OK... here's the real skinny.
I don't have enough hummers here to bother with a feeder. But in the interest of science, I sacrificed some sugar and made up some concentrate.
As alluded to by ViolaAnn, when the sugar dissolves in the water it does not take up it's full volume in the final mix. However, it does add volume.
Turns out, with =my= brand/grade of granulated sugar, one cup of water plus one cup of sugar equals 1½ cups of concentrate.
This means for a "perfect" 1:4 ratio in final product, you would use 1½ cups of concentrate with 3 cups of water. Yes, that means 4½ cups of final mix, not 5, but the ratio is still 1 part sugar to 4 parts water.
So now, does this help clarify the situation or does it just make the confusion worse?
