Hugh

My mother gave me one for Christmas; same price as yours, two
airstones, but there's no picture of the actual unit so I can't be
certain it's the same. TBH it's not that wonderful. As Steve said, it
won't work if the 'stones' are in water deeper than about 15 inches.
Works OK in the summer, when daylight hours are long and the sun is
strong and nights are short so the battery doesn't go flat overnight.
But if you've got a reasonable number of oxygenating plants in the
pond you don't really need aeration in the summer. In the winter, when
it might actually be useful, the battery doesn't last the night
through and it rapidly gives up, and doesn't get recharged during the
day as the sun, when we get it, isn't really strong enough and
daylight hours are short. If I want it to run in the winter I have to
remove the battery and re-charge it separately with a charger.

I only have it running when Mother comes to visit! Save your money.

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net


I've just bought one, the Smartsolar 3000 ltr model, seems fine at the
moment. As I understand it you only really have to have the unit on when
it's hot and sunny, or if you have oxygenating plants, just on at night (in
night mode). It does say in the instructions that frost will damage the unit
and the unit should be stored for the winter. I bought mine because I've
already lost one fish and two others were struggling in the recent hot spell
even though I've got a lot of oxygenating plants in the pond, sod's law, the
weather has now changed, so I'll have to wait a bit to see if the fish are
gasping at the surface in the morning when it's hot.