David

[ChickenPoopGarden]

Got my trigger in the post today from Trigger Happy Chickens! Hooray! And, they are right, it really does look too simple for words, but as long as it works I think the teeny price is worth it.

Anyway, Since I already have a tub of fatballs for the wild birds I excitedly emptied the last of them into a bag and scurried to the lounge to convert it into my new trigger happy feeder! Only I tried to make a hole with a knife and a small crack appeared... Hubby went to fetch the drill to do a 'proper job' and despite my warnings not to press down on the drill he pressed and the whole bottom of the tub cracked! there is a giant crack stretching the whole circumference of the base of the bucket! waaaaah!

So I went back out to the shed, fetched in the big bucket of corn and the lid cracked into pieces as I was trying to remove it!

I kid you not, this is one of the most frustrating moments of my LIFE!!!!

Now I have no receptacle for my trigger!!!!

GAAAAAAH!

[Mars]

Unfortunately you need a hole saw, 20mm that you attach to the drill.

You can use any plastic sheet over the hole you made in the bucket

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-2-12-in-carbon-steel-hole-saw-set-11-pc-68114.html

[Mars]

The other thing you can do is look for a circular piece of metal that is 20mm in diameter, coin or washer or anything similar, heat it until it is red hot. then drop it in the middle of the plastic sheet. be careful you don't drop it on your foot. also you have to say some prayers that it lands in the middle of the plastic sheet.

[ChickenPoopGarden]

oooh, clever... Let the DIY continue!

And the fire is blazing away as we speak.

[Princess Leia]

There's a seller on eBay who sells these ready built into containers http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/remmag2001?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

[Olly]

No experience of trigger happy feeders, but when I want to make a hole in something plastic (usually extra holes in plant pots) I heat a skewer on the gas hob and then use it to pierce the plastic. Once you've made a hole you can usually wriggle the skewer or tent peg or whatever to enlarge it.

 

Note: you need a sturdy oven glove. Remember, heat rises. Adult supervision is advisable! (No adults in my household unfortunately )

[sjp]

what type of bucket did you use? if it was one of the blue ones like the photo on the web site then it should have drilled our all right but if it was a white food type bucket like meal worms or powder disinfectant come in then they will split plus they won't last more than a year or two at most outside as they go brittle in sunlight as the plastic doesn't have much if any UV stabilizers in it. the blue barrels are also 2 or 3 times thicker than the white buckets

[Beantree]

You can drill the thin plastic ones with a hole saw. The important thing is to support the whole area of the plastic being drilled with a piece of wood which is also drilled into. That way the plastic isn't carrying the force and weight of the drill. Our pellets needed a 21mm hole to work properly.

 

I agree with Sjp that the clear plastic won't last more than a year or so before the sunlight makes it brittle, but we have our feeder under cover. The pellets drop onto a Wilko rubber car mat although something larger would be better.

[sjp]

You can drill the thin plastic ones with a hole saw. The important thing is to support the whole area of the plastic being drilled with a piece of wood which is also drilled into. That way the plastic isn't carrying the force and weight of the drill. Our pellets needed a 21mm hole to work properly.

 

I agree with Sjp that the clear plastic won't last more than a year or so before the sunlight makes it brittle, but we have our feeder under cover. The pellets drop onto a Wilko rubber car mat although something larger would be better.

I've drilled them with a 12mm hss and a flat bit before now but as you've said they need support but that doesn't always help it's the thickness that works against you with holesaws you should really cut half way through one side then finish off from the other side but with the thin buckets even the pilot bit on the hole saw can brake the plastic if it snags in the drill bits flutes as they brake through the other side

[ChickenPoopGarden]

It was only the thin bucket from the fatball we bought in Countrywide. I thought the thinness would be of benefit but I wasn't expecting it to be so inflexible.

Husband has brought home an empty lidded bucket from work for me. It's rectangular, so I may have to add some sort of funnel to stop the food from just piling up at the edges, but at least it'll give us something to work with. I absolutely don't own any facy drill bits, so we'll need to melt/saw the hole.

We use smallholder pellets, so hopefully the 20mm should be enough...