Pioneer Pet Big Max Ceramic Drinking Fountain For Pets, White

I purchased this largest version of Pioneer Pet's water fountain because of problems I read about with the medium sized fountain (Raindrop) with the top sliding loose and water going everywhere. And I selected the Pioneer Pet brand over Drinkwell because of videos about cleaning the pump -- Drinkwell's pump and dish cleaning requirements seem to be just too difficult and time consuming, Pioneer Pet's is easy-peasy. However, take note that the dish holds a gallon of water -- that is a LOT of filtered water! The directions say you must keep the dish filled to within an inch of the top to protect the motor from burning out, and that you must empty and clean it frequently. Reviewers have said they clean theirs on average twice weekly (some said once a week in the dishwasher's disinfectant cycle, and once weekly by hand). When you have to filter your water, that can get cumbersome and expensive (excessive kitchen-sink water filter replacements). I mean, when it comes to my dogs, I pay whatever price is required for them to receive the best, and this water fountain is IMO among the best -- easy to clean, easy to notice cleaning needs with the white ceramic, healthy circulated water for higher oxygenation, etc. But just be aware that you're looking at 4-8 gallons of water per week, most of which will end up down the kitchen sink's drain during cleaning cycles.I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because of the shallow dish design. For this much water, you can't carry it to it's resting place without spilling. If it were deeper and not quite so big around it would be much easier to manage. I ended up putting the water-oxygenating motor with it's white clamshell container inside the red ceramic water dish I had been using before buying the fountain. It fits perfectly, doesn't require as much water, and is easier to carry without spilling.6 Month Update: The motor died this week. I went online to look up warranty information, and found cleaning instructions saying I should have been removing the rotating plastic blade every week to flush hair/dust out. Sure enough there was a teensy-tiny clump of hair and/or dust inside the blade's housing. I cleaned the blade's stem and housing with a wet paper towel, replaced the black motor oil substance that came off on the paper towel with food grade coconut oil (seemed a better choice than the motor oil I use on my sewing machine!), put it back together, and it worked perfectly. So glad I read the instructions before going to the trouble of requesting a replacement motor!Preference Experiment: In 2018, I put down three identical red ceramic water dishes side-by-side in the room where their water is always located. (1) contained distilled water from store bought plastic jugs; (2) contained kitchen tap water filtered by a high-quality counter-top Best Filter unit; (3) contained same filtered tap water as dish no. 2, but also had the Pioneer clamshell filtering/oxygenating system. Over a 7-day period, all three dogs ONLY drank the oxygenated water in dish no. 3 that was first filtered by a high quality counter-top unit and then circulated/oxygenated by the Pioneer clamshell with motor and internal filter. Even when the water in dish no. 3 was halfway down, they refused to drink from either of the two full but stagnant water dishes. Proof enough for me that oxygenating and/or circulating water provides a significant quality improvement. Our dogs are supposed to have a sense of smell at least 60 times stronger than ours (300 million smell receptors to a mere 5 million in humans). I'd guess they smell something in those 3 water dishes that I don't know anything about.5-YEAR UPDATE: About 2 years in, I bought a 2nd clamshell filter/pump system so I can rotate it out for cleaning without disrupting dogs' water supply. November of 2021 one of the two motors failed despite regular cleaning and proper care. Didn't try to determine if it was the original 2017 pump or the 2019 2nd pump - replacement pump is only $15-$20. I still only use the clamshell filter/pump system inside a deep ceramic water dish (the same one in the photo I've included). Reports of high motor burnout puzzle me - I've only had a problem when I didn't know I was supposed to be cleaning out the pump's cylinder where the motor's blade rotates, and as soon as I removed the tiny tuft of dust/hair inside the motor it began working fine again. Total failure has only occurred once in 5 years.

