Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Aqua-Pro Feeders

I met up with Ron Ferguson, BA Products sales guru and feeder designer last fall. He was interested in my thoughts about their feeders and to see if I could help them sell a few. Well, after reading what I saw on our website, I called Greg Grimes and asked his opinion of AquaPro Feeders. In a nutshell, he was disappointed with their performance. He said they tended to clog up and the timers had to be replaced regularly. They were having other issues.
So, in my meeting with Ron, I brought those issues directly to him. I was pleased with his candid answers. He could have hidden behind his corporate veil or blamed some unknown entity on the other side of the planet. But, he didn't. He was upstanding and told me straight up that BA Products had contracted with a company to make their timers and the timers just didn't meet the standards. He accepted the responsibility and understands that their products were not nearly the quality he expected them to be. I asked what they were doing about it and he explained their action plan. We left the meeting with the understanding I would interested in learning more about their feeders when the problems were resolved.
Well, last week I got a call from him. He told me the issues were solved and the feeders were good quality, just like they were several years ago. They've ironed out the kinks, resolved the timer issues and are ready to invite their customers back and give them another try.
To that end, he offered to bring a couple of feeders to LL,2 for us to test and see what we think. I told him to bring them on...and he did. Just left about an hour ago. So, we have two new feeders to test where we can watch them every day and see how they perform. One will go on the catfish pond and the other will go up top, to feed bluegill in a brood bass pond.
Ron told me he sent test feeders to several people...Greg Grimes and Todd Overton, too.
If you've received at test unit or have recently bought AquaPro Feeders, please use this thread to keep us all posted how well the feeders are performing. I'll keep you posted on these, as well.
I'll shoot some photos once we get them up and full of feed. By the way, our fish are feeding like little tigers...really getting after it.

Man, this is an impressive example of how Pond Boss works. A manufacturer works to fix problems, and is willing to let Bob, Greg, and Todd test them. So cool....

Bob what are they doing about the bad timers they sold. Will they replace them. For some reason 2 of mine with those timers run down the battery way to fast and jam. This happens even with minimum feed settings ( 2 times a day at 1 second). I also have doubts about the solar charger on those units being powerful enough. The new feeders ( I have 4 newer ones and 1 old one)are not near as good as the old one. They have a lot to do to keep me as a customer. First is the headache I have keeping the new ones working. I have to wire 2 batteries (12/70 or 12/80) in parallel to keep them running for a week set on 2x 1 second feedings. One that is less than a year old is in the shed because the timer and 2 motors won't work together correctly (jam I guess). Its replacement works just a little better than it. They have sent so called replacement timers and solar panels and they do the same as the replaced ones. For the time I have wasted on working on them , sending them back and re-setting the replacement up , then unjaming them I could have paid for other feeders. This does not even account for the fact that my new feed trained fish had to sit there for a week unfed (until I found that it was not working ) and moved in another feeder . Very dissatisfied with the new ones but love the old reliable one. For me to get on here and complain about a product , is out of character , but you did ask.

I expect Ron to come on the website and take a look at this thread, once he gets back to Grand Prairie. Look for either a response here or a pm. He is sincere with me about regaining their lost market share. Let's see what he says.

Thanks. Every time I have called them they have been nice and tried to help and sent parts. So far the feeders just don't work as they should.

That attitude is what drew me to Ron in the first place. It would have been one thing had he just excused the issues. But, last fall, when we met, he acknowledged the issues and told me they were working to solve them. It took them a while to figure out what the "problem" was. The problem was the timer was a clone of their existing one. The manufacturer copied it rather than building the chips as they should have been. He explained it to me that it's like photocopying something. The photocopy is never as good as the original. Once the figured out what the problem was, they took action to change it.

Bob, Todd had gave me a heads up on AquaPro timers last week.
I called customer service on Thursday and they told me 2 timers would be sent next day so should be delivered soon.
Appreciatd their response and hope they have their problems solved.

ewest:

When you say you have an older one that is good, just how old? Reason for asking is because I have 2 of them, both purchased in early Spring of 2007. I'm trying to figure out if I have good ones or bad ones. One I put into service relatively quickly, the other one is still in the garage. I noticed that the solar panel wouldn't keep the battery up, and I ended up hooking up a much larger panel (2' x 4' like the ones that you see on the highway "warning construction ahead signs") to it, but it still wore down the battery quickly. I have the timer to feed 2x day, 15 seconds each time. I thought it was because it is in partial shade, then I thought the battery was going bad (2nd year of use).

I'm going to switch to Aquamax 500 this year and see how it performs vs. the generic food from the farm supply store.

ewest -

We will be glad to replace your timers. As Bob stated earlier we tested the redesigned timer extensively- we had them going off over 24 times a day at 90 seconds each time for about a month.
Please call us at 800-847-8269 and we will get your timers out to you and let us know if we can do anything else for you.

