Automatic Fish Feeder

DailyLunatic

DailyLunatic

Surin Legend
Setting up an automatic solar powered fish feeder. Got tired of wandering out twice a day just to pitch a few measures into the ponds.

Still in the testing phases, but it looks like it will be feeding too much at a go. I can't set timer down to less than one minute, and the dimmer (motor speed) for the screw feed gets jammed if set below 25%. My current power supply is not the solar cell/motorcycle battery I will be using in situ and is being used for testing only a 12v 5A power supply.

I'm getting about twice what I want out of it at this 25% setting.

I'm wondering if use of the motorcycle battery with 30A will be enough to power through the jam at the lower settings, or if it will merely speed everything up even more?

Second issue is how to get the feed from the short feeder tube the 2 meters or so I need to drop it into the water from the bank. The pond tapers on the sides and in the dry season it will have a ways to go. I'm going to try rigging a corrugated fiberglass slide to see if that works.

Anybody have any experience with these beasties?

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Interesting. It certainly is very agricultural. Your understanding of Voltage and Current is very interesting to say the least.
After trying to work out just why the unit has a speed controller at all. I worked out that it must be for fish food size regulation.
I might have this wrong but looking at the set up it would be best to use the motor at the highest speed for short duration.
Slowing that screw feed down would be very problematic.
 
Rice said:
Interesting. It certainly is very agricultural. Your understanding of Voltage and Current is very interesting to say the least.
After trying to work out just why the unit has a speed controller at all. I worked out that it must be for fish food size regulation.
I might have this wrong but looking at the set up it would be best to use the motor at the highest speed for short duration.
Slowing that screw feed down would be very problematic.
Click to expand...

Yeah, layman's understand of that sort of thing. Never played one on TV nor stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

You are correct, the dimmer is to regulate the speed of the motor.

I have the timer set to 1 minute, the shortest unit on the timer. With it set to 1 minute, and at the slowest speed (~25%) that does not seem to 'jam' during operation, I'm getting just under twice the desired volume of feed I want in one go.

I was hoping increased Amperage might increase the torque of the motor, without affecting its speed. Unfortunately, the increased Amperage from the battery did not increase either the torque or speed of the motor. I'm getting the same results.

Several smaller feedings are preferred over one gorge fest (Tilapia have small stomachs). I would prefer this feed volume divvied up in three feedings a day if I can set it up to do smaller servings. Looks like I'm hosed without a different motor. (...or a larger pond)

-sterling
 
The device design is really good. Just not implemented correctly. need to dump the speed control and get a better timer that can go to shorter durations.
 
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