Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Was looking for a solution that won't break the bank especially because I am away from home often and will have a two IBC system (which means it is a neccessity and I'll need two) and stumbled upon this:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Moultrie-All- ... t/16386221

It is the motor and timer assembly for Moultrie's All in One Feeder which sells on Amazon for around $40.

http://www.amazon.com/Moultrie-Gallon-A ... al_qh_dp_i

The reviews on Amazon say that the timer is very reliable and can be programed from 1-20 seconds, 4x daily. It's operated with 4AA batteries or can be connected to a solar charger. It is meant to be used with corn kernels as pelet feed gets crushed and clogs up the feeder since it is mounted on the underside of a bucket where the feed drops onto the metal plate and is sprayed out by the spinning metal plate.

But if timer/motor assembly is adapted for AP use and coupled with the DIY auger style feeders that many have designed/created, could make for an inexpensive solution for automatic feeding. I figure this can be mounted to the side of a cereal tub which can be bought at any Walmart, a spiral auger fashioned out of a coat hanger or strip of wire then fastened to the metal plate, and viola!

Anyhow, thought I would pass this thought along and get opinions from everyone else on the board.

I had an extra thrower laying around the shop. I tried the same thing, I found when a pellet got in a bind in between the auger and the funnel, the motor didn't have enough torque to crush or split the pellet, causing the motor to bind up

The way mine was designed may be different than the way you are going to do it though

Which thrower did you have? This exact one or the more expensive $50 unit that Moultrie sells? Also, I would slide the auger into a PVC pipe, cut a smallish hole into the pipe for the feed troop through, reducing the contact of the feed with the auger, minimizing the chance of it jamming.

If you're just using it for the timer/motor to drive an auger then you only need to worry about the auger design itself. If it's weak it'll bind, but the old style wood drill I've elsewhere here should do fine.

in a little while there might be some useful demand feeder code and circuit diagrams for auto feeders in this thread...

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