I received 4 of the new timers today to try out, and if they work I will need 14 more to replace on feeders we have out for ourselves, friends, and local clients that currently don't work properly.

Keeping with the theme of being completely honest, I just like Eric, absolutely loved my old Stren/Aquapros. I loved them so much that I bought a whole pallet of them from Grimes at the first Pond Boss Conference with his Seal of Approval on them also. I sold that pallet of feeders to my very best clients and friends with my NAME on them, got set up as a dealer with BA Products, purchased a couple more pallets and sold them fairly quick as well.

Eric, you can definitely relate to what I am about to say next, but can you imagine trying to maintain more than 20 of these feeders spread out across 10 different properties? I lost countless hours of my time driving around central Illinois trying to figure out what in the world was going on and what I got myself into! Not only did I lose money and time on every single one of those feeders, but MY NAME was associated with them and my name is one of the very most important parts of my entire business! Grimes name was associated with them as well.

Glad to see this thread. Busy but I will take a few mins to give my story. As some of you might know BA had an ad in PB for a couple of years. Paraphrasing “Greg Grimes says they are the best feeders money can buy.” I honestly believed that at the time. Being aligned with them went from the best business decisions to the worst. The good feeders are those from about 3 years ago or older. We started having problems back then.

Back in 2003, is that right year Ron?, I was the largest distributor in the country. I flew to TX and they took me on a hunt. Got to see their place and pal around with Ron. It was one of the coolest things in my life. It made me feel like I had accomplished something in my business to have a company actually treat me so nicely. In fact thanks to Ron’s help I took the third biggest Hybrid Ibex taken with bow. It hangs in my office Bob you saw the devil goat as my wife calls it. Customer service has always been great. They are good people that really care about their customers.

However I began 3 years ago to fell like a beaten dog. I would call and basically threaten to quit carrying product and I was told they were going to have the issue fixed. I would get calls on my cell and then get back to office to have three more calls of bad feeders. It was a nightmare to say the least. I was doing my customers a disservice selling them an inferior product. My reputation I had worked so hard to build was getting torn down over something I really did not have control over.

Eric you echo the sentiment of my customers. Nate is correct as well. I convinced Nate and Shaun Banks to carry the product only for it to go bad. I stil bad for recommending them. I still to this day have good customers I lost because I sold them a product that they have wasted so much time on fixing still to not be working. There for a few years folks were singing the praise of this feeder is great and fraction the cost of Sweeney. Not anymore.

I honestly believe Ron. Why would they go through the trouble of eating all this money if they did not have a better product? I like Nate and Shaun Banks Overton and others got a free feeder. I also got 8 new timers to fix the ones I have downstairs in inventory picked up from clients. I have another client in S.C. Bob you meet him Jim Copeland that is in need of 8 timers for broken down feeders. Talk about good client. He is top of the list and has bad feeders. He has been understanding about it though. I will call and talk with Logan at BA today.

Ok, so now what do I do. I will try out the new timers FYI they also have a new solar panel. IT is great for current customers to get a timer that actually replaces the bad one and works. If they work for us and I look so forward to seeing the response from others testing as well I will carry their product again. Problem is I have also had wonderful customer service with Tx Hunter. They respond quickly. They always have inventory ready to ship. They are there to answer questions, etc. I also sell Sweeny and Moultire. The Moultrie thus far seems like a good feeder for the money and happy to sell it. I guess I will offer all of these if BA has fixed the issues with Aquapro. Also keep in mind the “new cheap feeder” as it was deemed, Ron what is current status of those? The one I have in inventory has a bad timer again.

So my fingers are crossed they have fixed all the issues. I want it to workout b/c I know the folks at BA at good people. Please keep posting your findings on the new timers. I will do the same.

At the end of the day, companies are going to make mistakes and get black-eyes over products or projects gone wrong. Some say that successful companies have a batting average that is just above average.

The good companies own up to their mistakes/problems, and proactively go about solving or correcting the issues. The good companies don't try to profit along the way of correcting their mistakes or argue with their clientele about correcting the mistakes.

Every experienced or enlightened business person knows this, and long term business relationships have to be able to endure some bad experiences with all the good experiences.

If you lost some customers due to this problem, you now have a real, honest story to go back with and present. Make that effort and then leave any decisions to do further business with those customers with no pressure.

After that, you've done all that you can do, and you should sleep with a clear conscience.

Greg,Im still having timer issues as well.

When I said old feeder I was referring to the 75D model of about 5 years ago. It has a solar charger that is about 1 foot long. That one is a champ. At least 5 years of trouble free service. The reference to new feeders is to 75D units purchased in the last 2 years.

Thanks Ron I will call. If this works I will be one happy customer.

I also have a 25D hanging feeder that is 5+ years old and it also works great.

