Works really great in FULL sun. The least little bit of a shadow, however, and it stops abruptly. But the pump starts up again just as fast once the shadow passes. When I operated the pump for the first time it took a second then began shooting water up about 18-20", I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't expecting that from this tiny little device. Totally easy to set up, heck there's really nothing to set up. Select the fountain head you want and place into the water – I played around with all of them til I found one that worked best for my bird bath. I could not use the suction cups on the bottom of the pump or the additional suction cup and fishing line provided to keep the fountain in place because my bird bath does not have a smooth surface. So I decided to "corral" the fountain with rocks. The birds like the rocks anyway, they stand on them and let the water fall over their bodies or drink directly from the fountain. In Arizona, I have to keep a close eye on water levels because it's so arid. I'm filling the bird bath up a few times during the day to keep the fountain from running dry. Overall very pleased.