I live in Barbados so we pretty much have full sunshine all year. In direct sunlight I measured a jet height of 13" from each of the available heads. I was pleased it was able to do this even though I have the pump at the bottom of a pebble fountain, with 9" of tubing connecting the pump and the head. The solar panel needs to readjusted three times to make full use of the morning, midday and afternoon sunlight. As you would expect, if there are any clouds, or there is no direct sunlight, the preformance of the pump suffers. This is not a concern for me since it was intended to be a novelty water feature using renewable energy. I'm happy with this item.

I plugged it together and immediately it went to work. The water spout goes as high as the suns intensity on the panel. It barely pumps in the morning and really gets going at noon, you can hear the difference during the day and evening as the water splashes.

Didn't work, right out of the box. There are no useful instructions, although the only pieces that need to be attached are the fountain spigots. It did not pump even with bright light. I also realized after getting it that it is not the kind of solar powered item that stores energy for use after dark, either. It's only supposed to work when the light is on it. If there isn't light, there's no power. A big disappointment.

Note that it's also only waranteed for 10,000 hours, according to the package insert.

I knew what I was getting so I wasn't disappointed. Unless you live in a really sunny state (not western Washington or Oregon) do not expect this fountain to overwhelm. I use it to make some water motion in a bird bath. It works perfectly for that. But as soon as the sun goes behind a cloud or the solar panel is in any shadow, the water barely trickles. But for my purpose it is great not having to run AC to the pump and the birds like it so I am pleased.

We use this pump to fill a large vase that then overflows with water and trickles down onto rocks below. Although our first pump did not work properly (a problem with the solar panel), a replacement was quickly shipped out to us. The replacement works great.

The force of water is not dramatic, so if you're looking for something large and awe-inspiring, this is not the pump you want. However, if you just need something simple, this is your best bet. Note that this is solar and direct sunlight runs it--simply having it in a lit area or outside on a cloudy day will not produce power to the pump. That said, having the solar panel directly facing the sun produces the most power... as the sun moves across the sky, the pump will continue to work, but at a visibly reduced level... to maintain a 28" height, you will likely need to adjust the solar panel throughout the day.