Inserts for Betta food pellets for FishMate F14 automatic fish feeder

thingiverse

The FishMate F14 automatic fish feeder has trouble dispensing tiny Betta Bio-Gold food pellets. It seems like the rotor was not designed with this sort of food in mind. These inserts make the feeder work a lot better with tiny betta pellets. I originally tried designing an entirely new rotor, but my printer couldn't print it flat enough. Instead, I went with this insert design. NOTE: I have noticed that sometimes one or two pellets from a meal do not drop. I believe this is due to static electricity (plastic machine + tiny pellets). You may want to add an extra pellet to each meal, just in case. Or let me know if you solve the problem a different way. CAUTION: An automatic fish feeder may fail in many different ways. This could lead to the death of your fish. You assume all risk if you leave your fish unattended for multiple days. Instructions: Print 15 copies (actually 14 would be enough, since one hole is always exposed) Each insert is meant to be a very slight pressure fit. You may have to do some sanding to make them fit just right. If they are too tight, the rotor will deform and may bind and fail to rotate. A stuck rotor would mean a hungry fish, or worse! Notice that each chamber of the original rotor has a small ramp at the bottom of the trailing wall -- the wall that pushes the food. The inserts are slightly undersized width-wise, in order to clear this ramp. When you install the inserts, align each one with the leading wall -- in other words, bias them towards counter-clockwise. This will leave a small gap near the trailing wall. (See photos). You may need to clean up the small hole in the bottom with a drill or file. Make sure food won't get hung up. Make sure the bottom of each insert is flat and smooth. It's critical that the bottom surface of the rotor and the inserts is smooth and flat and all aligned. With the rotor on a hard, flat surface, press all of the inserts in from the top. Install the rotor on the feeder and verify that it spins freely. If not, find the tightest inserts and sand them more. OPTIONAL, but recommended: Since the inserts are not a tight fit, you probably should glue them in place. I used a tiny dab of hot melt glue on one top corner of each (see closeup photo). Check to make sure the feeder lid does not interfere with the rotor. I removed the lid from my feeder, because the hot-melt glue was hitting the lid.