A solid gravity feed, either home made or store bought will outlast anything that required power. In fact most guys I know that bought powered feeders ended up turning them into gravity feeders when some stick, ice, corn stalk, or whatever got caught in the mechanism and burned out the motor. Additionally, be VERY CAREFUL where you put a standing feeder. If anyone else sees the feeder, even on private land, you are almost guaranteed those hunting the neighboring property will place stands to intercept any and all deer moving to the feeder from bedding areas. I've seen some pretty unsportsmanlike behavior when a feeder location becomes known to the neighbors. Good Luck!!!