Thought that I would bring to the campfire the debate of feeders. What are the pro's and con's to both 6-12v feeders? I have gone to using 12v feeders over the past several years and have not really seen the advantage to them. Sure they might throw the feed further and the motor might last a little longer but for the money that you might spend on a 12v feeder is not much more than a 6v feeder (if any) It seems like the 6v feeders will run longer on one battery than 12v's but the way that I see things is it only needs to run long enough to empty the feeder of corn. I can change the battery when I fill the feeder. I do fun a 55 gallon barrel that will hold 300 lbs. of corn and feeding twice a day it will run for 3 months before needing to be refilled. What does everyone else use and your thoughts about it?
:saluting
I don't see a need for it. I get 5-6 months on one spring top battery on my American Hunter feeder.
I have only had 6v feeders and this year i put solar panels on mine. Only had one battery go out all since June and it was used.
http://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt-solar-battery-charger-68692.html
Tried several 6 volt feeders over the years and and settled on the On Time Lifetime feeder. It is very tough, aluminum housing and pretty much weather proof. This model has a simple analog clock that needs a AA battery and the motor runs on 10 AA batteries in a series creating 15 volts. They will run for at least 6 months and are advertised to run a year. The only issue I have had with them has been the spinner plate will sometimes break and cause the unit to malfunction. There is a man in South Port at a hardware store that does repair work on this brand and only charges $5 for any repair. I think he even has loaners if you need one. I bought a new one and two used ones six or eight years ago and am well pleased with this brand. Usually run two feeders and have an extra motor for a spare. With the price of shelled corn any automatic feeder beats the old gravity type we used to make from PVC pipe. Treefarmer
Tried several 6 volt feeders over the years and and settled on the On Time Lifetime feeder. It is very tough, aluminum housing and pretty much weather proof. This model has a simple analog clock that needs a AA battery and the motor runs on 10 AA batteries in a series creating 15 volts. They will run for at least 6 months and are advertised to run a year. The only issue I have had with them has been the spinner plate will sometimes break and cause the unit to malfunction. There is a man in South Port at a hardware store that does repair work on this brand and only charges $5 for any repair. I think he even has loaners if you need one. I bought a new one and two used ones six or eight years ago and am well pleased with this brand. Usually run two feeders and have an extra motor for a spare. With the price of shelled corn any automatic feeder beats the old gravity type we used to make from PVC pipe. Treefarmer
that feeder looks awful close to the ground. No bear problem there?? just curious.
