I guess it depends on which side of the line ya live on... I had an and thought I would share it before we patent it...... We built a tripod feeder several years ago, the old spinner finally died. Decided to change it to a free flow style. Got 2 3" toilet flanges, 18" of pipe, long carriage bolts w/fender washers, nuts and a pizza pan... Worked great, deer, coons and pigs loved it... But I got to again...getting closer to hunting season, they don't need a 24hr buffet, need to pattern them during daylight. So we bought a new Bluetooth controller Moultrie feeder. Went to Lowe's, got another toilet flange, 2 3" repair couplings that slide over the pipe... Made an adaptor plate from a drum lid... Flange bolted to one side... Feeder mount bolted to the other... Then happened again...... what if drum is half full of corn when it's time to swap ends... Ahh, need a ball valve...Lowe's didn't have a 3"...our town has 3 hardware stores, checked the 1st one, nada...called the 2nd one, no answer We stopped by the other one and JESUS had a blessing for us...went in, I looked and didn't see one, my short Miz Carol looks way up on the top shelf and asked what about that one? I managed to get it down, yep, 3"...shelf price $70, marked clearance $35...when we checked out...it rang up $17.50...... We got the corn out, tipped it over and got valve installed Glued a short pipe with coupling to valve. Left other side of coupling dry. Glued a short pipe in flange on spinner, it slides into coupling, drilled hole thru both And used 3/8" hitch pin to hold it... Then we drilled holes in the free flow pan for after season use... Programmed, valve open and ready The wildlife must not mind the glue and our scent. They were back tonight...
220, 221...whatever it takes. Looks like a success to me! Having a motor vs free choice will save you some $$ on corn. Learned that lesson some years ago. They'll still be by daily.
Even $70 would have been a good price for that valve these days...$17.50 is just plain theft! Looks like a good solution...
Awesome ingenuity (and we have plenty of rednecks up here in Yankee land, so the two can by synonymous). I put a tripod feeder on the back side of my property back in 2010. I went out one day and it was gone, so I thought some lowlife had stolen it (in 17 years of being here, I've only ever caught three people wandering through my woods, but you never know). Fast forward to late winter the next year and when meandering around the property (in an area that's somewhat boggy when not frozen over and pretty thick with scrub growth) I spotted the tripod feeder torn open and half buried. Upon closer inspection I found distinct black bear tooth and claw marks. Lesson learned and I never used a tripod feeder again! I was glad to know though that it was a bear that took the feeder and not some two-legged thief.
