solar powered fence chargers

karenkarenn · Postby **karenkarenn** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 2:52 pm

Hello..
My hubby and I are going back and forth Re: Solar powered electric fence chargers.
First, I can't find any Solar Powered beyond .45 joules here and we need a more powerfull one mainly because of our 20 yrs old OTTB likes to REALLy hang on the fence. That's why he was named his name.
Any who.. anyone have any experience with Solared powered chargers?

Right now we have the fence hooked up to a battery that charges in .75 joules I believe. But it keeps him off the fence but hubby is tired of having to recharge it two times a week.
K

K~2 · Postby **K~2** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 6:57 pm

We use a Parmak charger

http://www.parmakusa.com/Fencers/solar2.htm

karenkarenn · Postby **karenkarenn** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 7:14 pm

One of the things that I can't find on that website is the Joule that it puts out. can you find it?
K

K~2 · Postby **K~2** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:21 pm

The 6V is 0.2 joules, the 12V is 0.5 joules.

That said the FAQs on the Parmak Site

Q. What is Joule?
A. The joule is a measurement of heat in British Thermal Units (BTU’s) or Foot-Pounds Energy. The distance a given weight can be moved in a unit of time, or the amount of heat that is generated for a specified time, equals a joule, (i.e. a joule is equivalent to .7378 foot pounds of .0002778 watt-hours (approximately 1 watt second).

Q. How does the joule relate to the performance of an electric fence charger?
A. It doesn’t. It would take a ten page letter to explain all the factors which make an electric shock effective. The joule does not measure the effectiveness of electric shock. The joule is a mathematical equation of Voltage x Amps x Joule. The longer the “on-time” of the pulse, the higher the joule rating will be and the longer the “on-time” the less safe the fencer is to use and the less effective.

The joule is not the correct way to measure the performance of any electric fence charger because the joule does not consider peak current value or “on-time” which are key factors in the effectiveness of a fencer, therefore, the joule cannot define true shock effectiveness or fencers safety.

What controls livestock is voltage and amperage. You must have voltage in order to force electricity through the conductor (fence wire) as well as vegetation touching the fence, etc., and you must have current in order for the livestock to feel that shock. Joules or heat has nothing to do with it.

The most effective fence charger will have the highest power (voltage and amps) possible in the shortest, on-time possible, thereby allowing the fence charger to develop a sharp spike which is far more effective in controlling livestock and at the same time is safe to use.

Example of how misleading the Joule rating is: The Parmak model Pet Gard is a continuous current, non-pulsing type charger designed for small animals in back yards, gradens, etc. Using the joule rating (Voltage x Amps x Time) the Pet Gard would have an unlimited joule rating making it the most powerful fencer, which it is not.

In summary, it is important to point out that Underwriters Laboratories (U/L) or Canadian Standard Assoc., (CSA) do not recognize the joule rating as a measurement when applied to electric fence chargers.

Hope this helps

karenkarenn · Postby **karenkarenn** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:58 am

OKay, I am going to have to look for something stronger. Anything with a 1 joulee or higher.

Thanks though
K

griff · Postby **griff** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:49 pm

The effectiveness of hot wire is much improved if a well grounded ground wire is positioned so the horse usually touches it when he touches the hot wire. .

When we were kids we had a game of who could hold the hot wire the longest.. the trick was wear shoes better yet US kids and stand in sand not wet grass.

griff

karenkarenn · Postby **karenkarenn** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:50 am

griff
He touches it everywhere :lol:

we would have alot of ground wires

griff · Postby **griff** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:47 pm

Your string one wire parrell with the hot wire and goundit by drivibg a metal bar into the ground.. If if your fence is extra long a secon or third gound stake would help.

I guarantee you a well grounded grund wre in parrell with the hot wire is going to do more good than extra juce..

of cource if you wasny to be extra sake get a bigger unit and provide a well gounded gound wire..

depending on your soil you have and the type shoes you are rearing, you can grap the hot wire youself when it gets extra dry.

Bottom line, no matter what size unit u you purchase a well grounded ground wire is essential

griff

karenkarenn · Postby **karenkarenn** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:50 pm

OKay Griff
Help me out with the spelling of what you just said..

We have a ground rod yes.. yes it is contected to the ground wire.

