notabitail
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I'm looking for a good quality solar electric fence charger. It needs to be strong enough to zap things like coyotes and raccoons and the such.
Good quality solar electric fence charger?
- Thread starter notabitail
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I'm going to just observe...
Mini Horses
Herd Master
Solar is difficult to buy that's strong enough to give a big jolt. And I meant a real hit, not a tingle!! 1-4 joules isn't enough. That works on, say, horses trained to electric, or some animals trained to heavy hit already. Wild things coming in, not so much.
Parmak makes both solar & plug in. But only the plug inside give high joules. If at all possible go with plug in and at least 8-10 joules. I use on with 12 and can attest to the fact that you do not want to test it more than once! It's bear strong.
Parmak makes both solar & plug in. But only the plug inside give high joules. If at all possible go with plug in and at least 8-10 joules. I use on with 12 and can attest to the fact that you do not want to test it more than once! It's bear strong.
farmerjan
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The highest Joules that I have ever seen in solar is 2... maybe 3 ????? If you go to Premier electric fencing, they have all sorts of electric netting, wire, and information about electric and how to fence... you might be able to find something stronger...as they carry several different chargers.
Gallagher and ParMak are the two I am most familiar with... but there is a limit to the amount of elec charge they put out with solar.
You also have to be careful with what type charger you use if you use electric netting... and netting is going to be your best bet for coons and coyotes... essential for smaller animals like rabbits and possums.
Gallagher and ParMak are the two I am most familiar with... but there is a limit to the amount of elec charge they put out with solar.
You also have to be careful with what type charger you use if you use electric netting... and netting is going to be your best bet for coons and coyotes... essential for smaller animals like rabbits and possums.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Also don't believe what the mfg says is the amounts of mies the fence charger will charge. It never charges that much. If you are using netting, you have to allow for the length of ALL the wires in that fencing - both horizontal and vertical as they connect to each other AND yu loose charge strength due to the plastic voering on some of the wires. The first charger we bought for our Premier netting didn't even give any charge although it was supposedly enough for the length. We use Gallagher solar chargers - solar chargers may not give as heavy a shock as plug in units. if you have electricity near the fence you may prefer a plug in unit. they are a bit cheaper but be sure they have emergency battery backup in case of a power failure.
Luckily @Canesister was having problems with her electric fencing for her cow and lots of people chimed in to help. @farmerjan solved our problem by telling us what size charger and joules etc. we needed. Now we use the smaller one to charge 450' of 3 strand wire (not netting) and the large one that effectively charged 1200' of Premier netting will run the next 2-3 fence lines of permanent 3 strand wire x 450' each. FYI, the top and bottom strand of our 5 wire fence is not charged since the sheep are trained to the hot wire and don't stick their heads over the top of the 42" fence. For predators you will need to charge all the wires.
When it comes to fence chargers - Go Big or Go Home!
Luckily @Canesister was having problems with her electric fencing for her cow and lots of people chimed in to help. @farmerjan solved our problem by telling us what size charger and joules etc. we needed. Now we use the smaller one to charge 450' of 3 strand wire (not netting) and the large one that effectively charged 1200' of Premier netting will run the next 2-3 fence lines of permanent 3 strand wire x 450' each. FYI, the top and bottom strand of our 5 wire fence is not charged since the sheep are trained to the hot wire and don't stick their heads over the top of the 42" fence. For predators you will need to charge all the wires.
When it comes to fence chargers - Go Big or Go Home!
farmerjan
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You also HAVE to have good grounds for the fence to be charged and effectively shock whatever goes against it. If the ground rods are not good enough, deep enough, and are not attached correctly, they will not let the fence charger work correctly... AND.... if the actual ground where the ground rods are is dry... you need more ground rods... OR.... you need to water the area around the ground rod to make the soil damp so it will work correctly.
Like I said back awhile in @canesisters thread... distance it says they cover is just stupid because it is for a perfect fence with perfect grounds, with nothing touching it to draw off current... JOULES is what you need to look for...... types of fence also matter... As @Ridgetop mentioned... poly wire with wire woven into poly thread will not carry as good a charge, as a straight wire .....
Aluminum wire is much softer but will carry a charge better than a steel wire... but it breaks/kinks/bends easily... Any where it is attached to fences is also important... If using steel T-posts.. use off set insulators that keep the wire at least 3-5 inches off the post... or if you have some already, that are short and close to the fence, you have to make sure they are not cracked, and that they don't short out the fence along the way...
Like I said back awhile in @canesisters thread... distance it says they cover is just stupid because it is for a perfect fence with perfect grounds, with nothing touching it to draw off current... JOULES is what you need to look for...... types of fence also matter... As @Ridgetop mentioned... poly wire with wire woven into poly thread will not carry as good a charge, as a straight wire .....
Aluminum wire is much softer but will carry a charge better than a steel wire... but it breaks/kinks/bends easily... Any where it is attached to fences is also important... If using steel T-posts.. use off set insulators that keep the wire at least 3-5 inches off the post... or if you have some already, that are short and close to the fence, you have to make sure they are not cracked, and that they don't short out the fence along the way...
canesisters
Herd Master
EXACTLY!!!!!!
I had had fence 'experts' out here - multiple times - over several years..... not one had ever mentioned joules.
I spent hundreds of dollars & many, many, many frustrating hours with lots of temper tantrum tears trying to make my fences work.
"This is NOT rocket science!!! <sob> I am NOT stupid!!! <sob> WHY can't I get this stupid thing to WORK?!?!?! <throw pliers, kick cart of fence supplies>
"
@farmerjan mentioned joules and BINGO!!!! I had done all that work but was attaching it to a charger that didn't have a snowballs chance of keeping anything more that the most compliant lazy content animal contained.
I got a new charger, replaced the lead-out wire with one actually meant to do the job and have only had trouble when there was a GOOD REASON since then (tree or branches down on fence, insulator or post failure dropping the line or shorting it out).
I had had fence 'experts' out here - multiple times - over several years..... not one had ever mentioned joules.
I spent hundreds of dollars & many, many, many frustrating hours with lots of temper tantrum tears trying to make my fences work.
"This is NOT rocket science!!! <sob> I am NOT stupid!!! <sob> WHY can't I get this stupid thing to WORK?!?!?! <throw pliers, kick cart of fence supplies>
"@farmerjan mentioned joules and BINGO!!!! I had done all that work but was attaching it to a charger that didn't have a snowballs chance of keeping anything more that the most compliant lazy content animal contained.
I got a new charger, replaced the lead-out wire with one actually meant to do the job and have only had trouble when there was a GOOD REASON since then (tree or branches down on fence, insulator or post failure dropping the line or shorting it out).
