12 volt fence charger life span

[ColdBlackWind]

Tried to find a category that fits. This was my best guess. I have a Zareba 1 joule charger that is 12 years old or so. Been used sparingly. On a full battery charge the output checked at the terminals has dropped by 65-70%. Was wondering if this was normal failure mode and if anyone had seen something similar. My thought was it would have been a work or don’t work scenario.

 

[ponytug]

Chargers do wear out. I would double check that the battery is at full charge.

There are some folks out there who repair chargers (replacing worn capacitors diodes and transformers, etc.). We have used Fence Fixer;

REPAIRS | Electric Fencer Repairs | Fence Charger Repairs

We repair ANY BRAND of ANY AGE of Electric Fencer, Fence Charger, and Fence Energizer. FREE ESTIMATES and OUR 18 MONTH WARRANTY

www.fencerfixer.com

At the end of the day though everything about the electronics ages, and a repair will fix it for a while, but it isn't back to "new" and it is not going to last as long.

FWIW: We have used the Gallagher brand solar chargers in the past and they seem to last 10-12 years. We are slowly replacing them with Premier1 brand chargers that seem to be more powerful, and able to pulse through weeds and wet insulators better.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ColdBlackWind]

Chargers do wear out. I would double check that the battery is at full charge.

There are some folks out there who repair chargers (replacing worn capacitors diodes and transformers, etc.). We have used Fence Fixer;

REPAIRS | Electric Fencer Repairs | Fence Charger Repairs

We repair ANY BRAND of ANY AGE of Electric Fencer, Fence Charger, and Fence Energizer. FREE ESTIMATES and OUR 18 MONTH WARRANTY

www.fencerfixer.com

At the end of the day though everything about the electronics ages, and a repair will fix it for a while, but it isn't back to "new" and it is not going to last as long.

FWIW: We have used the Gallagher brand solar chargers in the past and they seem to last 10-12 years. We are slowly replacing them with Premier1 brand chargers that seem to be more powerful, and able to pulse through weeds and wet insulators better.

All the best,

Peter

Exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Tried to find a category that fits. This was my best guess. I have a Zareba 1 joule charger that is 12 years old or so. Been used sparingly. On a full battery charge the output checked at the terminals has dropped by 65-70%. Was wondering if this was normal failure mode and if anyone had seen something similar. My thought was it would have been a work or don’t work scenario.

I'm a retired electronic technician. If you take it apart, blow out any dust/dirt and post pictures of inside+ both side of circuit board maybe I can help you.

 

[ning]

I've got an old Red Snap'r solar charger that I just tried to use - got a new battery (6V); the charger kicks out about 1KV.
I haven't pulled it apart because I think that the shell of the unit is fused plastic, unless the screws are hiding somewhere.

I bought a new AC/DC unit to use instead as my location has no AC but I have a solar-charged 12V battery there, new unit kicks 9KV... If I can resurrect that red snap'r though that would be nice to do, maybe those guys would fix it..

 

[oosik]

I have used two different chargers in the past. One UKN brand - lasted one year. And a more expensive one - Gallagher solar charger. I still have the Gallagher. I used these chargers to temporarily "close the loop" on my 80 acre fencing project. It took two years - 675 T-135 posts and 26 or 28 rolls of barbed wire ( I don't remember exactly) to complete the fencing project. That was 42 years ago and BOY am I glad that's done.