Life of 6-volt feeder batteries

[gt2003]

I just bought an automatic feeder last year.  How long should i expect the battery to last?  I bought the 6-volt charger also for what it's worth.

The reason I'm asking is I left it out in the woods since last year.  I tried recharging it and it did nothing at all.  I won't do that again this year, lol.  Anyway, my feeder feeds twice per day, about 15-20 seconds each time.  If I switch out batteries every time I fill the feeder (5 gallon bucket) will I be OK?


UPDATE:  I must have had the battery in the wrong position.  I just re-inserted the battery and it works fine.  I still need to know how long the battery will last feeding twice per day, 15-20 seconds per feeding.  Thanks again, Greg

[Wynn]

At that feed rate, mine would last 6 weeks to two months. I quit using the spring top batteries and modified all of mine to alligator clips and stud batteries. The spring tops frequently would lose contact for reasons unknown.

[Land_Owner]

Mine is pretty close to Wynn's.  I feed 4x per day @ 6 second bursts and get 6 to 8 weeks per 6-volt Duracell.  When I upped the feed rate to 6x per day @ 10 second bursts the battery lasted only 3 weeks and then wouldn't turn the slinger any more. 

So, extrapolating the three rates and times:
...24 seconds / day = 49 days
...60 seconds / day = 21 days. 

You are somewhere in between @ 35-40 seconds per day = 35 days.  It may be less due to the extended time you run your slinger. 

I don't think your reservoir will last a month @20 second bursts from a 5-gallon feeder.  Mine is 300# of corn in a 55-gallon drum that lasts for 60 days tops.

[jpred1]

Last year I added the solar chargers to my moultrie feeders and they outlasted the funds for corn.I started them in 1st of september and went broke @ christmas .Never charged battery.Just added corn.

[rickt300]

Who's solar charger are you using. My feeders have run up to 3 months without charging if I buy the best batteries and really charge em up before I install them. I only run my feeders twice a day at 8 seconds each. If a cold front hits it usually really slows down the batteries.

[buck460XVR]

you should move to Wisconsin......since it is illegal to feed/bait deer in many areas of the state, and the DNR is considering shuttin' it down in the rest of the state,  your batteries would last forever. So would the shell corn........

There is a major downside to this tho.....because of these silly rules and regulations against feeding/baiting, we actually have to go out in the woods and HUNT for the deer. We  literally are forced to take the time to try and figure out where the deer are, what their preferred foods are at certain times of the year and what trails they actually take to get to these preferred foods from their bedding areas. Instead of being able to drive to an area where we have trained the deer to come to the sound of the 4-wheeler and the banging of 5 gallon buckets full of food, we are condemned to sit in the woods and hope that by chance or luck a deer happens by. Really takes the fun out of it.

[rickt300]

Yeah and lucky for you the deer are a lot dumber there too. Not only that you have snow, and most of the vegetation in the area is not covered with thorns. You can even see the ground most of the time.  Too bad the bucks don't show at the feeders in the day time and the only time you will see a nice one is during the rut. I really have to laugh when some Michigan or Wisconsin know it all tries to compare their hunting to what is necessary in say Texas, Louisiana or any other state in the southern tier. We keep feeders going all year not to train them but to help them through the hard part of the year after the season  and give the fawns a break. In late spring when the young Turkeys are trying to get a good start those feeders do a lot of good for em too. We planted wild plums  and a shrub called shinoak for it's acorns for the deer.  We also drilled a well and put up a windmill so water would be more reliable on our place. What do you do for your deer?

[hawkenman]

Getting back to the deer feeder question, I get about 3 to 4 months out of my feeder batteries. One thing you don't want to do is buy batteries from Dollar General type stores. There you can get an EverReady 6 volt battery for about 2 bucks, and it will last about 2 days. It may be a pain, but keep those feeders going year round.

[jhm]

I use the solar chargers on all the feeders here on the place, they will outlast the whole season and will always be at peak performance, a $18.00 investment on each feeder with the proper 6 volt rechargable batteries has given several years of trouble free service, I usually feed about 9 mo. out of the year.   JIM

[Wynn]

Yeah and lucky for you the deer are a lot dumber there too. Not only that you have snow, and most of the vegetation in the area is not covered with thorns. You can even see the ground most of the time.  Too bad the bucks don't show at the feeders in the day time and the only time you will see a nice one is during the rut. I really have to laugh when some Michigan or Wisconsin know it all tries to compare their hunting to what is necessary in say Texas, Louisiana or any other state in the southern tier. We keep feeders going all year not to train them but to help them through the hard part of the year after the season  and give the fawns a break. In late spring when the young Turkeys are trying to get a good start those feeders do a lot of good for em too. We planted wild plums  and a shrub called shinoak for it's acorns for the deer.  We also drilled a well and put up a windmill so water would be more reliable on our place. What do you do for your deer?

