Stand and fill feeder design

[westtexducks]

About to start building a stand and fill feeder. **** hogs tore up another of our tripod feeders and after buying the $350 dollar one at academy I think between all the scrap metal we have laying around I can do it for the cost of a couple pieces of sheet metal and the solar panel and thrower/timer and have a better built cheaper unit.

So that said I have lots of angle iron, pipe, bull wire etc from other projects and years of collecting the stuff. So here is my questions

What gauge should I use? I think 16 gauge should work but should I go heavier?

What dimensions? I figure 3x3 or 4x4 but how tall would it have to be with either of those for the square hopper? I can redneck engineer everything fine but have no idea how big to make it for 600 LBS really don't want it huge but also don't want it to be to small either. Want to be able to only have to fill it every 3-4 months.

[buck_wild]

Lamco has a 600 pd SNF- check their dimensions

[westtexducks]

So found a calculator for corn volumes, shows to be 45 lbs of corn per cubic foot. So will need about 13.5 cubic feet inside the bin for 600 lbs of corn. So with a box that is 32"x32"x24" that gets me to 14.2 cuft so by the time I add my funnel on top of that will be more than enough. Lets me get 6 sides out of each piece, so if I buy 3 sheets should have enough material to actually build 2 of these for funnel, lids, sides, and a ramp underneath to force corn out the sides instead of underneath.

Looking like after pricing materials should be able to build 2 units for around $350-$400 so about $175-200 per feeder. Saves me about $175 dollars compared to the academy brand and a ton vs the boutique brands. May have to end up adding an additional $20-50 depending on if I need to get some angle iron or not.

[westtexducks]

And here is my design at the moment. Not sure how long I am going to make the base it sits on yet but I do know I want a total height of around 5'10"-6' any taller will not be able to see how full it is when filling it or be able to look inside easily. Really going to depend on how tall the thrower is. Shooting for 5'10" though is the goal.

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[buck_wild]

I'd personalty go for lower in total height. Raising #50 sacks too much above shoulder level kinda defeats SNF to some degree. But that's just me. Maybe adding more width and less height will get same metric volume. i couldn't open the diagram.

[westtexducks]

Pics

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[westtexducks]

I'd personalty go for lower in total height. Raising #50 sacks too much above shoulder level kinda defeats SNF to some degree. But that's just me. Maybe adding more width and less height will get same metric volume. i couldn't open the diagram.

I tend to agree with this but I also want to maximize my usage of the sheet metal and not start having a ton of scrap sheet laying around. Using those designs I can build 2 feeder and use almost every inch of sheet metal I buy.

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[DWG]

I have built a funnel like your drawing and would not do it again. Your better off with the funnel tapering down all the way to opening and then weld a plate to the bottom to attach your spinner too. What happens is the corn never drains off the plate and it gets moldy and rots over time and will rust out the bottom plate.

[Strummer]

Why not use a 55 gallon drum and make a frame ? That’s how I’m going to do mine .

[spidermonkey]

Just built my prototype a few weeks ago, should hold bout 7-800 lbs of corn. 3’x3’x2’ tall. 16 ga. sheet metal, 1-1/2 x 3/16” angle iron legs, 5’ long 2-3/8” schedule 40 “skids”. Lot more details than this, especially for the smaller items such as timer box, motor box, etc. But this is the basic jest. Am changing just a few things on the second one. I coon-proofed it in a similar way as “The Judge” feeder. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

[spidermonkey]

Also, first one I built I didn’t account for round pipe skids, and it ended up being 5 foot 6-3/8” to the top. It ain’t bad, but next one will be prob 2”-4” shorter. I was trying to keep it as low as I can for easy filling, but still keep the slinger high enough for a good slinging radius, plus ease of removing motor if need be. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

[westtexducks]

Why not use a 55 gallon drum and make a frame ? That’s how I’m going to do mine .

Not enough capacity and to tall for a stand and fill. Can only get 300 lbs in a drum and to get it high enough to not be a pain to get to the mechanism it becomes a pain to fill.

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[westtexducks]

Just built my prototype a few weeks ago, should hold bout 7-800 lbs of corn. 3’x3’x2’ tall. 16 ga. sheet metal, 1-1/2 x 3/16” angle iron legs, 5’ long 2-3/8” schedule 40 “skids”. Lot more details than this, especially for the smaller items such as timer box, motor box, etc. But this is the basic jest. Am changing just a few things on the second one. I coon-proofed it in a similar way as “The Judge” feeder. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

I figure to use angle iron for everything below the bin. Will for sure help keep height down compared to pipe. I may use 1" pipe for the legs coming down and the coon cage but not sure yet. All I know is I do not want it taller than 6' total but still want it tall enough to run easy maintenance on and get a good throw.

You have pics of yours you wouldn't mind sharing?

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[hog_down]

Just built my prototype a few weeks ago, should hold bout 7-800 lbs of corn. 3’x3’x2’ tall. 16 ga. sheet metal, 1-1/2 x 3/16” angle iron legs, 5’ long 2-3/8” schedule 40 “skids”. Lot more details than this, especially for the smaller items such as timer box, motor box, etc. But this is the basic jest. Am changing just a few things on the second one. I coon-proofed it in a similar way as “The Judge” feeder. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

Can you share pics of your feeder? I really like the simplicity...

[Strummer]

Not enough capacity and to tall for a stand and fill. Can only get 300 lbs in a drum and to get it high enough to not be a pain to get to the mechanism it becomes a pain to fill.

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I didnt catch the part where ya wanted 600+ lbs. I’m going to use a 55gal drum . Just cause it cheap,easy and it’s on the land I live on .