I know this probably should go in the blinds and feeder forum but time is limited and readership on that was is a bit low.

Here is the situation, Ok so last year I noticed the 12v battery on my Big Game hanging feeder was not holding a charge so I chalked it up to the solar panel. So this year I put a new 12 volt solar panel (Wildgame with built in power diode) on it and a different battery. Hung it about four weeks ago. Last weekend I noticed it was about 3/4 charged and then this past weekend I found it completely dead. I only have it feeding for 6 seconds one time a day. Its like the timer or something is draining it faster than what the solar panel can keep it charged. Have ya'll ever experienced this with a feeder. It not in full light all day, is in shade about half the day but I didnt think that would drag it down that much. I have the same solar panel on a different feeder in somewhat same situation llight wise and it isnt having any issues thus far. I am at a loss. What do yall think?

Is the solar charger 12v? I bought a big game feeder and didn't notice when i set it up it was 12v not 6v. The battery only lasted a week.

yes - it is a 12 volt solar charger.

Make sure the solar panel faces the South,and is not blocked

The solar panel is just not making enough power to recharge the battery. You are using more energy each day than you are producing. The question is why.

There are just a few possibilities:

1: Bad battery, the most likely culprit. If the battery has been around for a couple of years it may just be worn out. They don't last forever.

2: Bad timer. If the timer is having problems and is consuming more power than it should then it will slowly drain the battery. The current draw on the timer should be VERY small. Check with a amp meter if you have one.

3: Bad motor. The motor may be drawing a ton of current when runing. Check with amp meter.

If you have the same setup elsewhere and it is working properly you could see what the current draw is at that feeder and compare to the trouble spot.

I would start with replacing (or swapping) the battery and see what happens.

You may want to try a drop of light oil in the front bushing on the motor. They dry out and gunk (corn dust\dirt\etc.) start building up and the motor will start pulling a lot of amps trying to spin.

x2 or motor is stating to go bad.

The battery is 4 wks old,I doubt thats the problem.Highly unlikely that the timer is drawing to much current.Possibly the motor,but I still lean towards the solar panel itself.It could be faulty out of the box,or its not getting enough sun during the day.Solar panels MUST face South to get the optimal sunlight. 1st I would check the direction of the panel,2nd turn the run time of your motor down a bit(how long is it running now?)add a drop of oil if needed.Make sure branches or leaves are not blocking the panel as the sun travels

Do you have a remote? I've heard that they draw continually off the battery. (could have been just a sales pitch at the last TTHA Extravaganza)

Just installed one a month ago and I have not noticed this yet.

The more I am thinking about this and reading feedback - I am betting that the panel just isnt getting enough direct sun light. From what i have read this particular feeder is not very energy efficient and is well documented in draining a battery without solar panels in 3-4 weeks just on one feeding time per day (which is eactly what I am experiencing). The battery is new and so is the solar panel yet same situation as last year. Has to be a short or some bare wire touching or just not enough sun. I may try switching out the timer (which is the original Big Game timer) with a new spare "redneck" by Everlest to see what happens. i will also put some oil on the shaft of the motor.

I unfortunately dont have two of the same exact feeders to do an exact comparison to. Have a multimeter but dont know enough about how many amps/voltage I should see comeing through the panel or how much i need to keep up with outgoing. This spot I have the feder in is the only spot i can have it for where my bow stand is located. Moving the stand is not an option. I am sure I will get it figured out and will let ya'll know. Thanks for all the input.

Electronic or analog controls? Analog eats up batteries faster than electronic controls.

I had a similar problem with my feeder last season. Long story short, I went to academy bought the 39.99 moultree Feeder kit and have not had that problem anymore.

loose wires could also be doing it or bare wires touching. Check all your connections i just had that problem with one of mine and it was a bad section of wire.

could the intense heat this summer have any bearing??? just wondering

I bought a wildlife innovations 12v solar panel and the polarity was reversed. My battery last about 2-3 weeks which was surprising. Couldn't figure out what was wrong only thing I had done was Put on that new panel. Took it apart and put a meter on it and it read reversed polarity. Worth looking at.

Wow - good catch, never would have thought to check on that. i will check but since same situation was happening last year with different panel makes me think that isnt going to be a solution but thanks for bringing that up. Something to keep in mind for sure. i will have my multimeter with me this weekend. Thanks again for the input.

The heat will def play a part in draining batteries

I would switch out timer. Several years ago company had bad timer that were running down batteries in 3 weeks. I run my 12 volt feeders all year long without solar and will last whole season most of time.