Automatic Pet Feeders

NOTE: THE STANDARD "OFF" RESET TIME IS SET AT 1-2 MINUTES OF OFF TIME. WITH A DIGITAL TIMER, YOU CAN FEED MORE TIMES WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WITH THE SHORT RESET TIME. ON EARLIER MODELS, IF YOU SEE A SHINY PRONG TO THE LEFT OF THE SMALL JUMPER PLUG, YOU HAVE THE LONG STANDARD RESET TIME OF ABOUT 45-60 MINUTES OF "OFF" TIME, WHICH CAN ALSO BE CHANGED (later models do not have a "jumper plug and are set to 1-2 minutes of "off" reset time.)

Some food may be too large and oddly shaped for desired portion accuracy. We do know that the type of food used will affect the portion accuracy in any feeder, and there is nothing that can be done about that issue other than recommending the use of a suitable dry food if accuracy is extremely important. Although the Super Feeder will not count pellets or give a portion to the fraction of an ounce by weight, it should at least be reasonably close as shown by many of our tests. What it will do, as having been tested by the FDA where they once used our feeders, is that for every two cycles it was found to be 90% accurate. In other words, if you feed twice and you want 1/4 cup per day, the first or second portion may not be 100% accurate, but the total daily portion should be within 90% accuracy. These tests were done with uniformly shaped 1/4" round/square pellets.

Basically, if you use the most ideal food like food that is round and about 1/4" diameter, it will produce excellent results. Smaller food should even do better. Food oddly shaped and mixed like small various designs and lengths will vary more, especially flat food of about 1/2" long and 1/4" thick. Still, the average after 2-3 cycles should be close with average size cat food or smaller. You should feed a minimum of two or more times per day. This issue will occur with any feeder including ones with an auger system (we don't have) which can bind up with food even "bridging" above and not being expelled without occasionally kicking the feeder. We have had many customers actually report "excellent" performance with small round Science Diet brand in particular. We know Science Diet has many different types of food patterns. We recommend round (spherical) or slightly squared off pellets no larger than 1/4 inch diameter if you want best portion accuracy. The majority of customers have reported the portion accuracy as being very good with the use of small uniform pellets.

The feeder's gate aperture and timing are very important. Have you watched our video? If you have closed off the gate too much, it will not dispense food properly and will actually wear off the teeth on the roller prematurely. The gate should be opened to just about the size of the food so it just does not drop down freely. The timing with the little white dial is what primarily controls the amount of food that comes out, not the large black volume screw.

In summary, The only thing that could possibly improve the very small portion performance of the Super Feeder is maybe using what we call a "slow-drive" power adapter like used with our aquarium feeders. That power adapter will drive the roller at a slower speed thereby making small portions a bit easier to achieve, but small kibbles still need to be used. The fish feeder dispenses flakes with extremely good accuracy, but there again, it's not oddly shaped large food. Still, we want to emphasize that with oddly sized and shaped food the accuracy of each portion will still vary more than let's say uniformly shaped round pellets. We want you to be fully satisfied with our product and we'll work with you any way we can. Portion accuracy issues can occur with any feeder, unless you were to use a feeder with separate pre-filled compartments.

Science Diet Brand 1/4" diameter kibbles are perfect for the Super Feeder, particularly with chute cover installed.

Your Super Feeder® no longer extracts food like it should? Is it excessively noisy? Please read below:

An important feature of the Super Feeder is that everything in it can be easily replaced. Although we have not had many orders for new rollers (the item with all the little teeth on it), that part can wear out after some time and/or may not extract kibbles the way it should, depending on three primary issues:

1. If the food is very hard, the teeth will wear down quicker than normal.

2. If the food clogs at the chute opening even for a short time due to oversize food, the roller will not bind and damage the gear drive like some other feeders would, but, the teeth on the roller will wear out much quicker if it's allowed to run that way for a long time. A change of kibble size could be necessary. Perfect kibble size is 1/4" round/square kibbles like offered by Science Diet and Sensible Choice brands.

3. LIKE ANY MACHINE, if the feeder has been used for several months, YOU SHOULD INSPECT/CLEAN THE FEEDER'S INTERIOR AS NECESSARY. If the roller has not been cleaned for a long time, the teeth will clog up with food ,which will create excessive slippage thereby preventing the roller from "grabbing" kibbles like it should. It could also cause clogging below the gate by not being able to "push" the kibbles through even with "minor" clogging of a kibble or two with marginal size kibbles. You can can clean the roller by brushing the teeth with a toothbrush, or for a thorough cleaning, you can take the bottom off the feeder and wash the whole upper housing in the sink with hot soapy water and brushing the roller with a toothbrush while hand-spinning it. Only wash the upper housing that way without the bottom! You may review your Super Feeder's operating manual for cleaning. Normally, after extended used, a roller, slide and gate replacement will make the feeder like new!

If the "click-clack sound is very noisy, the distribution slide may not shake and move up and down like it should. The reason is most likely because the slide is stuck in place due to food caught underneath the roller between the roller and the slide causing the trip-wire to slap against it instead of lifting it. Make sure the scraper wire next to the roller is still there to scrape off any kibbles stuck to the roller as it goes around.

Parts: http://prostores1.carrierzone.com/servlet/super-feed_com/Categories?category=Accessories http://www.super-feed.com/parts.html

Hope this helps answer your questions.

