I bet you are thinking what do you mean by consumable? Well there are 3 predominate failure modes with these motor units for the rippler decoys and they happen so often you need to replace one or more motor unit per season. I have 3 decoys, 2 full bodies and a butt. I have managed to keep 2 units running and needed to repair every decoy about 2 times and had to buy another motor unit. They all broke motor mounts on the main housing, that is usually the first thing to go and if you don't repair them like I did the whole housing is junk. Typically one will break I fix it then the other fails not really a surprise there. The second most common failure is the wire contacts on the motor breaking so there is no electrical connection, 2 units had this issue (usually this happens right out of the box or very soon after). The third most common failure is the motor bracket breaking which involves disconnecting a motor and soldering the wires on to the contacts again for a secure connection. I have 4 motor housings and 3 decoys, at the time of this review 2 decoys are functioning after repair. I have kept the other 2 housings and have been using them to repair the other 2 and need another new motor unit to get the third decoy up and running. To be honest I am no longer in the mood to keep up this cycle. Just know until they change the design of the housing these will continue to fail and you will need to buy more to keep your decoys running. Hence these motor units being a consumable. Now that I think about it the AA batteries last almost as long as the motor units. You might get 1 battery change out of the decoy before you need to repair them. Long story short the motor units are the thing that hold these decoys back from being great. As it stands right now they are no longer worth the time investment or money.

Well I ordered my replacement motor because my old one got wet due to a bad seal. When my new motor arrived the swing arm was busted and missing, weight and all. How do you miss something like this?