Posted 2005-10-16 3:31 PM (#31823 - in reply to #31797) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Location: La.
We use the kind that pulsate. With that we can use the poly string with the small wire braided in it. It is easy to repair when broken but the fence line needs to be kept clean because heavy brush will tend to melt the poly wire. We used to use metal wire but the poly is more visable, less dangerous, and easier to repair. Oh, I can't think of the name of the charger and I am 200 miles out in the Gulf Of Mexico or I would go look for you.
Posted 2005-10-16 8:34 PM (#31830 - in reply to #31797) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Veteran
Posts: 230 Location: Louisiana
We have a solar powered one and I love it!! It makes our percheron stallion jump when he hits it. No delay. When he touchs it he remembers. I have had it for 4 years with no maintenance.
Posted 2005-10-17 10:09 AM (#31845 - in reply to #31797) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 350 Location: Newton, NJ
I have a Gallagher solar charger and it works great as long as I keep up with the weeds that grow along the fence line. Also, when the charger was damaged because it came apart at the mounting point, I sent it back and Gallagher fixed the housing, the solar collector plate and the battery and sent it back to me for free.
Posted 2005-10-18 2:31 AM (#31894 - in reply to #31860) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Elite Veteran
Posts: 1011 Location: Oregon
I have a solar powered charger and wouldn't have anything else. I used to take mine off the post and take it camping with us. I move my horses to different pastures and I just take the charger with me. I have a gound here at home and then 1 up the street on another pasture. Takes me about 2 minutes to hook it up. We lose power a lot in the winter time (longest was 9 days), so have solar powered is 1 less thing to worry about. Cost me about $130. It is a Parmak. I do have to replace the solar battery in it about once every 3 or 4 years. That costs about $20-$25.
Posted 2005-12-05 8:21 PM (#33763 - in reply to #31797) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Member
Posts: 13
Location: Alachua, Florida (Gainesville)
The single most important piece of advice I can offer is -- whether you opt for plug-in, battery-powered, or solar (I've used them all) -- use ONLY chargers that employ an INTERMITTENT output. The best plug-in chargers convert AC input to DC output (much safer, and facilitates a better direct-to-ground current flow). Most intermittent DC-output units shock in bursts with one-second delays between shocks. Even though continuous-current AC energizers have transformers to lower the amperage, SUSTAINED voltage can cause cardiac arythmias in susceptible animals -- even large ones (such as people...a tort lawyer's dream come true). I've seen massive Pilgrim geese and hefty Muscovy ducks completely paralyzed when hitting a "pet safe" continuous-current AC fence line, unable to unflex their skeletal muscles to move away from it -- and I've seen tiny chipping sparrows fly away from the shock of an intermittent cattle charger, somewhat dazed and irritated, after making the mistake of putting one foot on the wire and one foot on a grounded post.
"Low-impedance" livestock chargers are reputed to shock through weeds more effectively -- and I've found that to be true, especially when using poly-tape (what we in the south call "mule tape") as opposed to poly-wire or raw wire (such as stainless high-tension wire). Don't waste your money on poly-wire unless you're using it for portable, quick-set-up pens...weeds'll burn right through it and it will come apart. If you're only using a top strand along an established fence line, I still recommend mule tape or poly rope. It has the added advantage of being highly visible. I've read that the white tape is most visible to horses (and the other colors are yucky).
Here's my rule of thumb: Take the manufacturer's claim and assume 80% capacity -- if they say it'll charge five miles of fence, count on it electrifying only four miles with the terminus holding around 80% of their advertised joule rating -- there will always be a loss of power the farther down the line you go. If you follow the 80% rule, it won't make any difference to your animals. Fence chargers really shouldn't be rated for capacity in joules, but that's another topic entirely.
What will you be using it for? Do you need portability? Are you in a high-theft area? (Solar chargers tend to disappear with regularity in some, um, jurisdictions.) Gallagher and Parmak have great reps, but a nifty little all-in-one solar unit is made by Fi-Shock: http://store.mulehollow.com/4vosoen.html.