Super Feed

PROBLEM	POSSIBLE CAUSE/SOLUTION
PROBLEMS WITH ASSEMBLY?	Please view video which will be extremely helpful for assembly and operation of the Super Feeder. You should have a link to the video in the feeder manual.
UNIT DOES NOT RUN, DOES NOT RUN PROPERLY, OR DOES NOT TRIGGER AT PROGRAMMED REMOTE TIMER TIME or WHEN TIMER IS MANUALLY SWITCHED “OFF AND BACK ‘ON” AGAIN. Some Super Feeders may have two internal lights: One power light is blue instead of green when feeder is powered, and a green light, which will only be on while motor is running. Also, the original feed adjustment dial has been replaced by a multi-turn slotted shaft screw-type portion controller for finer tuning of feed cycle time. Use supplied plastic screwdriver to turn dial of portion controller shaft. Slotted shaft portion controller timing change: 1 full turn = 4 seconds----1/4 turn = 1 second	1. Confirm power light (steady green or blue depending on model) illuminates when you plug the power adapter directly into an outlet. If light not on, power adapter could be defective. Also check for proper electrical connections. Try switching wire connections under the feeder if using that alternate input. If still not on, call or send an e-mail to possibly return unit for service. 2. If power light is on, push reset switch and confirm that motor runs. With power off, push reset switch for 5 seconds, then plug power adapter directly into an outlet without timer. If it does not run, contact us. If it runs, check timer for proper operation/setting/programming. 3. Reset “off” time not long enough (most common!). Make sure feeder is at least off for a minimum of 1-2 minutes between feed cycles to reset itself. If testing the feeder repeatedly, manually void required "off" reset time between test cycles by pushing the reset switch for 5 seconds with no power going to the feeder. 4. Feeder triggers/runs for just a split second. Make sure feed cycle time adjustment is not turned all the way down (very important). Turn dial/portion controller shaft clockwise.
AQUARIUM MODELS FLAKES STICK TO SLIDE AND/OR FUNNEL EXCESSIVELY.	1. Surfaces damp or wet. Funnel’s lower end is out of the water and/or bubbles are bursting and splattering around the feeder’s chute. Make sure the funnel is at least 1/2” below the water line at all times and not installed directly above a bubble source/generator. Also, the feeder’s chute and slide may be too close to the funnel’s neck. Slightly move feeder away or move feeder to other area. Check slide for shaking action.
UNIT RUNS BUT DOES NOT EXPEL FOOD PROPERLY.	1. Hopper empty. Fill. 2. Dampened or wetted hopper food. ASF-1 aquarium feeder: Environment too humid or wet. Seal the top of the aquarium directly above the water. 3. Food packed. Loosen food. Do not pack when filling the hopper! ASF-1 aquarium Feeder: Try mixing a few small pellets with the flakes...It could help! 4. Food too large. ASF-1 aquarium feeder: Crush or replace food with smaller size. CSF-3: See #9 below. 5. Feed time adjustment incorrect. Turn portion controller's dial or slotted shaft right or left in fine increments to achieve correct timing for desired portion size. 6. Gate to roller gap too small. Rotate large black nylon screw counterclockwise located above chute. 7. Distribution drum surface worn out (all the small teeth sheared off). Return for service or order new drum (also referred to as "roller." 8. Slide does not shake. Check for shaking action (very important). See page 3 of instructions manual. 9. Cat food: If using chute cover on cat feeder, make sure kibbles are not hung up inside feeder at chute opening. Clear area and consider using smaller food (1/4" spherical kibbles recommended). If the feeder is allowed to run that way for a long time, the teeth on the drum will wear off prematurely.
UNIT EXPELS TOO MUCH FOOD	1. Feed cycle time too long. Turn portion controller's dial or slotted shaft to the left in small increments using the small plastic screwdriver to achieve correct timing for desired portion size. 2. Gate opening too wide. Reduce gate to roller gap by turning large black screw above chute opening clockwise.
UNIT CRUSHES FLAKES TOO MUCH (ASF-1 feeder)	1. Gate to roller gap too narrow. Open gate by turning large black screw above chute opening Counterclockwise.
FEEDER VERY NOISY	Check for stuck kibbles between distribution slide and chute opening and/or roller. You may also disable slide shaking mechanism (check manual for directions)--not recommended with pellets/kibbles larger than 1/4" thick by 3/8" long.
WATER/MOISTURE IN BASE OF OUTDOOR FEEDER	1. Feeder tilted or water splattering into chute. Correct and remove one or more rubber feet. Do not install feeder too close to water (Koi pond feeder). Make sure rubber plugs are secure!!
ANIMALS CHEW ON FEEDER WIRES	1. Wires too exposed. Protect wires using flexible vinyl tubing or wire protective material found at Home Depot or Lowe's or office supply place. Hide wires as much as possible. We also have a wire protective Flex Guard available online.
HOPPER EXTENSIONS LOOSENED BY WILD ANIMALS	Use extra strap or wire at upper part of upper extension (not short stand) and/or carefully drill and install longer screws all the way through extensions. You can also use duct tape or silicone sealant. Securely attach feeder!!
FOOD COMES OUT BUT PORTIONS NOT ACCURATE ENOUGH (CSF-3)	Food type will dramatically affect portion accuracy with flat and/or large kibbles in any feeder. Best performance has been shown using 1/4" spherical kibbles from Science Diet or other Brands. You may ask about a slow-drive replacement power adapter for very small portions if the distribution roller goes too fast.
PET KNOCKS FOOD OUT OF FEEDER EASILY	Tighten/close gate with large black screw (more friction), mount feeder bracket to wall or other item like play stand (mount feeder either low on bowl or high up out of pet reach), or if using plastic feeder mount, fasten base to larger plywood piece that pets will stand on when eating.
PET REACHES INSIDE FEEDER EVEN WITH CHUTE COVER INSTALLED.	Try lowering feeder closer to bowl by drilling extra holes in plastic tower matching both holes at bottom of metal bracket.
CAT DISLODGES METAL BOWL FROM BASE OF CAT STAND	Purchase some Velcro strips and attach to bottom of bowl and top of stand base.