I received for a review the latest innovation in automatic drinking fountains, the Aquapurr eC with a motion sensor. I must say that this new invention is a much simpler concept, easy to install and it uses much less room on your sink than the previous basic version.
This water feeding system is excellent if you don’t have much room on your sink and you have a stubborn cat that only drinks from the faucet and refuses to drink from a regular water bowl or from an automatic water fountain. When cats insist on drinking from the faucet, the cat owners need to be opening and shutting the faucet all the time, even at night.
The Aquapurr eC is a redesigned drinking fountain that uses much less space than the Aquapurr’s first version. The eC model features a motion sensor instead of a standing-up board so you don’t need much room on your sink to install it since its footprint is much smaller so it fits easily on most sinks.
FEATURES
- Sensor senses the cat and it automatically turns the water on, leaving a nice stream for the cat to drink
- It uses less space on your sink than Aquapurr basic version
- Adjustable time delay and sensor sensitivity
- Cats of any size can drink from it
- All connectors are made of stainless steel
- Dimensions: Base is 4″ round x 4.5″ tall (without the spigot)
- The connectors come assembled, you only need to insert the spigot into the base
- Each AquaPurr is leak tested before shipping
- Lifetime warranty
WHAT COMES IN THE BOX
1 x The base with the connectors attached
1 x Spigot
2 x Diverter valve and adapters
1 x AC adapter
1 x Manual user
HOW IT WORKS
The AquaPurr eC connects to the aerator of the faucet with a diverter valve. If it doesn’t match you can use one of the aerator adapters included. Once the Aquapurr eC is connected to the faucet you can use the sink normally or leave it as a water feeder for your cat.
All you have to do to change the faucet from normal to water feeder is switching the ¼ turn valve to a horizontal position. When in a vertical position the faucet can be used normally when turned into horizontal position the water feeder starts working. If you want more or less stream for your cat to drink, simply open more or less the faucet. Once the Aquapurr is connected to the faucet, the cat will get close to the base where a motion sensor is located. This sensor will sense your cat’s body and will start the stream automatically. From the second your cat triggered the sensor the stream will last for one minute, which is the delay time, but you can adjust this.
For a better understanding of how the unit works and how to install it, we made a video:
VIDEO HOW TO INSTALL THE AQUAPURR EC DRINKING SYSTEM
ADJUSTING THE SETTINGS OF THE UNIT
Adjusting Delay Time
You can adjust the delay time to more or less time for the stream to run once your cat triggers the sensor. The more water your cat drinks, the more time you should consider in adjusting the delay time. You can adjust to 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute (default), 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 8 minutes.
To adjust the delay time you need to open the base by twisting the top from the bottom and inside you will find a small white panel with the controls, numbered by 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In order to adjust to a specific delay time you need to put each switch from #1 to #8 up or down according to the diagram, for example in the following image the setting is for a 15-sec delay time with the switch #3 up and the rest down:
When adjusting the delay time, always only one switch must be up and the rest down.
Adjusting the Sensor Motion Sensitivity
You can set the sensor to be more or less sensitive. In our case, we want to leave it with low sensitivity which is the default setting because it’s not practical a sensor being triggered by movements far away from the faucet.
Dark and Bright Light Operation
This is a default setting that should be always kept in the position down as shown in the image below. On this setting, the Aquapurr eC will work both in darkness and brightness. I wanted to show you this for you to get a better understanding of the default settings and the purpose of the switch #1.
MY CAT’S REACTION TO THE AQUAPURR EC
My cat Sophie doesn’t really drink from the faucet but I made this review thinking about all cat owners out there that are slaves of the faucet, opening and shutting it, even in the middle of the night for their cats to drink. That’s why I consider this device such a great invention, much simpler and modern than the previous Aquapurr that uses more space on your counter. The new design is more stable and fits perfectly in the sink and it’s not in the way, which is much better in my opinion.
I must say that the sensor worked perfectly with my cat. Sophie was standing up on the counter and got close to the sensor and it immediately triggered the stream which scared my cat a little bit since she is not used to being on the counter and she doesn’t drink water like this. But I am certain that cats that love to drink from faucets will love to see this stream being triggered so they can drink as they please without the intervention of their humans.
VIDEO OF SOPHIE’S REACTION TO THE FOUNTAIN
PROS
- Very easy to install
- The cat can drink fresh water at any time from the faucet, without any human intervention
- No need to clean a fountain, with sometimes hard-to-reach areas
- No maintenance, no filters
- Better design, with a smaller footprint that fits perfectly in a sink
- Motion sensor will always trigger the stream as long as the cat gets within sensor’s range
- No plastic that develops bacteria
- Good for cats with chin acne
- You can adjust the delay time for the stream to run shorter or longer
- Excellent for cats that love to drink from moving water
CONS
- The system won’t run in case of power outage
- You need to switch the aerator to vertical every time you want to use the faucet (I don’t mind doing this, but some people may)
- The connector in vertical uses a little extra space
TIPS
- If you have a second bathroom it may be a good idea to install the drinking fountain there to avoid the switching of the aerator to vertical/horizontal.
- To teach your cat to stand on the right position to trigger the stream or if you want your pet to change to another faucet, use treats as I did on my video.
CONCLUSION
The Aquapurr eC is an excellent new design over the basic previous version. The motion sensor is a great idea to avoid the board where the cat had to stand to trigger the stream in the basic version. Now with the sturdy and stable base, a motion sensor takes care of the automatic stream, your cat only needs to stand up on the area, close to the base and the stream will automatically fall for your cat to drink from. I love this design much better than the previous one. I think this one is a winner. Even though my cat is not a faucet drinker, you can see how the system worked perfectly with her.
√ I highly recommend the Aquapurr eC for cats that love to drink from faucets and don’t want to change that. Also, if you have a cat that loves to drink from moving water and you are sick of cleaning a water fountain you can give this one a try.
UPDATE: There’s a new version of the Aquapurr EC, the Aquapurr 4, it’s smaller and battery-powered, check it out:
Below, is the discontinued version of the Aquapurr EC:
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