Talk to me about solar fence chargers

[canesisters]

I was on a SUPER-TIGHT budget when I first started out, and so my only fencing option was electric wire. While I'm in a much better situation now, re-fencing with a nice woven wire livestock fence is still out of the question.
The past couple of summers I've put a good bit of effort & time into correcting my 'questionable' patch jobs and replacing the braided poly-line sections with wire.
I still STRUGGLE with getting enough ZAP to keep the cows consistently in. So much so that this year's calf has gotten a LOT of training to keep her easy to catch and handle so that WHEN she's out it's not a big deal.

But - Since I have about 3-ish acres fenced - 2 lines in some places.. 3 in others... temp lines cross fencing here and there as needed - I'm wondering if I've just maxed-out the potential of my old charger. I'm considering the option of putting a solar charger on each of the 2 back pastures & letting them run totally independently from the main system; and only when in use.

What do you think?
Is there a brand you would reccomend?
What do you like about your solar charger?
What do you HATE about it?
Do they last?

 

[Mini Horses]

Solar is NOT as strong as plug in. I have 3 large solar ones and just bought another plug in.👍. Old one died....bought off brand, it stopped in 3 days and I replaced with a Parmak...name I trust. That baby will knock you down 😵‍💫. Some animals are more sensitive to a hot wire, my horses, others not -- my goats. Now they learn once they hit it a couple times. Plus they assume it hurts, once they hit that hard shock, then a lesser volume can often contain them.

Suck it up and buy the hot electric. Your solar may need a new battery. It may not put out the intensity you need even with new....check joules. If only 1 or 2, that's puppy dog stuff....not cow. Both will run 150-200. Plus it will burn weeds to a degree, while covering more miles of fence.

Use wire, not poly braids...I do have a band of white one an area of wire that is not inside any actual wire fence but simply for visual warning.🤣 I've also tied flags onto the wire in past! Tacky but works.

Yeah, $$. But if you're past expense wire and posts, hotter box is it.

 

[farmerjan]

Agree totally with @Mini Horses . It is the JOULES that matter... and plug in over solar, unless there is no way to run electric to it. One thing... if you want to run it separate from the other ones... use house type electric wire to run from the house to the fence so it is insulated... and the heavier gauge the better as it will carry more actual electricity to it... then just attach it to the wire fence.
Agree on the wire, not poly braid wire... except as a visual. We have one wire and one strand poly so they see it better... and it is a plug in and it will knock you on your %$#.... I know.....
Gallagher, Parmak are both good... but DS got another brand and it was not expensive and it is hotter than a firecracker. I will look at the brand later. Any plug in will cost way LESS than a solar/battery powered one so there is that.
If you have 3 wires, only charge 2 and the 3rd wire will act as a ground and they will actually get more of a shock trying to reach between....
Make sure your ground is good too. If need be, pour water at the ground rod to keep it more moist... grounds work better if they are in moist/wet soil where it will do a better job. It is advisable to use 2 ground rods about 3-6 ft apart and wired in tandem.... to provide more "groundability" to the charger. our ground at the pasture we had to put up the electric is near the corner of the house and the downspout keeps the ground good and damp.... and the fence is "HOT"....
Keeping the grass and all off the wire will really help.... PITA to have to weed eat it.... some are better at shocking through weeds/grass....
Check your insulators... they get cracks too... I like the poly posts since they will not short out a fence.... but, most of what we have is metal posts with the insulators that slide up and down and you screw the back on to tighten. USE the ones that offset the fence from the posts... some are short, some 3 inches, some about 4-5 inches offset... don't use the close ones... they are too close and can more easily short out...
Of course, we all use what we have....

Invest in the highest JOULES you can... should be no less than 4-6 and up to 12.... It'll "learn 'em".....

 

[Baymule]

I’m a big fan of strong outer parameter fence. Price wise, expensive no matter what kind of wire. You are looking at the finished product. $$$$$$$$$$$$&$
Look at it as one piece at a time. $ It will take awhile, but over time, you could assemble enough pieces to put up a good fence. Even a section of fence would be a big help. If it takes 2-3 years, in 2-3 years you would have a fence. Even if it’s one field, you would be doing great.

 

[Ridgetop]

Have not heard of Parmak, but have heard that Gallagher is very good (also as a solar model), would like to hear about Farmerjan' DS charger brand.

Solar or battery is great if you have no other choice, but you have to check the batteries all the time. We used a battery charger with the horses 30 years ago (they have improved I know) and in the middle of the night the pony (11 hh Alfie) would check the hot wire and if the charge had dropped he would knock it down and lead his herd of larger horses up to the haybarn where they would have a midnight supper. 🐎🐎🐎🐎 . Luckily the way to the barn from their field ran past our bedroom window and the tiptoeing of 16 hooves would wake me up. Catching, haltering, and tieing up 4 horses at 2-3 am was very annoying. Eventually we put in corral railing. Our next charger was a solar charger also about 25-30 year ago. Very large and needed a marine battery to hold the charge. We used that for DS3's replacement heifers to eat grass on the field before we bought it and fenced it in. The heifers (he had one at a time) were brought in on halter to their corral at night so they had no opportunity to escape. DS3 was about 10-13 for those heifers and he would move the hot wire every few days to a new area to graze. The pen was only about 50' x 50'.

I have heard really good things about Gallagher as a solar charger for Dorper sheep From Ulm Kinzel's articles.

Now I am wondering if putting in the bare minimum of wire fences on my ranch for the sheep pastures and then dividing them further with electric fences and chargers would be more economical. Will be watching this thread for more information on chargers. Thanks Canesisters for this thread!