Customer Reviews

Homedics WFL-RVRB Envirascape River Bend Illuminated Relaxation Fountain with Natural Stones

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've had a HoMedics fountain for years, and recently the pump went down, so I read up on their new products. After reading all the good about this particular fountain, as well as the negatives people had noted, I decided to buy one and see for myself. I'm REALLY glad I did, it's a fantastic little thing. For one, I can personally say that anyone who made a claim about the following was over exaggerating:

1)Water Noise: This fountain creates a lovely, light 'babbling brook' effect, even when placed on the lowest flow rate. So if you're afraid of a fountain making too much noise, worry no more. And if by chance you're someone who likes fountains that are capable of making a lot of sound, this is also the one for you. The adjustable pump, as well as the inset cover on the final tier, allow you to have the water flow passively back to the pump, or directly back into the bottom reservoir (if one were so inclined). The latter creates a distinct water-on-water sound, which may be desired by some. All together, nice options for sound level, and I assure you it's not too loud or annoying... in fact by my estimation it's quite peaceful and relaxing.

2)Pump Noise: Follow the directions, rinse all the parts and the rocks and wipe them off before assembly and it'll ensure your pump runs the quietest possible. I'm running this new fountain with distilled water only, to help prevent build-up inside the pump, as well as on the rocks and reservoirs. Again, I assure you that you will not notice any pump noise with this fountain.

3)Light Issues: While it is indeed true that the three fairly bright LED lights point outward, toward the viewer (depending on height viewing the fountain from), after a couple hours of seeing them I had actually grown to enjoy their flicker from behind the two waterfalls. They appear to twinkle, which adds to the relaxing nature of this product. So if you've read the other reviews which state the lights are annoying or too bright, I'd take it with a grain of salt... as they are a welcome addition.

4)Water Issues; While you will likely have some sort of splash from any moving water source, especially indoor fountains involving natural rocks (which have irregular surfaces prone to creating spray) I have found the claims that this fountain is excessively messy to run also false. Once it's set up and running you'll have no problem with water splashing out. I'm running mine on nearly the lowest flow rate possible, and I find the sound pleasing, with no water splashing outside the fountain. The two little waterfalls are visually stimulating to watch, especially with the backlighting I've mentioned earlier.

5)Quality Issues: While it is indeed made entirely of black plastic, I find it to be of fine quality in construction and design, and also find the small flecks of silver they've added to add a little sparkle to it. Either way, they won't affect you enough to love or hate this item based solely on that fact. Also having owned another HoMedics fountain which I ran for years with no problems, and now after purchasing this new one, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their tabletop fountains to anyone.

5)Size Issues: I believe that I read somewhere somebody complained about this fountain's size (or lack thereof). If you can read measurements, which are clearly listed in the description for this product, and own a ruler (or just have a good concept of measurement, as I do), then it shouldn't be a problem. I happen to enjoy the size of this particular fountain, it's not too large or obtrusive that it gets in the way, nor is it too small that no one will notice it's presence. Much like the story of the three bears, this model is 'just right'.

That pretty much sums up the false claims of negative factors I've seen people write about this particular model. I'd like to add a few things that I find to be selling points not really mentioned anywhere thus far.

1)Large Water Reservoir: While you'll have to refill any indoor fountain on a nearly daily basis (if you run it a lot), I haven't noticed this one using any more water than my previous one. Coupled with the fact that this model has what I'd consider a large reservoir, and you will probably be putting less water in this fountain less often. As noted earlier I'm going to run only distilled water through this newest fountain, as it should help to keep the cleaning to a minimum, as well as keep the inside of the pump more free of debris. They recommend cleaning your fountain weekly in the manual, which certainly couldn't hurt to preserver the pump's life and quiet operation.

2)Convenient On/Off Switch: My last HoMedics fountain didn't have an on/off switch, so the only choice was to unplug it. This model has the turn dial type switch near the unit on the cord, which is a nice touch.

3)TONS of Rocks! If you're worried about having enough natural stones to create an authentic 'river' feel (as the name implies) worry no more. This fountain comes with a large bag of rounded stones, plenty enough to cover the 3 tiers of the fountain.

