That's pretty clever and nice and cheap!
DIY auto feeder made cheap
4
When you are on vacation but don't want to invest an expensive auto feeder. You can make one fairly cheap and easy. All you need is a mechanical timer and a pill dispenser plus some scrap acrylic material. You will need another timer to control it. I bought a pill dispenser from local drug store for $1. I had a few timers laying around but you can find them cheap when on sale anyway.
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First, I hot glued the dispenser to the timer.
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Then I made a fixture using some scrap acrylic sheet
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The fixture was secured by a wall outlet cap (the one for preventing child poking the outlet) to the timer then hot glued to the outer cover of the pill dispenser, this way only the pill compartment part is turning. I bent the sheet at an angle so it shielded the hole from moisture and the food could drop easily. Plug the feeder into an extention cord or power bar, then secure it above the fish tank. Plug the other end of the power cord into another timer. Since my pill dispenser has 8 compartments, it takes 3 hours for the timer to rotate to the next compartment. If I want to feed once a day, I just set the controlling timer on for 3 hours a day. If you have a 7 day timer, you can feed every other day or any combination you like. The only draw back is that it is a little big, but for a dollor I spent, I think it was all worth it.:thumbsup:
First, I hot glued the dispenser to the timer.
Then I made a fixture using some scrap acrylic sheet
The fixture was secured by a wall outlet cap (the one for preventing child poking the outlet) to the timer then hot glued to the outer cover of the pill dispenser, this way only the pill compartment part is turning. I bent the sheet at an angle so it shielded the hole from moisture and the food could drop easily. Plug the feeder into an extention cord or power bar, then secure it above the fish tank. Plug the other end of the power cord into another timer. Since my pill dispenser has 8 compartments, it takes 3 hours for the timer to rotate to the next compartment. If I want to feed once a day, I just set the controlling timer on for 3 hours a day. If you have a 7 day timer, you can feed every other day or any combination you like. The only draw back is that it is a little big, but for a dollor I spent, I think it was all worth it.:thumbsup:
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Some update
Here is the working prototype. I did some modification from the original. I drilled some holes and used screws to hold everything together since the hot melt glue did not hold very long. I used a funnel for food delivery and I made sure the electricity is kept distance away from the water. So far so good, everything is working according to the plan.
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Here is the working prototype. I did some modification from the original. I drilled some holes and used screws to hold everything together since the hot melt glue did not hold very long. I used a funnel for food delivery and I made sure the electricity is kept distance away from the water. So far so good, everything is working according to the plan.
Thanks for all the input. 
I am currently dispensing sinking pallets fish food which is pretty heavy so cloging is not a big problem. I just checked the funnel, it is actually pretty dry. I guess may be because the angle it is positioned or simply because of the heat from my mini aqualight keeps it dry. You are right, I may raise the funnel a bit if I want to dispense flake food.
I am currently dispensing sinking pallets fish food which is pretty heavy so cloging is not a big problem. I just checked the funnel, it is actually pretty dry. I guess may be because the angle it is positioned or simply because of the heat from my mini aqualight keeps it dry. You are right, I may raise the funnel a bit if I want to dispense flake food.
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