Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Inexpensive nice feeder.

Pondsters:

Wanted to give a heads up on a great feeder I have been using now for about a month at the pond, and several years feeding the deer here at my place in East Texas. It is made by Wild Game Innovations, is made from a 40g Poly barrel with a electric timer(6 volt re-chargeable battery) with solar charger. The "Aqua" model is directional, throws about 35'-40' in a 45 degree pattern, holds up to 200#'s of pellets, can schedule up to 9 feedings, each up to 99 seconds daily. I tested mine by catching a feeding and it throws 1/2# per each 40 second interval. The thing is well built and the timer is easy to use and protected in an easy to open compartment under the feeder away from the weather. Amazon sells these things for under $150.00 with shipping. Check it out if your are in the market, sure beats $700-$800!!!.....................Budster

Budster, let us know how it performs for you over the next couple of years. I've had a couple of their trail cameras and while initially they seemed great, time proved (at least to me) otherwise.

I have used it in my front pasture feeding deer for a couple years, moved it to the pond, No Problems, still works like new! I'm not trying to sell anyone, just thought I would pass it along. Haven't seen to many alternatives to the "high dollar feeders" that are acceptable, everything else seems to have a drawback, or two, not these.....................Budster

Budster - Where was the unit made / put together? Although the parts could have come from anywhere.

The Wild Game Innovations web site says the feeders and accessories are manufactured, made and warehoused in Texas, USA by B/A products Co. Apparently they have a TV show "Wildgame Nation" Sundays at 8:00 pm, but interestingly they don't show a TV channel on the web ad.

I don't know about the parts, not much of that kind of stuff is made here, but I don't know.........................Budster

IIRC, B/A Products manufactures AquaPro feeders?

I don't know that? Wildgame Innovations has a model of feeder they call the "Aqua", It was not shown on their web site but is available through Amazon. I am not familar with "Aqua Pro", so I don't know................Budster

Fellars this feeder has been discussed many times. Called many diff things made by BA products I got one still but fixed three times. It has impeller and throws very little food as mentioned. Budster states 1/2lb in 40 seconds. So if wanting to feed small amounts give it a try. If feeding as many of us do not the feeder for that. it will kill the battery at multiple times per day for that long a period.

I've tried Wildgame feeders and cameras and have been disappointed with their performance and longevity. I'm not disappointed with their customer service. They sent me 3 new cameras with no problems. The feeders have, as Greg says, a pretty weak motor.

I've given up on them.

I believe the Wildgame and the AquaPro low profile are the same feeders. In fact, the Amazon pic shows the AquaPro feeder in the Wildgame add.

I have one up and running and time will tell as to the durability of the unit. The impeller that drops the food into the thrower is rubber, and that is my main concern.

I understand the desire to pass on the more expensive feeders, and it's certainly a personal and financial choice. I almost fainted when I bought my first Texas Hunter Feeder, but it has been a workhorse.

I guess it's like a watch. Some inexpensive watches never break or lose time, so they are a good value. Others of the same make are constant problems. I hope for both our sakes, that the Wildgame/Aquapro turns out to be a good investment.

I bought 2 of the Aqua-pro Dx-25 hanging feeders because they are very inexpensive, about $100 each including rechargeable 6v battery and solar charger. The timer broke on the first one about 2 years after setup. I called them and said to send it in and they would replace it since the warranty is 3 years (I think). I sent it in about 6 months ago and never heard from them again. The timer on the second one recently went out but I'm not going to bother sending it in. Now, with that said, I replaced them with 2 of the same because they do work well and are relatively cheap.

As for the camera, I bought one of the cheaper cameras ($45) March, 2011 when it was on sale. I set it up in November, 2011 and it worked for about 2 weeks before failing. I couldn't find the receipt

This unit has a timer with 9 set times up to 99 seconds each = 11.1 #'s of food at 1/2# per 40 seconds. I doubt you feed more than that at each feeder.

As for batteries that's why God gave us solar chargers.

The impeller is rubber to avoid jamming pellets in the feed chamber, seems logical to me.

The warranty is 3 years, I think I would have made a second phone call to pursue replacement. Who know's, maybe it was lost in the mail? However I do understand your point, at the price it may be easier to just replace it.

dotn want to argue I can sell this feeder but in reality if doing much feeding it will not last long. You set that feeder for that many seconds that many times not going to hold up and not even a high end solar charger can keep up with that much usage. Other feeders throw abotu a half lb in a 3-5 second feeding. Hope you get my point. Good luck.

Greg:

Just visited your home-page and as I expected your status as a "pro", has clouded your prespective. I would think that after all the years on this forum you would have a better sense of who is a "hobbiest with a 1/2 acre pond and an even smaller fixed income, someone who's challenge is to accomplish all those dreams on a retirement income and those that manage profesionally resorts and lake communities, etc.
Maybe though, I'm in the wrong forum, maybe this place is for the "fat cats only". Now you got me wonder'in, I really enjoy the knowledge and experience I can access here on Pond Boss, but maybe I'm out of my league........Budster

Well I consider myself a hobbiest also. I have a small pond too. After several attempts to save on fish stocking, and feedersfrom others, I came to realize you get what you pay for. I have personnally purchased items from Greg,and he has always treated me very fair,plus taken a few minutes of his day to help by answering some questions. He carries quality products, and top notch services.The cost of doing business in this economy is challenging, compare his prices to others, he is very reasonable when you compare apples, to apples.

