Warranties & Repairs

Product Warranties & Repairs

Most of our bird feeding, optics and weather instrument products carry limited or lifetime warranties serviced by their respective manufacturers.  In the event that you require service for one of these products in the future, you should contact the manufacturer directly.  For your convenience, here is how to reach them:

Over the years we have found that there are a few products that are commonly reported defective when it is actually a user or setup issue.  Here are some troubleshooting tips that you may save you from having to return your item(s):

Heated Bird Baths & Bird Bath Heater Troubleshooting Tips

Of the few products returned to the manufacturer, less than one-third are actually found to be defective.  The most common issue is that your outlet has tripped the circuit breaker or the outlet is not properly grounded.  Don't let your birds be without water unnecessarily!  You can troubleshoot your product by performing this simple test.

Since the bath or heater is thermostatically controlled, it will not turn on unless the temperature of the unit is 40F or below.  To test, place the unplugged unit in the freezer for thirty minutes.  Remove and plug directly into a 120V grounded outdoor outlet.  The unit should get hot or "turn on".    It will shut off in approximately sixty seconds.  If the unit passes the test, check to see that the extension cord and electrical outlet are functioning properly.  If you still have doubts please contact the manufacturer directly for service instructions(see contact numbers above).

Barometer Troubleshooting Tips

Most claims that a barometer does not work properly is because the user has failed to adjust it to the proper barometric pressure for the area in which it is being used, or they do not understand how to read their barometer.

Any change in altitude will necessitate having to reset your barometer. 

All of the barometers we sell are fully adjustable. Adjustment can be made by turning the small brass screw on the back of the movement until the barometer needle is set on the current pressure for that geographic area on that day. (The screw is seated in a small indentation.) After setting, move the gold needle on the glass over the registering needle so you can easily observe any rise or fall.

To assure that your barometer is working properly, you can do the following tests:

• Using the small brass adjusting screw, turn it so that it makes and arc from the 8 o'clock position to the 4 o'clock position and back again. It should do this smoothly and without sticking. Be careful to not unscrew so far that the screw falls out.
• Place the barometer in a clear plastic bag, blow air into it and seal tightly so the air will not escape. Gently push down on the bag. If your registering needle moves several millibars, it is most likely working as expected.

In general, falling or low pressure indicates foul weather; rising or high pressure indicates fair weather.  If your barometer has the words fair, stormy, etc. written on the dial, these words are there to remind you which direction means what.  A registering needle pointing at fair doesn't necessarily mean the weather will be fair.  It is whether the pressure has increased since the last time you checked it, and if the pressure is rising, that means the weather will be improving or fair since the last time.  Barometers change slowly.  A reading should only be taken in most cases every 3 to 6 hours in order to give the atmosphere a chance to change.  The exception being if a thunderstorm is nearby in which case the pressure can change rapidly.