Advice on new set up for 2022

[Buda Martins]

I was a martin landlord back around 2005 for a couple years. Was successful with a self built wooden house and 2 natural gourds I made that hung under the house.

I'm looking to put up gourds for next year. I'm wanting to buy a S&K 1.9 round pole and 6 gourd rack. I found a 8 pack of S&K BO 11 plus gourds online. So I will have 2 extra gourds unless I mount them under the rack. I'm going to add the cooling cap and ultimate tunnel to the BO 11s. Ground sleeve and predator guard

Any thoughts on the S&K 1.9 pole? Are there other pole options or a 8 gourd hanger out there that does not break the bank? Anything I'm missing?

[MartinBoy14012]

Don’t waste your money on a S&K pole, I bought one and sent it back after opening the box. The lack of quality was disappointing, I lost approximately $125.00 in shipping costs. I then bought a Troyer Deluxe 12 and it was worth every penny. The rack hold 12 gourds to allow for expansion as your colony grows. Amazing engineering and sturdy enough to hold up to storms at my site on Lake Ontario. Nothing wrong with the S&K Bo 11’s, I’m using Bo 9’s and added tunnels, cooling caps, and screw on access port adapters. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[dsonyay]

I like their gourds, but not the poles.

I think they sell a square aluminum pole.. but I may be mistaken.

I’d pass on the round pole as well. Spend a bit more money and get a quality square pole and gourd rack. Those things are well worth the money.

The pole will outlast you.

[flyin-lowe]

I too have had bad luck with S&K products unfortunately. I really like the idea of having a lower priced option but in this case, and my experience has shown, they are not always safe products. I have had a couple of their poles bend. When I started my colony it was all S&K but now I have phased all of the products out. I had issues with the gourds as well. Dave, their owner, used to be a member on a forum I used and was a very nice guy and was always open to conversation. There are many people out there with their products, for me they ended up being money spent on products I had to replace.

The last pole I had was a Tri Tel telescoping pole. The only thing it had on it was an S&K perching station and a feeding plat form. So there was little to no wind resistance. After several years the pole bent and I had to take it down. If it had a house or gourd rack on the top it would have bent even quicker. You might be better off to spend a little more money now and get a product with a better reputation, as chances are you might have to end up buying them in the near future anyway.

[Robert Anderson]

I was a martin landlord back around 2005 for a couple years. Was successful with a self built wooden house and 2 natural gourds I made that hung under the house.

I'm looking to put up gourds for next year. I'm wanting to buy a S&K 1.9 round pole and 6 gourd rack. I found a 8 pack of S&K BO 11 plus gourds online. So I will have 2 extra gourds unless I mount them under the rack. I'm going to add the cooling cap and ultimate tunnel to the BO 11s. Ground sleeve and predator guard

Any thoughts on the S&K 1.9 pole? Are there other pole options or a 8 gourd hanger out there that does not break the bank? Anything I'm missing?

I got the 8 unit rack from S&K. It is expandable to 16 which I also did.

[Robert Anderson]

I was a martin landlord back around 2005 for a couple years. Was successful with a self built wooden house and 2 natural gourds I made that hung under the house.

I'm looking to put up gourds for next year. I'm wanting to buy a S&K 1.9 round pole and 6 gourd rack. I found a 8 pack of S&K BO 11 plus gourds online. So I will have 2 extra gourds unless I mount them under the rack. I'm going to add the cooling cap and ultimate tunnel to the BO 11s. Ground sleeve and predator guard

Any thoughts on the S&K 1.9 pole? Are there other pole options or a 8 gourd hanger out there that does not break the bank? Anything I'm missing?

This is the one I got.
https://store.skmfg.com/mobile/Fountain ... fo/FR8-19/

[Whippy]

This is my S&K 16 gourd Fountain Rack. It has the 2 inch square pole. Every year I've made some sort of modification to it. I've welded the sections together to make it strong and sway less in the wind. I added 8 gourds to the inner positions making it a 24 gourd rack. I've also reinforced the fountain arms and the lower arms to keep them from bobbing up and down in the wind. Zoom into the photo and you'll see those modifications. This year my son welded an extension arm to it so I could lower the rack without the gourds hitting me on the head. On this rack I have Troyer Vertical, Troyer Horizontal and S&K Bo 11 Plus gourds all with tunnels. I've also added wooden dowels for extra perching space you can see those as well in this photo. If they break or rot I can just put new ones on.

I have had this set up for 6 years. I think I'm done messing with it by now except for the addition of the concrete filler later this year after all the residents leave. The top section is the only section I did not weld since I knew I'd be taking that off to fill it.

The pole is the back bone of your whole system. Be sure to go with a square pole at about 3 to 3.5 inches with thick walls. Troyer has a good set up that I will buy next. When purchasing you may think for example that 12 gourds are enough but once they are full you'll probably want to add more gourds for the next year so make sure that the system you buy can be added to in the future.

The T-14 is also a great option. I have one and like it very much. I have 8 pairs this first year I put it up. It's on a square pole as well. Jangley, the member who built it, went above and beyond on this pole. It has very thick walls and is in two sections. Each section weighs a ton. Very well built pole and pulley system.

I hope this helps your thought process a little bit.

Coolwhips