Smart Solar Sunjet 150 Solar Powered Pond Pump

...150 solar powered fountain by Smart Solar from an online garden centre who I had used before and it arrived within 5days. The kit comprises of a solar panel measuring 5 ½” x 5”, the pump with 3m of cable, two extension tubes and a choice of three heads and a mounting kit for the panel.

Putting together is easy – just insert the pump, which is cylindrical and about 4” tall, onto the base which is a flat circular ring with a plastic ...
...water you will need one or two extension tubes which are each about 3” long and then decide which fountain head you want. The choices are between a simple stream of water, a narrow spray or a wider spray. The height of the water jet will depend on the strength of the sun. Very bright sun will produce a jet of up to 10” and this becomes less as the sun intensity decreases. Now place the pump in position under water.

It is important ... more

After building a fish pond we had some pond liner left over and not liking anything to go to waste, particularly when liner is so expensive, we decided to build a nature pond on some ground near my veggie patch. This is of course the royal ‘we’. I decided and my partner was sent outside to do the building. It is not very big, about 6’ by 3’ and about 12” at the deepest parts. The idea of this pond was to leave it and see what comes to live in it. Apart from a few plants on the sides and a left over lily and oxygenating weed from the other pond the idea is for nature to take over. My only real concern was that the water may become stagnant if it was just standing so after some research I decided on a small solar powered fountain just to circulate and aerate the water.

I ordered my Sunjet 150 solar powered fountain by Smart Solar from an online garden centre who I had used before and it arrived within 5days. The kit comprises of a solar panel measuring 5 ½” x 5”, the pump with 3m of cable, two extension tubes and a choice of three heads and a mounting kit for the panel.

Putting together is easy – just insert the pump, which is cylindrical and about 4” tall, onto the base which is a flat circular ring with a plastic sponge like filter. Depending on the depth of your water you will need one or two extension tubes which are each about 3” long and then decide which fountain head you want. The choices are between a simple stream of water, a narrow spray or a wider spray. The height of the water jet will depend on the strength of the sun. Very bright sun will produce a jet of up to 10” and this becomes less as the sun intensity decreases. Now place the pump in position under water.

It is important to remember not to run the pump out of water. Extend the wire from the pump to where you have decided to position the solar panel and connect the two. You need to make sure the connection is water tight by pushing and then twisting the two connectors. Although this part does not go under the water it is out in all weathers. The solar panel should be placed, obviously, in a sunny position. I have mine mounted on a small spike (which is supplied) on the ground, but it also comes with a fixing kit to mount the solar panel onto a wall or fence. When the sun shines the fountain will leap into action.

When being used for the first time it will take a few minutes for the air to be pumped out of the system and for the water to come through. After a period of time the pump may start to loose power or may be even stop. This would most likely be due to a build up of sediment or dirt in the filter. The system is very easy to clean. Do remember to disconnect from the solar panel before you remove the pump from the water, alternatively if you prefer, do your maintenance at night! Remove the pump cover at the base and take out the impeller. This looks like small aeroplane rotor blades. Clean out any gunk that has accumulated and replace the impeller and cover. Put back in the water and reconnect to the solar panel. I have never yet had to do this. I find the only part to become blocked are the tiny holes in the fountain spray head. All I need to do is pull this off, knock on the ground a couple of time to dislodge the bits and put back.

The only maintenance the solar panel needs is occasional cleaning with a soft cloth and a glass cleaner.

The technical details are as follows; the solar panel has a voltage of 4.8V, current of 149mA and power of 0.7W. The pump has a voltage of 4.8V, current of 100mAh and produces a flow rate of 150 litres per hour which is about 33 gallons per hour.

This pump is really intended for ornamental water features such as a bowl on the patio or a bird bath but I have been very pleased with it in my nature pond. It seems to produce just enough circulation to the water for it not to become stagnant and as a bonus looks very pleasing. It would not be powerful enough to aerate a fish pond but larger and more powerful (although also more expensive) versions are available, as are some that store the energy in a battery so they will operate when there is no sun. The nature pond is now teaming with all sorts of bugs and larvae and last year we had toads but they don’t seem to have come back this year.

I bought my solar water pump and fountain about 2 ½ years ago but I have just checked and it is out of stock on Amazon but several garden centres on line had it for £30-£35 but one was charging £75, so look carefully before you decide to buy.

Would I recommend, yes I would. It is not expensive to buy, it comes with a two year guarantee, is easy to set up, there are no operating costs and it is environmentally friendly. A big plus is that the sound of running water is very relaxing, unless of course it sends you rushing for the loo. The only real down side to this system that it does need full sun to operate, but with global warming that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

I hope you enjoyed reading. 

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