I have four cats, and when I noticed their keen interest in our toilet, I decided to buy them a fountain. The experts recommend fountains, anyway, since cats (and dogs) prefer to drink from moving water, thanks to their wild ancestry. After much comparison shopping, I decided to try the Pioneer Pet Big Max Ceramic Drinking Fountain. I selected this model for a few different reasons: It's ceramic, not plastic; it offers three different drinking 'areas,' other reviewers seemed happy with it, and, of course, it's reasonably priced.As soon as I received the fountain, I put it together. Assembly was not quite as simple as I would have believed; but I managed to figure it out. Took about ten, fifteen minutes to get it set up, in part because I was hampered by the cats swarming around me. ;) Already they were very curious. As soon as I got it running, they made a big mess splashing their paws in the upper bowl, and I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake. But the novelty of that game wore off, thankfully, and now they just drink from it like normal cats. Most of the time.This fountain is not noisy at all. I have it in the kitchen on the linoleum, and I almost never know it's there. Some reviewers say it vibrates and you should have a silicone mat under it, but that has never been a problem for me. The only time it makes noise is when the water gets too low. Then it starts making a kind of sucking/gurgling noise, and you know it's time to change the water. For me, that's only twice a week.Changing the water is a bit of a hassle, hence the four stars instead of five. If you want to rinse it out completely, you have to remove the upper bowl and take out the pump/filter housing, which sticks down with suction cups and retains a lot of water. That step is not really a 'problem' for me, it's just a little inconvenient.The 'problem' is that the construction is very durable, but it's also HEAVY. I would NOT recommend this for a person with no upper body strength or the elderly. Getting this bad boy from the floor to the sink and vice-versa requires a lot of arm strength, stability, and a firm grip. Add to that the slipperiness from being wet and the assumed shatter-ability of the ceramic, and you have a potentially disastrous situation. So I always make sure I'm paying close attention when toting this thing to the sink and back, and so far I haven't dropped it (knock on wood).Another reason for the four stars is that I did have a period of days when the pump wouldn't work. This was only a few days after I got it, and the pump would either sit there straining to pump water, or wouldn't do anything at all. So I consulted the manual and followed the directions for dis-assembly and maintenance of the motor. If that sounds complicated, it's not. You basically snap apart three things, rinse them in water and rub off any accumulated debris, and put it all back together. After I did that the first time, it started working again, as noiselessly and efficiently as before. I now clean the motor every other week and I haven't had that problem again.Finally, the only thing I would change about this fountain if I could, is that the motor doesn't move the water through very quickly or forcefully. What I mean is, in the large bottom bowl, there is very little movement in the water. There's no noticeable current. The only reason that bugs me is because when hair/dirt/debris falls into the water, it just sinks to the bottom and sits there or floats around and around on the surface. The water doesn't move enough for the filter to be effective in removing particulates. However, since the filter is charcoal, I assume its purpose is merely to 'clean' the water chemically rather than to remove dirt. Eventually, I'm forced to sigh and tell myself it's time to change the water, which is kind of a hassle, as described above.In conclusion, I am happy with this fountain. I LIKE that it's ceramic, even though it's heavy, because that's better for my cats. It's not too complicated to deal with on a daily basis (but you won't have to), and it doesn't splash or make excessive noise. The cats love to drink from it (even my brother's dog likes to drink from it when he comes over) and I do notice them drinking much more than when they had a regular water bowl. Of course, they're still obsessed with the toilet, but...what are you gonna do?

We have only had this fountain for a few days. So far so good! I will provide my initial thoughts, and update my review as needed. Right off the bat, the unit feels sturdy and the ceramic is nice in quality. It has a lovely sheen to it and is a good size for our three cats. Additionally the unit is pretty quiet. I am sensitive to noise and I barely notice it! If it were placed in a room I was trying to sleep in that may be a problem, but I have yet to notice it while watching TV or living life.However, as easy as the ceramic pieces were to assemble, motor assembly took some serious brainpower, as the instruction manual was less than clear. When I went to put the motor into the casing, I placed it so the cord was coming out the top. It was a logical fit to my brain, as the cord did not have to wrap around the motor (see photo). We put it all together, added water, turned it on, and nothing happened for several minutes. We played around with flow level, water level, motor security and nothing worked. It took me coming to Amazon and reading questions to realize that I had aligned the spout on the motor incorrectly with the spout on the plastic casing. The correct placement of the motor inside the casing is at a different angle, and the cord wraps slightly around the motor to reach the notch (see photo). I realize this was partially me being dopey, but I do think that there are some design flaws here, and I truly belive the instruction manual should have addressed how to properly insert the motor.The second piece to be aware of is that the tube connecting the plastic motor casing to the ceramic fountain/spout portion must be correctly aligned. If you are having troubles with water coming from the hole, check to see if the tubes have connected to form a seal (other photos).Finally, you are going to want to ensure that you THOROUGHLY rinse out your charcoal filter. My husband rinsed it out for a few seconds, and within a few hours some charcoal dust had settled in the reservoirs. It is harmless to pets, but still unsightly.All in all, I am enormously pleased with this product. My cats are unafraid of it (and they are huge cowards) and it keeps the water clean. I am hoping for longevity in this fountain, and I will update as needed!