Yep, I'd like to see some of these Wisconsin hunters thigh deep in a bug, alligator & snake infested swamp, 94 degrees and 98% humidity and that's in December/January here at the height of the season. Course, thats one way to get em to leave sooner! I had one visiting hunter from Michigan that was so busy swatting mosquitos, he missed a easy shot on a 300 lb boar.

[Land_Owner]

How do external solar charger wires connect to the internal battery through the slinger casing?  I mean, the external wire from the charger to the battery has to pass outside of the slinger's operating area, right?  Won't that put the wire in direct contact with slung feed?  Kind of like course "sand blasting" and a point of failure over time.  Or am I missing something?  I would like to use solar chargers, but have not done the research to "make it so".  Purchasing and replacing batteries for over 10 years on two feeders is a pain and a drain.  My feeders run 24/7/365.  I would also like to find a feed that doesn't clog, is deer friendly, coon and hog unfriendly, and at the same cost as corn.

[jhm]

Landowner:  I had to dril a half moon circle at the vary top of the cover that goes over the battery and the control panel, we use the Moltre feeders, with that done you can run the wires along the thrower legs and into the battery area, my thrower has 3 legs that connect to the barrel, its not been a problem over several years of use.   JIM

[Wynn]

I have tried the solar chargers in the past. The coons, squirrels and rats ate through the wires and trashed the collector panels on mine. I gave up on them and just bought rechargeable batteries that I can swap out and charge at home. Land_Owner; try slowly introducing soybean into your feeding program. Deer like it but hogs, turkey and coons mostly leave them be. Cost more than corn though.

[buck460XVR]

Yeah and lucky for you the deer are a lot dumber there too.

I'd really like to see the research to back up the statement of the superior intelligence of Texas deer......... It's probably in the same publication that says we have no thorns, no swamps, no bugs, and no underbrush for deer to hide in.

I really have to laugh when some Michigan or Wisconsin know it all tries to compare their hunting to what is necessary in say Texas, Louisiana or any other state in the southern tier.

 There are some here in Wisconsin that also believe the only way they can have a opportunity to shoot a deer is to squat over a bait pile also. Just ain't my cup of tea......to me that's shooting deer, not hunting them. Just my  humble opinion.

Last year I shot my buck in a blizzard, I snuck up to him in his bed, and when I took my shot I was standing in freezing water that was up to my belt. It took me and my 14 year old son 5 hours to drag him out of the woods to the closest road. To me it was still more fun and much more of a challenge than watchin' a pile of corn. I guess that makes me a dumb Wisconsinite, eh?

What do you do for your deer?

I hunt them ethically and legally......the same way I am sure you do. I belong to a sportsman's club that primarily works on improving habitat on both public and private property.....so that the deer can sustain themselves naturally. I also refrain from shooting small bucks and take does instead to keep the herd in check and closer to the natural buck/doe ratio.

You do what you feel you hafta do to get your deer.......That's your right, and I wholeheartedly support that right. But....I don't have to agree with it.

[jhm]

I did forget to mention that before I went to a steel tri pod with a galvanized garbage can with a steel lid on it that I also had criter problems, the cable that raises the cans is a steel cable so it is harder for them to climb up by it, I used to have a nylon rope and they could climb up it and eat thru the large plastic cans and lids to get the corn, since I went to this havent had any trouble out of any of the feeders.   JIM

[jhm]

And now that the 2 of you have both got it off of your chest, we will call it a draw as to how you get your deer in Wisconsin VS Texas I for one am for whatever is LEGAL in your state.   Thanks  JIM

[rickt300]

Tell you what, I'll trade good snow anytime over feeders. I want it cold enough so that the deer will move in the daytime on a regular basis too. Maybe a week or two of cloudcover would be nice. When I hunted in Michigan a group of around 20 guys got together, set out standers and did drives. Talk about easy. When you figure in what a pain it is to keep feeders running and the expense, time and general maitenance I'll take snow anytime. And I definitly will put Texas Whitetails on public land up against any Wisconsin deer as far as brains go there just is no contest.