Be sure to buy from a dealer that has reliable customer service, since two of the solars I've bought were defective out of the box. Count on replacing the batts in solars every few years. Also be aware that many plug-in chargers are not weather-resistant.
Some chargers offer a high/low option -- when you're introducing livestock to the concept, you set the output on maximum voltage. Once they're knowledgeable, you can leave it on low and the battery will last longer in between charges (a good thing during storm season or gloomy winters if you're using solar; a great thing if you're relying on rechargeable battery-powered units such as the Yellow Jacket). If you're using it for predator control, you should always leave it on high since you cannot assume repeat visitations from the same critters. My vet uses it for her pet goats, too, and they don't climb out of their paddock to decimate her rose bushes any more. Many horse folk in FL use top strands solely to protect their fence investment from "leaners" and cribbers.
I use a livestock (cattle) energizer with one-inch mule tape installed eight inches above grade to keep my dogs from digging out of the yard when they're out there unsupervised. It's a great baby-sitter. I use one around my chicken coop at night and have never lost a bird (but I do hear a few midnight yelps and screeches now and then from daring foxes, raccoons, and coyotes). I kept a VERY testy three-year-old mare safely within three acres for more than two years using only two strands of mule tape -- one at lower chest level, one at mid-neck level. Mind you, this is a horse that would steal the keys out of your pocket and drive the truck to town...but she only needed to hit it ONCE. (The wicked ones are often the smart ones. It's the sweet, trusting horses/dogs that might hit it a few times before they catch on. It's pitiful, but fortunately they don't associate it with you -- I suspect they see it as yet another stinging thing that Mother Nature invented.) The only down-side I can think of to energized fencing is dealing with gates, and there are a few ways of handling that (depending on whether you want the gate opening energized, too).
And then, of course, there are the inevitable boy-children who dare one another to tinkle on the mule tape... I won't even go there.
Posted 2005-12-08 12:24 PM (#33864 - in reply to #31797) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
I have a Bee battery operated charger, that I've never used. But I'm planning on using it next month. It needs a ground rod since I will be using fibre glass step in poles for my poles. Can someone point me to a easy to use portable grounding rod?
Posted 2005-12-08 1:32 PM (#33870 - in reply to #33864) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Veteran
Posts: 247 Location: La Crosse, WI - God's Country
For portable use, my Yellow Jacket came with a short rod. Realistically, a 2 ft or more rod or pipe that can conduct electricity should be fine - copper rod/pipe, galvanized rod, etc. I haven't encountered a situation when camping where the 2 ft. rod hasn't worked but if you were in extremely dry conditions, you might have a problem...
Posted 2005-12-10 6:06 PM (#33940 - in reply to #31797) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 366 Location: Albany, Oregon
Hey Dogtrot....good post! I learned you kinda waste money buying the cheap tape....to much resistance...not as hot! Another trick I learned from the truck drivers. They twist there straps so they don't flap in the wind. It works for the tape also....bad connections tend to burn through. I have a 110v Bulldozer....it has been pulsing away for years don't even know if they still make em.....
Posted 2005-12-12 10:50 AM (#33978 - in reply to #31797) Subject: RE: fence chargers
Regular
Posts: 87 Location: Perry, Georgia
Chad,
What kind of fence are you trying to power? Electrobraid, tape, wire on T-posts, also, how many strands and how many acres?
You're supposed to look at the jouels (sp?) as well as the volts. Rignt now I'm powering 3 acres of 4 strand electrobraid with a 5 jouel, dont remember how many volts, pulsating adapter. Works like a dream, uses almost no energy, and it's powerful but safe.
I'll try to go out today and find out the volts and the brand. But, again, describe what you're trying to power & also how many horses you have in the pen?
fence chargers
charge, they seem to burn the weeds and ground out the least.