4)LED Lights vs. Halogen: The last pump I owned ran Halogen bulbs in a glass enclosure. Not only did they burn out frequently, but the little glass enclosures that helped to seal and cover them underwater would heat up (due to the great amount of heat created by Halogen bulbs) and eventually crack. This left me searching for replacement bulbs, which weren't that easy to find, as well as replacement covers... which don't exist as far as I've discovered. This is part of the reason I bought the new fountain (along with the old pump's flow rate having decreased).

5)Easy to clean: As opposed to my last fountain, which was made of faux rock and porous, which made it difficult to clean thoroughly, the fact that this fountain is made of plastic not only makes it durable, but also a breeze to clean. Plus black goes with anything!

Hopefully after reading everything I've had to say about this fountain, you'll choose to purchase one of your own. If you're looking for a reliable, attractive tabletop fountain with a modern look, this is the one for you. In fact, at this point the only downside I can see with this fountain is if for whatever reason you didn't appreciate its appearance. But if you like how it looks in pictures, you'll love how it looks functioning in your home.

Lastly, I can assure you that I, as an extremely busy college student in my last semester of school (and with as little free time I have to myself as I do), wouldn't have taken the time or energy it took to write this extensive review if I didn't believe this was a great product. I just happen to know a solid product when I find one, which is exactly what you're getting in this fountain.

For the money, I challenge you to find a better value. Buy one today!

I purchased this fountain for a garden window in my kitchen. Like previous reviewers have said, the pieces are cheap plastic, but it doesn't look cheap unless you look really closely or touch it. So far it has held up fine with no signs of flimsiness.

But the best part about the fountain is the water noise! Since I keep it at home and not on my desk at work, I can't comment on the sound in a very quiet environment or if you're trying to do work very close to it. But at home, it creates a perfect babbling brook effect. I wanted a fountain for water noise rather than for appearance, but it does look very nice, too. The fountain does a minimal amount of splashing, but a few drops do come out nonetheless, so make sure you place it a good distance away from anything that can be damaged by water. I don't hear the motor at all, even if I am very close to the fountain.

All in all, a great inexpensive fountain.

Tired of fountains where you just hear a pump and you can't even hear the water? You won't get that here! You do not hear the pump over the water at all, you just hear the water sounds. There is a good steady flow of water, and the water flowing over the included stones gives it a lovely "babbling brook" sound effect. The water flow is good, and it has a nice design where the water does not get stuck on the levels but flows continuously through. The flowing water sound is very relaxing and peaceful.
It's made of black plastic with many tiny silvery flecks in it. The silver flecks give it a gentle shimmer, especially noticeable in the dark under the fountain's led lights. I think it looks nice. I'd say the light was a little brighter then a night light, mostly because of the water reflections that play across the walls. The LED lights are also easy to disconnect if you don't like them, you just leave the connector unplugged.
Most importantly, while it is plastic - it's not flimsy. It's taken a fall from a kitchen counter (when I was cleaning it) and held up solid with no cracks or breaks. Super easy to assemble and clean. Well made, so there is almost no water splatter when it runs.

Ours has been going in our house 24/7 for over 3 months, and has worked fine. Overall, it looks good and works good. It's a great fountain for the money.

Note: when you first get the fountain, it's important follow the instructions to wash both the fountain and the stones well before use. Homedics says most noise problems people report are caused by dust and grime from skipping this step are caused by people who do not do this. Once a week, take 5 minutes to give it a good rinse in the kitchen sink and refill it with clean water, and it will last you a long time.

I own several large scale fountains that I have modified to make them nearly maintenance free. I just purchased this product in the last few days and immediately implemented some tweaks to correct some issues. I am using this unit in my bedroom to provide some white noise to improve my sleep. When I first plugged it in, there was a small amount of splashing on my expensive dresser. I'm not a big fan of turning down the flow rate on these small pumps, because it tends to increase the noise it generates due to the impeller rotating at the same speed but effectively being starved of water throughput. My solution, which completely eliminated any splashing, was to prop some larger river rocks I had (approx 2 inches in diameter) right below the respective water falls, which utiilizes the H2O cohesion effect to provide the cascading water a path to travel down, thereby minimizing/eliminating splashing. Now I can't find even the smallest water droplet around the fountain. This also dramatically quiets the fountain for those that complained about the noise being generated.

