Capsule 1000-lb Deluxe Easy-Fill Game Feeder

I purchased my 1000 # Capsule feeder in September, 2014 so this is the 13th winter I will be feeding wildlife on my residential property in NC MN. Year after year, it faithfully delivers clean, whole corn twice a day in any weather condition. Temperatures here sometimes exceed -40 degrees F, but my feeder has never failed to operate on schedule. The first couple of years, I used a rechargeable 12V battery with the small solar panel (although I mounted it at 60 degrees to the horizon instead of flat). More recently I have simply connected two or even three 12V AGM batteries in parallel as insurance against a sunless winter sky.

I have only experienced two problems in the past 12 years. One Spring, I forgot to remove the two AA batteries from the timer. They leaked over the summer (when the feeder was idle) and damaged the PC board so I had to order a new timer. Two winters ago, the squirrels chewed the plastic distribution impeller at the top of the auger so severely that it was no longer useful. I fabricated a replacement impeller out of 1/8" aluminum sheet and angles and it worked beautifully all last winter. We have lots of raccoons around but they can't get corn out of the auger no matter how hard they try. We also have a big boar black bear that tried to open the feeder but couldn't even move it whether full or empty as it is tethered to trees on either side. We don't have any wild hogs here (yet) but I'm sure they couldn't damage or compromise this feeder either as it is super tough design and very well made. I love it!

Where to begin? The feeder leaks corn out of the sides, easy for weevils and other bugs to get into it, hogs like it since they can go up to it and ram it and get corn out of it. Not sure if it was the heat or what but the bottom funnel has speed bumps if you will so feed doesn’t feed reliably. The washers should be bigger than the squares that the bolts go through on the side. If I would have known all of this I wouldn’t have gotten 3 of these.