Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I'm pleased with this set of feeders. They're as beautiful as they look in the picture. But there are some things you might want to take note of before deciding if these are for you.
First of all the globes are glass. Be careful opening the box. The two halves of the styrofoam holding the globes are not taped together and they could come apart as you remove them from the box. As a result the globes could slip out and drop and break.
The color is very nice, rich, and cheerful red, but the glass is a bit inferior. There were several bubbles and specks of trash trapped in the glass. But overall the flaws aren't too distracting.
To get them ready to use, they'll need washing. You'll need a bottle brush to get the inside clean.
The globes are round and slippery when soapy wet. Keep one hand under the globe at all times while you wash it. You might want to put several folded dishcloths in the sink to cushion the fall if you have fumble fingers.
Since the globes are red, you won't need to artificially color the sugar water. Each globe holds about a cup and a half (12 ounces) of fluid, but you're going to want to only use about one-and-a-quarter cup (10 ounces). More on that in a minute.
The typical sugar to water ratio for hummingbird feeders is five parts water to one part sugar. That works out to one-quarter cup of sugar to the one-and-one-quarter cup of water. If hummingbirds aren't coming to your feeder you can try a little stronger mix--four parts water and one part sugar. When they start coming you can go back to the five-to-one mix.
Gently stand the globes in a wide cup to hold them upright while filling. I used paper cups as stands.
The first time I used these, I filled one globe, put in the stopper, hung it up and went in to fill the other. I returned just in time to hear "plop, gurgle gurgle gurgle" as the stopper fell out and the sugar water spilled onto our porch.
Luckily the glass feeder tube in the stopper didn't break.
I found the stoppers just wouldn't stay in. No matter how firmly I pushed them in, they'd immediately start squeezing themselves right back out.
I experimented with rubber bands, but that was unattractive and just wasn't going to work anyway.
I thought about packing up the globes and about returning it, but I liked the color. And the way the globes reflect light, they're beautiful when backlit, like when viewed from inside the house.
So I tried one more thing. After filling the globes, I tried drying the inside rim of the globe and the stopper with a paper napkin -- and, bingo, that did the trick. And that's why you'll only want to use a cup and a quarter of fluid. You'll want to leave room at the top of the globe to allow you to dry the inside rim.
There's always a little sugar water spilled in the rim when you fill the globes. I don't rinse the sugar water off before I dry them with the paper napkins. I figure a little stickiness helps keep the stoppers in.
One more thing--I remove the glass feeder tubes from the stoppers before I press them into the globes firmly but with gentle pressure. I don't want to crack the globes by pushing too firmly. After the stoppers are in I put the feeder tubes back in them. I remove the red feeding tips from the tubes (each red tip has a little metal pea in it to act like a valve), turn the globes upright, and shake them gently to get the sugar water to fall down to the end of the tubes. Then I replace the tips.
Even though these aren't the most convenient or easy to clean, I like the look and think they're worth the little bit of extra effort. For hummingbird health, feeders are supposed to be kept clean with fresh sugar water. I plan to wash the feeders once a week, more often if necessary.
All hummingbird feeding takes a bit of a commitment, so keep that in mind if you're thinking about starting.
Edited to add: It's mid summer now, and I've discovered these feeders really attract yellow jackets. I finally had to switch to a bee-proof style feeder. So if you live in an area that has bees and yellow jackets you might want to choose a different type feeder, or maybe look for bee guards you can use with these.
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