Shammy Davis · Postby **Shammy Davis** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:13 am

Karen: What I think Griff is saying is that the better the ground the better the unit operates. Bad grounds bleed off energy from the unit. I'm not sure what Griff means by parallel ground because all you really need is a good ground from the unit to the grounding rods. If you place your hand on the ground wire coming from the unit to the grounding rod and you get shocked you have insufficient ground. Better yet, so you don't get shocked let your husband check it out with electrical voltmeter or multimeter. A good ground will read zero volts. A bad ground will read some level of voltage. I am sure you and your husband know this but from the unit your charged wire on the fenceline is left open and unconnected at its farthest point. Electric fencing is not a closed circuit. When the horse leans into it, it provides the ground. If your horse is leaning on the electric fence there should be adequate charge to shock him, even on the least powerful unit. It sounds like you have a bad ground at the unit or at a point on the the fenceline.

If you have a Tractor Supply or other ag store nearby they should have units that will fit your needs. I know Tractor Supply has information on all their units. The manufacturer of the unit has already taken into account the electrical specification such as joules, amps, and volts. You need to look for a unit that fits the distance and environs where the fence is. Most manufacturers say whether the unit is good through heavy vegetation, wet grass, etc. Don't make it any more complicated than it is.

It is going to be very hard to find a solar powered unit that works as well as well as electrically powered unit.

All our fencing is electric. It is great. It takes a little socialization with new horses, but they get a sense of it from the other horses and one shock really does the trick. As I said, you can get power units both solar and electrical that are rated based on the distance and terrain/environs you are fencing. There should be pamplets at the dealer to describe the environs that the unit works best in. Some units will ground out in wet grass or high vegetation while other units are more powerful and the charge is uneffected.

Your best bet is to go to the dealer and look at all the units. I will tell you that if it is only a paddock, a solar powered unit should fit your needs very well. The reason I use a high end electrical charger is because I run all our fencing off one unit in serpentine fashion that includes paddocks and pasture. It is very economical to operate.

As Griff said, you need a good ground and I think Griff suspects, as I do, that your ground lead from the charger unit is insufficient or bad and you need to either tighten the connections or add ground rods or find arcing on the fenceline itself. You should check the wire at each fence pole insulator to insure that the charge wire is not in contact or close enough to arc to the post. Electrical charges will arch to not only metal but to wood, particularly if it is damp. If you have seedling trees or high vegetation cut it away from the fence line. I don't think solar units are powerful enough to need more than one 6 foot ground rod, but I could be wrong.

griff · Postby **griff** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:31 am

I agree that the mispelling and typos were a mess in my last emaill..

And Shammy davis is right about your charger needing a good ground..

However, any eletric fence, solar, battery or commercail power, will benefit by also installion a "well grounded" ground wire running just below the hot wire so that the electrical current will pass from the hot wire, through a part of the horse, to a ground wire.

Some times when it gets hot and dry a horses feet do not provide enough of a ground to cause very much electrical energy to pass from the hot wire through the horse to the ground.

As I said, when I was a kid we had a game of seeing who could hold a hot wire the longest and the secret was to wear shoes that provided insulation and to find a near by dry spot to stand on.

i'm not a fan of high tension fencing for horses but when it is installed they use 4 wires.. Two are hot and two are ground wires.

griff

karenkarenn · Postby **karenkarenn** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:29 am

Thanks Guys and Girls

What I need to do is let hubby see this and if its okay Can I have HIM pm you instead of me? Because he seems to know a little bit more.

But I'm the one that goes to the store and deals with the people who don't know what they are selling. :evil:

We have to go to Walmart for these items.... Yeah I know. :roll:

Our Cal Ranch here in town belly flops on items on the shelf, and I'm left chasing horses in the end...

K

Lisann · Postby **Lisann** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 1:11 pm

If you're not set on solar chargers, I recommend this one:

http://www.jeffersequine.com/product.asp?camid=EQU&pn=P2-P2&cn=2601

I've had mine since 2002. I did have to send it in for repair in 2007, think it got damaged by lightening. Parmak fixed it for $35.

karenkarenn · Postby **karenkarenn** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:23 pm

OKay here was a thought that was just thrown in by a neighbor. Shaving the area of the horse where the wire touch it.
Shaving his chest. Since the horses still have their winter coats on, would shaving help?
K

Lei Owen · Postby **Lei Owen** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:46 pm

karenkarenn wrote:OKay here was a thought that was just thrown in by a neighbor. Shaving the area of the horse where the wire touch it.
Shaving his chest. Since the horses still have their winter coats on, would shaving help?
K

You don't need to shave the hair. Use your shedding/stripping tool and go to work on that chest.

We have 23 horses in six pastures. Divided by two strand's of electric ribbon fence. Only the top one is hot. LOL