Repairing the Second Pig Feeder

Stubborn, relentless, or persistent?

The day after I purchased the second hog feeder, I realized I had been deceived by the seller for a measly $100.  Integrity is worth so much more than that, folks!!!  Once in daylight, I realized that the feeder that "absolutely has no holes" absolutely had holes.

Well, being stubborn...or relentless...or persistent, I decided to tackle the "piece of junk" feeder and give it new life.  It was going to be a chore.

So this morning, I hauled the second feeder over to Dad's for some help.  It's a massive feeder, and I would need hands outside while I was inside.

Well, I knew I was duped a few days ago, but this morning I realized just how much.  The feeder was in pretty bad shape.  The "absolutely no holes" feeder not only had holes, but it had numerous holes and even a piece that looks like a piece of metal had shot through.  When I backed the truck back up into Dad's driveway, the sun exposed all the lies as it shone right through the holes.  Numerous holes!

"It has absolutely no holes," the seller said in my initial phone call.  Having a bit of a drive ahead of me, I asked again in a second phone call.  "Absolutely no holes," said the seller.

The sun shone through all the lies.  Notice the seller's duct-tape over the seam.  He was well aware.

A view of the damage from the outside.  The seller knew exactly what he was selling.

The mess we had to work with.  Where to even begin.

Sigh.

I had decided against it a few days ago (the day I realized I was lied to), but today I had a change of tune.  I took a picture of the sun shining through the holes and sent it to the seller with the message, "You said no holes."  In no surprise to me, he did not respond.  He had his $100, he was happy.

Happy to lie.  Happy to deceive.  Happy to make another man's life work as he moved on with cash in hand.

I tell you, a man has time to think as he contemplates these realities.  And you know what I concluded?  "Well, at least he gave it to me, so that another man doesn't have to deal with this."  It was a weird thought that surprised even me, but I was basically "taking one for the team."  Yes, I hated it.  I dislike the man who sold me it, but what I dislike even more is the reality of this being the world we live in.  How another man could outright WILLINGLY deceive me.

So if someone was going to be deceived, at least it is me.  At least another pig farmer isn't going to have the frustration of this feeder.  They feel like they missed a good deal when in reality they should be thankful they didn't respond before me.  So many thoughts.

So with those thoughts now behind me, it was time to move forward and right this wrong as best we could!  I didn't like it, but I currently had a worthless $100 pig feeder.  I might as well do what I can with it, and I decided to try to rebuild the feeder from the inside out.

And let me tell you, the project needed two people, and it was work.  Lots of metal fabrication, lots of drilling, lots of "shoring up" the rusted metal, and lots of bolts and nuts.  But Dad and I plodded along.  Initially, the more we worked, the more holes we saw.  It was discouraging.

Dad and I put the first patch piece on.  It connects the top to the bottom and covers the holes in the rim.  But we still had that big crack!

"This belongs in the junkyard."  Yes, Dad, it probably does, but I'm stubborn...relentless...persistent?  And we were going to get this feeder to give a few more years.

I worked on the inside of the feeder, as Dad worked on the outside.  And we finally got to a point where the more we worked, the LESS holes he saw.  Hey, this is going to work after all.

The second piece is on.  It will hold feed now!

It's not pretty from the outside.  But it will hold feed.  To keep water out, I will still have to caulk these cracks.

After we repaired one side, I still noticed a bit of daylight.  It was coming from the step that allows you to look inside to see how fully the feeder is.  Well, the more I inspected, the more I realized the step had to go.  It was shot.  So we removed the step and added yet another patch job!

Notice the large holes after removing the step.  It should only have been four small bolt holes.

After removing the step (which should only show four small bolt holes), you can see the rusted out damage.  The holes were massive.  We patched the holes from the inside.  The feed will not fall out, but I will still need to caulk here to prevent water from getting in.

We had to attach the lid back on with two bolts.  It was unattached when I purchased the unit.

After repairing the sides, Dad was a huge help on the lid.  I had no idea how it worked, but it's actually pretty slick.  I purchased it disconnected from the unit, but Dad knew how it was supposed to attach.  He had a unit like this 50 years ago when his dad raised pigs!  I joked that it's possible it's the same one!  So two more bolts, and we had a somewhat functional lid.  It fit awful, as the framework for the lid was bent, but lots of pounding later I had a lid that fit tight on the rim and latched perfectly shut.  No rain getting in here!

The frame for the lid was anything but straight.  All of those pieces are supposed to be flat with each other!

The lid is attached!  It's actually super convenient.  It latches on the side after it's opened as seen here.

The lid didn't shut fully!  I had to hammer the very crooked lid frame until it straightened up!

A quick inspection showed a bolt was missing on the side.  An easy fix.  The unit is coming together!

I am happy to report that the stubbornness...er, persistence paid off.  It took a few hours, but at the end of the day, I had another automatic pig feeder.  It's actually a rather large unit, and I learned that it's not a Pride of the Farm feeder at all.  The "P" logo matches the Pax feeder logo that I have on my other feeder.  So I now have two Pax feeders.  One is likely 40 bushel, and the other 60?  This will allow me to do rotational grazing on a couple of different pastures if the pig enterprise works out.

Notice the "P" in the Pax logo.  This is from the first feeder I purchased.

Notice the "P" on the second feeder.  It matches the other feeder, so it looks like I purchased a second Pax pig feeder.

It's actually quite handy.  I can literally buy enough bags to feed the pigs for their entire lives if I fill up the feeders.  I probably will only fill them half-way, but it's nice to have the option to "set it and forget it."

So to the gentleman who willingly sold me this lie, shame on you.  But to the two men who rose above and decided to work with what they had, well done.  The feeder is ready to feed pigs.

The two pig feeders!  Look at that one on the left!  What a beauty!  The lid is straight, and it's ready to hold 60 bushels of feed!

I'm into this feeder for about $125, time, and gas.  All in all, it's still a really good value.  I was shocked to see it's actually bigger than the first feeder I purchased.  It stands about seven feet tall.  It's a great size.  I could probably sell it tomorrow for $300-350.  Of course, I would take pictures of the inside to let the buyer know exactly what they were getting.  You know, integrity.  But it would be super handy.  Less daily chores for a pig farmer!  But I plan to keep it just in case I need to have two pastures of pigs...er, two pastures for pigs.  :)

It's also not lost on me that if I purchased new units this size, I would be out $3000 for both of these.  Hopefully I have two units that work just as good as new...all for $350.  I don't need pretty.  I need functional.  Pigs don't care what they eat out of.  Here is to hoping!

Thanks again, Pa, for the help!  I owe you some bacon!