Budster, I know how hard it can be to find one's place in an online forum, and that applies right here at PB too. I hope you stick around and give it some more time, after all you've been here less than two weeks.

You have to remember that a lot of folks on here, pro or not, have been where you're at, and have tried what you're trying. I don't think anyone is trying to dismiss your statements out of hand, rather they want to be sure that the details, both good and bad, are put out there for everyone to see. Including those who are just visitors to the forum, and may be looking for advice or tips on a new feeder purchase.

I think you're correct in stating that not everyone needs a 7-800 dollar feeder, but a 150 dollar one may not live up to the standards expected or desired by some pondowners.

lots of knowledge here, hang around and continue to contribute and we'll all be a little wiser for it.

Budster, your in the right place for sure. Greg's all around good guy so don't be too hard on him. You are correct that in his line of work oftentimes he has to make recommendations that are commercial duty.

There are tons of people looking for advice and product recommendations on this forum everyday so its great to have real life experiences for every situation to help in that research. Your effort in posting your info and experience is utilized by tons of people who never actually make a post.

It would be nice if more people would post what works for them!!

If your feeder lasts just past the warranty, you have buy another feeder. Do that 3 or 4 times and you are at the price of an "expensive" feeder. I think you get want you pay for.

Maybe it will work for you. But ultimately its your choice.

budster, look at it from the other side of the street - Greg's side (and mine, n8ly, Bob Lusk, etc.) Many of the customers want an inexpensive feeder (I do too) that works flawlessly (yep, me too). But, if you sell one that doesn't work 24/7/365, how does that reflect on you in your customers eyes? Does the customer expect you as the seller to come out and fix it if they aren't handy with tools? Do they expect you to do that without charging them for a service call because they bought the feeder from you? How many trips can you make before that sale ceases to be profitable? Remember, no profit, we can't pay ourselves, our employees, and we wouldn't be in this business for very long.

It doesn't take very many sales of inconsistent quality controlled products to turn me away from them. How can I best serve my customers if I have to tell them "We sell this feeder for less than 1/4 the price of our Cadillac feeder, but we can't guarantee how long it will work for you. If it quits working, you'll have to take it apart and send it to them to be fixed, or we'll have to charge a service call to come back out."

Years ago I called Greg about an AquaPro feeder that I purchased (not from him). I called because he sold them, and I was getting the run-around from Stren. He sent me parts for it at no cost, and I wasn't even a customer. After spending the $ on 2 of those feeders, I would be $$ ahead (and my fish & pond) would be better off if I would have spent the (IIRC $125 each) extra $$ on a TH feeder. Less wasted food, more precise feed dispersal (amount) and I wouldn't go a couple of weeks at a time without feeding because the feeder jammed and I wasn't around to notice it.

If you're handy with tools, and are willing to spend the time on the feeder if it quits, then I see no problem with buying the less expensive feeders. Maybe your feeder was built on Wednesday and it'll work flawlessly for years. But, experience has shown that in regards to feeders, 90+% of the time you really do get what you pay for.

I am in the same shoes you are budster and I also agree you get what you pay for. I bought 2 aeration systems(eBay) and a windmill for my pond because I could not afford the Cadillac vertex systems. Well I wasted 2-3 years aerating my pond with systems that gave me nothing but trouble. I have 2 compressors collecting dust and a windmill that's bent to crap because a 100mph wind and 1000ft of poly pipe that I can't wait to cut into pieces and make structure( hope I can sink it! Never had much luck at sinking that mess when it was an aeration setup). I spent $4000 on crap that doesn't work now.

The happy ending is my Cadillac vertex system I bought is flawless in every way.
I want a feeder also but I am waiting until I can buy the texas hunter. If I buy something different it will put me that much further from it.

Hope this helps and I hope you stick around like the rest say Greg is a great guy and he knows how to get a good bang for your buck and get fast results.

blair did you cement the anchors of the windmill or just drive them in the ground? Just wondering.

I hadn't cemented yet but had 2 inch rachet straps tied around trees and a fence post. The strap on the one side snapped and the head of the windmill was in the pond in the morning. I don't think it would take much to fix( new blades and tail) but haven't got around to it.

Thanks Guys.
Budster you are wrong on your commetns about me. I get paid nothing for post here and super busy but took time to give PB readers my my opinion of this feeder. I dont just work for fat cats. I work for the working man that wants to spent money wisely.

I tried to be nice in my comments however wanted another opinion before a customer only heard your version of this feeder. You have one of these feeders and glad it is working for you. I was the one of the first to have one after meeting with BA products at trade show. Gave them fed back to the chinese folks for development. They were excited about it. It was modified and it is what it is.

I tried to be positive and mention it might work for small amounts of food. In fact there is one running on my ponds where I need just a small amount of feed (after we fix jams about once every two weeks). I also have had many complaints abotu them. Thought it my duty to let PB readers know if they want to be throwing alot of food not my choice for dollars wisely spent. I hope this clears the air.