I have several of Droll Yankees Onyx Clever Clean 12" sunflower feeders (CC12S). About 2 months ago I came back to one on the ground. They used to make a special seed tray for them (#CCT or CCT-S). The tray was broken and the plastic plug gone. The company got bought out in 2017 by Classic Brands (classicbrands.net) who also owns More Birds, Stokes Select, Squirrel-X in addition to Droll Yankees).

Anyway, Droll Yankees no longer makes the solid-sided plastic tube Clever Clean sunflower tubes for the CC12S (though they do make them with mesh sides now). They also no longer make or have available the proprietary trays (again, the CCT or CCT-S). That also means the plastic plug/screw that holds the tray to the feeder is also unobtainable. Has anyone needed or found a workaround? Also, you should know that the lifetime warranty applies only to squirrel damage. If I had to attribute a source to my damage, I'd say hawk strike.

I had to look the model up. Looks like a frail and complicated design.
Pesonally I would just keep the top and wholly rebuild the whole thing, using 1/8" or smaller galvanized wire mesh for the tube and put a small hard plastic tray underneath. I would use some safety wire to keep the tray attached to the mesh tubing, no need for fancier stuff and I am a sucker for safety wire anyway.

Did you look for a replacement on ebay?

I don't see them as particularly frail. The end caps are solid heavier metal than I've seen on other feeders. The weakest part is probably the plastic tube which is sturdier than similar models having plastic tubes. As the name suggests, they're very easy to break down and clean (which I do religiously so as not to further disease spread). These have been out in all weather 24/7 for four years. Summer sun and heat are brutal on plastics and these have held up. I have had a number of other feeders that did not. I do have some metal mesh feeders as well and they also hold up. But I use them in more protected areas that don't get much sideways rain (unlike where the clever cleans are).

I can't see using galvanized metal on feeders due to the large amount of literature on zinc toxicity in birds. It's no longer recommended for cages for fowl either.

I'll look into wiring options but given cleaning schedules I'll have to come up with something easily removable.

Hamwild said:Did you look for a replacement on ebay?

I'm trying to rehab what I have rather than buy another feeder.