Man, cannot locate a good, solid crank up feeder around Round Rock. I found one, they wanted like $400 for, but it had been out in front of their store for so long the top was all rusted.

Anyone know of a place around Round Rock/Cedar Park/ Leander that sells the 55 gallon drum crank up feeders?

Russ

bholt on THF is from Georgetown
B Holt
https://sites.google.com/site/bholtoutdoors/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BH-Outdoors/242864165784054
512-627-5594

Oy.. 700 bucks for a feeder.. lol.

Maybe I should work towards that after momma gets over me buying the night vision.. lol

They sure are nice though. May need to start setting aside the funds to get a few of those and replace the ones I have when they go out.

TY STX

Russ

You can build your own pretty easily. Boss Buck sells this header which is the lynch pin to the whole design. Past that, it's just mounting a winch and adding feet and a hanger to your barrel feeder. With these parts you could build one for less than $300.

Tripod Header: $50
http://www.bossbuck.com/products/parts/header.html

Hanger: $30
http://www.bossbuck.com/products/parts/bail.html

Hell... that's the way to go, right?!

Thanks, TxAg!

Russ

I used those same Boss Buck products to convert my 2 standard 55gal feeders to crank UPS. I also bought their breaking crank.

Get a hold of Ramball36 here and have him build you one. He builds one of the best looking feeders I have see.

Walter

you can get 120lb breaking crank and cable at Northern tools for under $100 also.

winch $70

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200331205_200331205

Why spend that much? A full 55 gallon barrel of corn will only weigh 350-370 pounds. The 600 pound winch with cable should be more than enough. Apparently, at least one reviewer thinks it works well for a feeder. Here is the $19 version with 600 pound capacity:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200395356_200395356

Or, for a few more dollars, you can push the lift load up to 1000 pounds. That price is $26.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200395355_200395355

Those are unsafe for his application. I brake winch like mentioned above is the way to go.

great links guys. I have a temp feeder for this month. I plan to take your ideas and work on a replacement strategy for all 7 non-crankable feeders I have and get them swapped out as time permits.

Thanks for the links!

I agree, I err on the side of caution and will spend a few more bucks to get a brake. Good input all sides.

Russ

Just make sure to get a winch with a brake as SouthTexas mentioned..... that way IF your hand slips of, it wont hit the ground with a thud

I have not and will not run down someone else's equipment, in fact I have told several people about some very good competitors, not that I am a threat. Thanks to STX for mention I always appreciate it. In my opinion one of the best winch feeders out there is made by hang-em-high, I just disagree with some of there design features.
Let me make two or three points though, when it comes to winch feeders:
1) Square tubing is more sound than pipe, it does not flex like pipe does, however it is more expensive.
2) Never, (I repeat Never) buy, or build a winch feeder that does not have a BRAKE WINCH. You may want to go with a boat winch because they are cheaper and there is a reason for that. They are not designed to lift and hold 400 pounds in the air. Three hundred pounds of corn comes down a lot faster than it goes up,to say the least.
3) I started by building a feeder for myself and a couple of friends. I wanted something that would stand up to cattle with "mad cow disease" & Hogs about 8/9 years ago. Those first two feeders are still up and running just fine. Along the way I have improved things, based mostly on customer input. Last year I noticed that a couple of "big dogs" had modified the way they mounted their solar panels, to prevent exposed wires or conduit.

I think your feeders are about as solid as I have seen. The prices are spot on with anything I would have made anywhere else, especially when you add in the quality.

As soon as I get to the point of swapping mine out, I'll be calling ya

Russ

Try HCR in Burnet. They sell top quality winch up tripods. I believe The Feed store in Georgetown is one of there dealers.

I had one of the cheap winches get loose with a 225lb boar on it last December and beat the back of my left hand three good whacks before I got away. I swelled up bad and took a couple weeks to get the swelling down but x-ray showed no broken bones. If you go no break be very careful.

I have one of Bholts feeders and you can't go wrong with them. Considering he is in Georgetown and you are in Round Rock, it is a nor brainer.