Gotcha. 15 feet would mean a 30 ft diameter circle. That is about what I feed by hand. But if you use the baffle plates to essentially throw one direction I see what you mean. You quickly begin to realize why the other feeders are so expensive. But like you I can't swing the $800 at the moment. That's why I am forced to hand feed. I would rather hand feed for a while and save up for a good reliable feeder than spend money on an uncertain cheaper one. My pond is also 50 feet from my front door so hand feeding is not an issue. Not sure what I will do when I go on business trips or vacation yet though.
