That's a good deal.
That's a good deal.
Well, I guess as long as it works properly that's a good price. I have one, and am NOT real happy with the performance this year. They don't tell you that the solar "charger" doesn't really CHARGE the battery, it merely "maintains" the charge it comes with. So, not knowing this, after last season I disconnected the battery terminals from the charger. Went to set it up this year and found, after talking to the rep, that the battery must be charged first, again, before the solar "charger" can be effective. So, I ordered a NEW battery from them at around $30 plus shpg., and the unit still didn't perform the way it did last season. Intermediate lapses in feeding schedule, less release time of feeding than scheduled on some but not all settings. Overall, it cost me some decent growth/confirmation issues this past summer. Some of the bigger fish didn't get enough to maintain what they had achieved from last year. Personally, I would find out from Russ which feeder he is using as it is MUCH CHEAPER and a 6 volt battery supposedly lasts all season without a "solar charger". I believe he bought his through the Cabella catalog.
Mike
check out our website at: http://www.pond-life.net
"Our goal is to assist with emergency and Koi health issues, as well as educate on best practices. Please help us gain a clear picture by giving the original poster time to answer our questions before offering opinions and suggested treatments."
Mike - do you mean Cabela's? I looked there and there's one feeder. It's not rated highly so I didn't want to pull the trigger on it in the past. I'll wait for feedback on personal experience though
I actually like the Koi Cafe for what it does and price. I know the amount of food comes out depends on the timmer, the amount of food in the unit, the type and brand of food. With FD skinking food, 3 seconds drop gives me around 6 oz of food.
I had to adjust the screw on the bottom to make the gap bigger for larger pellets to pass throught.
Last edited by vipertom1970; 12-02-2013 at 06:50 PM.
Well, as far as I know, that's the one Russ and a couple others I know are using with great success. Unless Russ has some updated feedback to the contrary. He's been using it on his mudpond(s) for the past two seasons.
I tested the feed rate before I set it up on the pond early last summer. As I said, it worked great last year, but this year, with everything, including the food used was identical. For some reason, the timer setting, being set for 6 seconds on all five feeding times, wasn't staying on for the full duration on 3 of the settings, yielding less than half the food it should have dropped. There's also the "setting arm" on the top of the feeder that allows a wider gap based on where the leg is set. I even increased the opening size, but to no avail. I'm glad you're happy with yours Tom, but I think, for the price point with the solar unit, is not worth it.
Mike
check out our website at: http://www.pond-life.net
"Our goal is to assist with emergency and Koi health issues, as well as educate on best practices. Please help us gain a clear picture by giving the original poster time to answer our questions before offering opinions and suggested treatments."