Solar Electric Fence Question

[hunterridgefarm]

After fatting the deer up for the last couple of years with a couple thousand pumpkins, watermelon, cataloupe I have decide to fence about 3 acers with electric fence. Most likely two strands wire and 2-3 strands of bailing twine. May actually use two fences with one 3-4 foot inside the other. Deer have trouble judging depth and are not as apt to jump it. We took 4 deer during hunting season have about 20 more to go.

I have looked at these at TSC Tractor Supply Company - Electric Fence Solar-Powered Controllers and also looked at some at my local farm dealer. Prices for 6 volt 3 mile run $100.00 -$180.00. 12 vlot, 10 mile run around $350.

Anyone here have a solar powered electric fence? If so how do you like it, what suggestions do you have?

Also what about the charge controlers...are they really needed? Prices run $30.00 to $119.00.

I don't know much about electric fences, always used barbed wire and woven.

Thanks
David

 

[n8wrl]

I have several ParMak solar chargers and they work great. I have also used several 110V units and prefer solar because they're easier to deploy in more remote locations. Make sure the solar panels face south and install a good ground.

For years I have been struggling to find the ideal fence material:

Steel wire is strongest and cheapest but rusts and eventually has to be replaced because rust is an insulator and it doesn't deliver as much of a shock.

Aluminum wire is at least $3x steel and while it doesn't rust it does stretch and breaks easier.

Neither of these is very easy to see - we have horses and visibility is important.

Various stainless-impregnated rope/twine solutions are easy to see but splicing is more difficult because you have to isolate the indiviual conducting strands and make sure they're well connected. Also stretches and sags quite a bit.

Haven't treid any of the 'electric tapes' but I expect they behave like rope.

But on the whole, I like the ParMak chargers and i will probably go AL for the mateiral in the future. Get ready for constant maintenance - breaks, shorts against nails and underbrush, trees, etc. For me I'm an Amateur Radio operator so whenever i hear pops on the radio I know it's time to walk the fence-line!

-Brian

 

[chrisdvorak]

i have a 25 mile solar fence charger and 2 strand electric tape, it works great the day i bought i had it sitting in the barn and the battery was empty, and it was fully charged the next day! i can post pics if you want

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Where did you buy that brand? I travel a lot and in SC often. Tell me more about the grounding. Does it matter if I mount it to a wood or metal post since it seems to be incased in plastic?

 

[hunterridgefarm]

i have a 25 mile solar fence charger and 2 strand electric tape, it works great the day i bought i had it sitting in the barn and the battery was empty, and it was fully charged the next day! i can post pics if you want

Great! Post some pics. I think the 3 mile will work for me but may go with the 10 mile.

 

[chrisdvorak]

i have a metal ground rod that was 8ft when i bought it but i had to cut it down some but it works great and seems to power the tape very well, i do not know however if you can use wood as your ground

 

[chrisdvorak]

this is what it powers by the way

 

[hunterridgefarm]

i have a metal ground rod that was 8ft when i bought it but i had to cut it down some but it works great and seems to power the tape very well, i do not know however if you can use wood as your ground

Chris,

Thanks for the pics! I was not going to use wood as the ground just to mount it on. If I mount on a metal t-post I assume I could use it as the ground since the unit is plastic cased.

 

[sellercreek]

I use Parmak solar and battery powered chargers. They work great. The battery powered one will run 3-4 months on a fully charged deep cycle battery.
My solar works fine, too, but you eventually have to deal with battery replacement with it. I've found it easier (and cheaper) to use the deep cycle battery and monitor it. The fence can be dead for several weeks and the animals will stay away from it if they are conditioned to it.

Be sure everybody knows how to bring the power down in an emergency and put signs in areas where neighboring adults or children might be present.


This site has a lot of good info: 17 Mistakes To Avoid With Electric Fencing Be sure to pay attention to the grounding section and the training of the animals.

 

[JeremyL]

I have had 2 Parmaks. They work well, when they work. My "current" one stopped working, I bought a new battery and that didn't fix it. It was still under warranty (just) and I sent it back. Parmak quickly replaced the curcuit board and sent it back; works just fine now.

Solar is nice because it is free and works when the power is out. Kentucky had a BIG ice storm last winter and many people were without power for weeks. Today the power went off for a few minutes (probably because snow is forcast; not a flake has fallen). There is enought to worry about when the grid goes down without worrying that your animals will take advantage.

 

[sellercreek]

The 12v chargers operate when the power is out and are quite a bit cheaper to buy on the front end. Enough cheaper to buy a decent deep cycle battery.

Electric Fence Chargers

 

[MikePA]

Anyone here have a solar powered electric fence? If so how do you like it, what suggestions do you have?

We've had horses for 10 years and have used HorseGuardFence products for all that time connected to a solar charger (Parmak). The first charger was a 6v and the latest one is 12v. Never had any problems with the tape or charger and only went to the 12v version cause I wanted to. The nice thing about the Parmaks is they are self contains, i.e., no separate battery to buy. It arrives, your attach it to a fence post, connect the tape and you're done. Come to think of it, I replaced the 12v battery once. Everything is available online.

The HorseGuardFence is easy to install. I've never had to repair the tape, only the pieces that attach it to the posts (which can be fiberglass or T-Posts in addition to wood) when a limb falls on them or the horses hit when they are rolling around. We've even had a car come barreling through 4 of our fences and break fences posts off, but the tape held. This tape does not require splicing and does not behave like electric rope.

Also note they have 2 versions of electric tape. The traditional requires grounding, the other one they call Bi-Polar, does not require grounding. The top of the tape is connected to the positive post of the charger while the bottom of the tape is connected to the negative. We have the traditional version since the Bi-Polar version was not available 10 years ago.

Once of our pastures has a fence with four 1" x 6" rails and I ran one electric tape at the inside top to keep the horses from leaning on the fence. The second pasture has 4" x 4" posts spaced every 8 feet and 3 strands of tape. Works like a charm.

 

[wjoerob]

Grounding is VERY important! We have used solar chargers from TSC for 4 yrs., with aluminum wire, on a 3 acre pasture. Yes, sometimes you get breaks, but ours have usually been easy to find and fix. We found that having a grounding stake driven into the ground several feet, at least 10 ft. from the charger makes all the difference in getting a good strong signal. However, even with hot wires at top and bottom, coyotes can still jump OVER, and Highland cattle climbed out right over the top! Stubborn critters!

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Thanks for the information guys. I plan to have mine installed by April-May. I need a good pumpkin harvest this year to help pay for my sons college expenses..