The next problem I addressed was the fact that the bottom set of LED's were just too bright to sleep in the same room with. The upper LED can be unplugged, but I chose to keep that one lit (since it can also be rotated to your liking) and deal with the bottom two. If you look at the LED's from a side view at their level, you'll find that they have virtually no direct contact with the water. This makes the perfect fix to simply turn off the fountain, dry the area surrounding the LED with a Q Tip, and cut a 3/4 inch piece of black electrical tape and secure it firmly over the LED and about a 1/4 inch on either side of it. Once the fountain is turned back on, you'll find that 95% of the light is now blocked and the tape blends perfectly with the black plastic. The one remaining light up top, which I pointed away from my bed, makes for a perfect night light now.

The last point of contention that some people have commented on is the water developing algae/slime. On one of my other fountains, I add a very small amount of algaecide with an eye dropper once a week, and only add water using my Brita pitcher, which effectively removes chlorine (or distilled water would work equally as well), and I can usually go six months or more between large cleanings and maintain perfect water clarity. A 16 ounce bottle of spa algaecide can be purchased at most retailers for $6-8, and it will last an incredibly long time.

Hope these ideas help those of you that complained about any of the above problems.

Was looking for something for my office when I read. Other Walgreens like fountains were weak. This fountain works with the LED lights and the three levels of water working together. A solid product.

I have had this product for about 5 months now. I had to get it replaced once because the LED on the side burned out. The seal around the light failed, and water got in. They replaced it, but it took them a while to do so, about 4 weeks. But that's about the company and not this product.
This fountain is really great for the price tag of under $30.00. It comes with a TON of rocks, and if you get a replacement, you get even MORE ROCKS.
The size of the fountain is great and fits on my little end table in my room nicely. The speed of the pump allows for the water to flow nicely and minimize splashing.
It does need to be cleaned. I didn't clean it for two weeks, and there was algae and stuff in it, and it required more work. (My fault)
And be sure to use distilled water. Otherwise, you will have to clean the fountain more often.

All-in-all it is a great product for the price.

It is very nice for the price. Looks good and works good so far too.

This fountain is simply delightful. I have owned several homedics fountains, and this one has everything I've wanted from all of the others. I liked it so much that I bought another one for my co-worker to have at her desk. It is simple to setup and easy to use, minus a few things- The river rocks that are to be placed in the fountain are wonderful and add to the appearance, but care should be taken that you do not place them in such a way that the water will not flow as it should. Too many rocks in a corner will cause the water to spill out. Another thing that might bother some users is the super bright LED lights. They cannot be independently switched off, so if you plan on sleeping with this fountain on you should keep this in mind. Aside from those few items, this is a fantastic fountain that has a whisper quiet pump (I can't hear it at all) and the water flow sounds are just loud enough to mask office distractions. Keep it clean and full to avoid pump damage and this product should give you years of enjoyable operation...

i loved this fountain. its the perfect founatin if you are looking for water noise. many fountains you cant even hear the water. this one the motor makes no noise and all you hear is the water. is so pretty. it has lights in it too and easy to assemble. the plasitic is a little cheap but who cares cuz at this prices you cant beat it. i just love the water and it make the perfect water noise.

I really enjoyed the Homedics River Bend Fountain at first. The design looks great especially with the polished rocks you get with it. It has LED's under the waterfall parts so it will illuminate your walls with a nice dancing water effect, which I really liked. It gives off a fairly quiet low hum as well as the sound of the water splashing. It was just what I wanted in a fountain and for a really nice price.

After several months of operation though it was time to clean it out and thats where I started to have trouble. After giveing it a nice gentle cleaning it developed this problem where the water would splash itself up and over the walls of the fountain. So the fountain would pump most of the water onto the floor in a matter of minutes.
When it first did this I found the poor pump sitting in a little puddle of water I practically dove on the cord so it wouldent get burned out.

I tried off and on for a few weeks to set things up just right to make it not leak out all the water but in the end I gave up on it and the majority of it ended up in the recycle box.