw away the old clip / ring? I think we had to keep the first one, too, when we got the new pump. My new one is running fine now — I clean it thoroughly once a month.
Comment by Marcy — March 10, 2009 @ 6:40 am |
tried changing the flow control face with the other?and the ring on the back will be ok to take out to accommodate the different size wire,mine never leaks!i have to take the flow control off and kick start the fly wheel ,like a bad house fan!lol.i’m now looking for a 333lv to replace mine.jebao,use to have these but now are discontinued.others have them ,but they are expensive.
Comment by tommy — April 3, 2009 @ 11:24 am |
Cleaning worked a treat on mine. Now that I know how easy it is, I will definitely be taking it apart and cleaning it with every replacement filter. Thanks!
Comment by michael — October 12, 2009 @ 11:14 pm |
We have had two of these things for about 8 years. One for dogs, other for cats, although the cat drinks out of the dog waterer as often as her own. Yes they are fussy, but they keep on chugging. If they are cleaned regularly, you don’t even have to give the flywheel that little nudge to kick-start it. I rarely have to do that as long as I keep it clean every month or so. However, one has begun to make noise, a kind of a rattle, that we can’t make stop, so looks like its time to get a replacement. Makes me nervous, looking at the comments above on lack of quality.
Comment by Janis — November 9, 2009 @ 11:49 pm |