I have a bad solar panel on one of my AquaPro feeders that they are replacing timers.
I'm going to wait and see if it was the timer that was pulling down my battery instead of bad soalar panel before I ask for a solar panel replacement.

My old Stren feeder just keeps on keeping on - that's why I bought two new AquaPro feeders that have had prolems.

I might have gotten good ones. I'll replace the battery and see once feeding season starts. I really like the feeder. Using the generic farm store food I've never had a clog, and the dispersal pattern is great. I tried making a feeder from some of the MUCH less expensive wildlife directional feeders, and it worked o.k. with the smaller pellets, but the larger (1/4") pellets clogged it, and the raccoons were able to tear up the rubber paddle that dispersed the food. I was able to make a guard that stopped that, but not too long after that I bought the AD75's. I hope the timer problem is solved, it's a good feeder.

Greg - The "new cheap feeder" or the Directional lower unit is being tested now with a higher torque motor on wheel that drops the feed to the thrower motor. It is testing well and we have about 2 to 3 weeks of testing left on it. I will post the results when done.

I believe the issue with large batteries being discharged, is not due to the feeder electronics drawing too much current, but that the solar panel drains the battery at night. There should be a 'charge controller' offered to prevent this. It is nothing more than a blocking and current limiting diode, which allows current to pass from the panel to battery, but blocks the reverse current.

Now the Remington 'cheap feeder' is another issue. It will discharge a battery rather quickly for the amount of feed dispensed. I just dont understand the 'pre' and 'post' cycle, which runs the motors for entirely too long.

Burgermeister- All of our solar panels have always had a blocking diode on them to prevent the discharge at night.
On the "Directional feeder", the "Pre" cycle is so that the throwng motor can get up to full speed before dropping food to it. This helps prevent so much feed from being right in front of the feeder. The "Post" cycle is to clear the blower chamber out so that there is no feed there to get wet and rot or to attract varmints (not that they need help)

Just an observation on my Aquapro 75. Purchased early Spring 2007, so it is probably one of the newer problematic models. My battery was discharging right away after start up. I noticed some small arcing marks on the underside of the metal battery cover. The wiring harness spades that pushes onto the battery terminal were too close to the cover and direct shorting thus draining the battery. I insulated the terminals to prevent contact. Mine is set to go twice per day at 1 & 2 seconds. My solar panel is partially blocked by trees, I can now go all season without a manual recharge.

Shortly after the PB conference last year, I switched to AquaMax 600 from "Farm Pond Diet". When I first loaded the larger pellets, the AquaPro 75 clogged and didn't throw that first pellet. After multiple test throws and digging I gave up and walked away. The next day it started throwing those 1/4" pellets on it's own with no problem until the end of the season.

Bottom line is that my problems have been short lived and I have been pleased with the performance of my AquaPro 75 (knocking on wood). Check your battery cover, some of you may get lucky.

Blaine - You are correct, sometimes the "piggyback" clips on the battery wires-when extended up- will touch the timer box cover. The simple solution is to push the spades down flat and that should take care of the problem.

IMO, the feeder "problem" with AQMX 600 is not the size of pellets, but the high content of "fish oil" in the product.
The AQMX residue will eventually clog any feeder without proper maintenance, a trade off I will accept any day for the additional nutritional value.

Ron thanks for update. Keep up the feedback.

feederman says, On the "Directional feeder", the "Pre" cycle is so that the throwng motor can get up to full speed before dropping food to it. This helps prevent so much feed from being right in front of the feeder. The "Post" cycle is to clear the blower chamber out so that there is no feed there to get wet and rot or to attract varmints (not that they need help)
, "

those are good thought processes and are appreciated, BUT, come on, 4 seconds for the little thrower motor to get up to speed? How about 1 sec. pre and 1 sec post. I know it seems picky, but they do suck a 4.5 AH battery dry pretty quickly. This has been a common complaint, along with, of course, the timer failure to drive the motors. I was just sent a new one recently after sending in the old one to verify the problem. Being an absentee owner, I get ill when I come to the pond and the battery is discharged. I now have a panel.
You see, feederman, there is this guy on the forum, Dr. Condello is his name. He gives me nightmares. Not only does he grow obnoxiously large bluegill, but has arms that are about 5 ft. long and he just shoves the bluegill in your face, photogenically speaking that is. Now there is this other guy, Archer who has 1# 6 oz. bluegill after only 13 months. And then there's Ewest, Cody, Lusk, Theo, even a guy in Az. Please help.

BM. I agree it may not take that long BUT when the feeder and solar panel are working properly (like they did on models three years ago) it is nto an issue. It will keep the battery charged just fine. Im sure they have invested quite a bit of money in revamping the timer so they are not going to lower the pre and post times right now. Might be somethign to consider for the future though.