Hopper with timer
Automatic feed hopper for dogs
The Producan automatic hopper is a dog feed hopper made of galvanised sheet steel with a 40 litre capacity — a whole 15 kg sack of dry food — that doesn't leave the food out free choice: it releases each serving at the time you set, up to 30 a day. It can stay outside all year round, and we make it in our workshop in Galicia.
How is it different from a self-feed hopper?
The traditional dog feed hopper is self-feed: a container that keeps releasing dry food into a bowl as the dog eats. The dog eats whenever it wants and as much as it wants. An automatic hopper keeps the dry food sealed and releases only the serving that's due, at the time you set on its timer.
For a dog that regulates itself, a self-feed hopper works fine. A greedy dog can eat as much as it wants from it, which isn't the same as what it needs.
The three options are compared in Self-feed hopper, app-controlled or programmable feeder: what a dog that lives outdoors needs.
Which dogs is an automatic hopper worth it for?
Dogs that overeat. With measured servings at set times, you decide how much it eats, not the dog.
Dogs that live outdoors. The dry food isn't left in a bowl out in the open or within reach of mice and birds: only the serving that has just dropped comes out, and the rest stays sealed in the hopper.
Two dogs at once. The double version dispenses the same serving through two outlets on opposite sides of the hopper, so each dog eats on its own side.
Smallholdings and sheds you don't visit every day. Full, it lasts for weeks, and there's a battery model for places with no mains power.
What it doesn't do, put plainly: a Producan feeder doesn't dispense to the gram, because it releases the serving by opening time and doesn't weigh it. If your dog needs an exact serving on the vet's instructions, you want an auger dispenser. The gravity feed versus auger comparison explains why.
How long does it last full, depending on the dog's weight?
With the 15 kg of dry food that fits in the hopper, and counting the daily serving recommended by most dry food makers:
| Dog | Serving a day | Lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Medium, 20-25 kg | ≈ 300 g | Around 7 weeks |
| Large, 30-40 kg | ≈ 500 g | Nearly 1 month |
| Giant, 50-60 kg | ≈ 700 g | Around 3 weeks |
| Two large dogs (double model) | ≈ 1 kg | Around 2 weeks |
These are guide figures: the exact serving depends on the dry food and the dog's activity level. It's covered in more detail in how much dry food a large dog eats a day.
Can it stay outside all year round?
Yes. It's IP65 certified and made of 0.8 mm galvanised sheet steel: neither rain nor damp reaches the dry food or the timer.
It's explained in more detail in Outdoor automatic dog feeder, for leaving out all year round.
What if there's no socket where I want to put it?
It's the question that decides the model. The Producan P3 has an internal 12 V battery with around 3 months of battery life, for smallholdings and yards with no power nearby; the Producan P1 runs plugged into the mains. They're compared in automatic dog feeders with no plug.
Does it jam with large kibble?
No. The kibble falls by gravity, under its own weight, rather than through an auger: there's no narrow passage where a large piece of kibble can get stuck. It's the patented mechanism of Producan feeders.
It's explained in more detail in Gravity feed or auger: why a feeder jams.
The specifications
| Capacity | 40L · around 15 kg of dry food |
|---|---|
| Material | Galvanised steel, 0.8 mm |
| Protection | IP65 · suitable for outdoor use |
| Servings | Up to 30 a day, programmable |
| Dimensions | 30 × 34 × 70 cm |
| Weight | 10 kg (single) · 13 kg (double) |
| Warranty | 3 years |
| Feeding | 220V, plugged into the mains |