I had a plastic Drinkwell fountain for years. It still works but the plastic part of it was getting grimy no matter what I did. I also know that plastic can cause cats to get acne. Even though they didn't have that problem, I also know that it can get a lot of bacteria in it so I started looking for a ceramic one knowing they are easy to keep clean and do not have the problems plastic does. I did a lot of research and found this one that seemed to fit my needs and decent reviews. I received the fountain fast, well packed. I set it up and took out the old Drinkwell since I really didn't have room for both of them.This fountain has a large very wide bowl but not too deep. It is light when empty and not slippery as I had feared. I followed the enclosed directions when filling it up and hooking it up but was not happy with the water flow. The next time I took it apart to clean it I made sure the spout from the motor was inside the spout of the top part and finally got the flow I wanted.The cats were hesitant at first, but soon got used to it and now they love it. My very shy cat was kind of funny watching as she kind of got close then retreated from it a few times. Cats are far sighted and cannot see up close very well, so the movement of the water on this fountain is very important. They really can't tell how deep the water is by looking at it, they were putting their noses in it and at I was afraid they would not use it at first, but they do like it and I think it's because now they can approach the fountain on all sides. They can stand in front of it, on the sides or in back and still get a drink. They are all different too. They can drink from the bowl, from the sides or the top where the water flows. And even lay on the floor and dip their paw in (don't ask!)The cons are few, but I need to mention them. It is tricky to get the water to flow well. It's not in the directions very well, but the motor is tricky to get into the unit, and you have to make sure the spouts are inside each other or it will not work at all. Also you need to keep it full. My Drinkwell, I just filled the container that fit in the back maybe once a week, this one I fill a mason jar of filtered water almost every day. If it gets low, you can hear the motor and I do think that's why some people's motor failed. If you can hear it, it NEEDS WATER NOW. Either put water in it or unplug it until you can get to it. Also you need to clean it every week. It only takes a few minutes but it will keep it working for a long time. It looks to have the same motor my Drinkwell had and that thing is still going strong after 5 years.Even with that I do like it. It looks pretty, it's very quiet and the most important, the cats seem to love it, and it's more healthy then the plastic one. I do recommend it.

I've had my eye on this fountain, the Pioneer Pet Big Max ceramic drinking fountain, for a long time. When the price dropped to something affordable, I snapped it up, and I am so glad I did. I'm replacing the Drinkwell stainless steel fountain, which I owned for several years. I now wonder why I waited so long to get this fountain.Overall, the Drinkwell fountain is a great fountain, but it has a few serious design flaws. The biggest flaw is that cats have to stand at a specific angle to drink from it. Our largest, fluffiest cat had to position himself just so in order to drink without bumping his head against the central water tower or the sides of the fountain. (I'm not sure the designers are very familiar with cats, or they cared more for aesthetics than they did for functionality.) The other big design flaw is that it requires very strong hands and fingers to be able to fully take apart the fountain to clean it. That meant that I didn't completely dismantle it for cleaning as often as I should have.With the Pioneer Pet Big Max fountain, my cats can now position themselves comfortably without having their fur or heads touch any part of the fountain, and they can either drink from the bubbling upper spring or from the large, calmer pool at the base. Also, this fountain is a breeze to clean. For one, it's not as heavy as I expected. For another, the parts easily lift apart so you can get to every spot to clean it. Also, I love the fact that it's porcelain; it looks great and won't harbor bacteria like plastic fountains do. When it comes time to change the filter (they say change it once a month), I plan to take it apart and refill it as other reviewers have. (I did, and it was successful; see Edit 3 below.)If you are on the fence about this fountain, get it. You won't regret it.Edit 1: The pump stopped working after a week. While researching replacements, I found information on how to clean the pump. So I took it completely apart and found a human hair in the works. Cleared that out and the pump is working perfectly again. The instructions are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYyTFv_u3Sw&feature=em-share_video_user.Edit 2: It might be helpful to know that this fountain is super quiet.Edit 3 Refilling the filter cartridge: When it came time to replace the filter, I very gently pried it apart. I removed the old charcoal and filter pad and put in new filtration media. I tried replacing the loose charcoal with more loose charcoal, but my aquarium charcoal was too fine and fell through the holes in the filter housing. So instead I used the  Deep Blue Professional ADB41002 Super Activated Carbon Media Pad, 18 by 10-Inch , which you can get here on Amazon. For the plain filter pad, I used the  Deep Blue Professional ADB41001 Plain Polyfiber Media Pad, 18 by 30-Inch . I used the original filter pad to cut out pieces from the Deep Blue pads. The total cost of these pads was about the cost of two replacement filter cartridges, and I estimate I'll be able to keep cutting from the same pads for about 12 more times, so I am saving a huge amount over the cost of buying the replacement filters. Both the charcoal and the plain polyfiber media pads are pretty thick, but they both fit within the filter housing. However, although I think the thickness of the charcoal pad is a plus, I may try to find a thinner plain filter media. Deep Blue Professional ADB41002 Super Activated Carbon Media Pad, 18 by 10-InchDeep Blue Professional ADB41001 Plain Polyfiber Media Pad, 18 by 30-Inch