[Land_Owner]

...works on improving habitat on both public and private property.....so that the deer can sustain themselves naturally

an oxymoron that I practice too, but I doubt we can do better than Mother Nature on her own.

I'll trade good snow anytime over feeders.

Florida gets no snow, so attracting deer with food plots and feeders is the best method to increase the incidence of whitetails on my property.  The method of attracting game you say is

to squat over a bait pile

to which I reply

...works on improving habitat on both public and private property

, which is another form of attractant.  To me we are the same.  Call us Deer Hunters.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as killing deer on your own property, and that does not mean ambushing them at the feeder, although that is certainly legal here and I have introduced dozens of youthful hunters and fathers to the pursuit of hog hunting in this manor.  Even the hogs know there is danger there and take appropriate day/night shifts in feeding habits.  Deer are fun to watch and photograph at the feeder.

I prefer to watch fence lines and forest trails for approaching and departing game with the full knowledge that my acres of food plots and feeder are attracting them to what would otherwise be just another piece of forested land unlike the remainder of the contiguous landscape and therefore less likely to attract the same density of game.  I can not go to them so I offer an inducement for them to come to me - as do you.  Your concept of "Fair Chase" differs from mine only in ways and means.

You find trails, rubs, scrapes, attractant seed bearing trees, etc. and set up an ambush there.  So do I.  I know the drill.  You use snowfall, energy zapping cold, tell-tale hoof prints, and knowledge of deer behavior to sneak up and shoot them in their bed.  You will get that opportunity in Florida when the north (or another like place) freezes over.  Still we use the knowledge of deer behavior to shoot them coming and going.  We are the same.

Sorry about that "shot across the bow".  I couldn't resist.

[gt2003]

Jeez, you all got a little worked up, didn't ya, lol.  Feeders are used primarily to keep the deer on the property we hunt.  We don't hunt over the feeders like some might but we do provide the deer food year round out of the feeders to ensure they have supplemental nutrition.  Second, we also plant food plots to help the deer with a consistent food supply.  Water is not a concern as there is a huge lake as well as a couple of creeks that run through the land that we hunt.  So, instead of being judgmental, answer the question...and, thanks to all of those that did, I appreciate it, Greg

[rickt300]

I went out to the lease this weekend to build a blind and check the feeders. As expected the batteries were dead but a problem did come up.  It has been so humid this year, lots of rain that moisture got inside the 55 gallon drum in high enough amounts to cause some mold/mildew which clumps up the corn and causes feed issues. So I had to throw a bunch of the corn out to hopefully get it to feed out to the spinner.  Weekend after next I will probably change all the corn out for fresh, around 25 gallons worth or better. This is a real pain.  I may put a closet drier inside the drum to keep moisture down. We saw one hog, 7 deer,  two huge bull snakes and at least 90 turkeys.

[jhm]

For those who think EVERY deer that feeds at a feeder are shot because of it are vary mistaken, the feeder HELPS out more wildlife that ever get harvested, the same goes for the food plats that are planted at the land owners expense, It all boils down to the amount of work and expense that you are willing to put forth for the continued pleasure of hunting, 3 years ago I feed 1600 lbs. of corn to the deer on my property plus built about 7 large food plots for them, they enjoy them 52 weeks a year, I hunt them 2 weeks a year, go figure, its no different than someone knowing where a abandoned apple tree grove is and hunting there, except other than YOU had nothing to do with the apple tree being there or any expense.   JIM

[rickt300]

I have taken a lot of pictures at my feeders. In fact shooting deer at the feeders might just cause them to loose that warm fuzzy feeling about the location.

[alsaqr]

We use Cabela's feeders.  The batteries last about 5-6 months in the pre-set mode:  The feedings occur at day break and one hour before night fall.   One feeder is in pretty good shade and the morning feeding is always late.  The morning feeding is often wasted since the coons, birds and hogs often get ithe corn before the deer come in.  In the fall we program another evening feeding.  The containers are ten gallon metal garbage cans with bails.  They hang from steel cables attached to tree limbs.  We fill the feeders every two-three weeks. 

We do not shoot deer in the food plots or at the feeders in muzzle loader or high power season.  We will bow shot a deer in the game plots.   

[rickt300]

I am using digital timers and I believe they use more energy than the ones that work off Light/dark periods.  What I like about the programmable feeders is that you can set them to go off 30 minutes before dark  and after daylight. The real corn eaters are the turkeys. When 20 of them come thru they often get every kernal. As for the coons they can damage timers so they are considered varmints non gratus and we shoot every one we see. Tommy grills the young ones and they aren't bad.