Solar electric fence charger

[Mr.Bojangles]

With spring just around the corner, I have been planning putting my chicken tractor and turkey tractor in a back pasture. I don't really want to string a mile of electric fence wire from a 110 volt charger. Has anyone used a solar powered fence charger recently? How good a job do they do, are they dependable ? I use electric fence around the tractor as a predator deterent. Recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[pips&peeps]

We experimented with them a few years ago. We bought a cheap one and an expensive one, they were both crap. No juice on cloudy days.

 

[patandchickens]

If you're not getting enough charge on cloudy days, either the charger is too small or is improperly installed/maintained, or the battery has been allowed to drain too far (after which it will never recover its ability to hold a full charge for very long). So those might be things to check out for those having problems.

The main limitations of solar chargers are basically just a) they don't come in as-large as-powerful units as AC or battery units do, and b) they cost a pretty big whack o' money for what you get.

The first limitation can be serious for use with real livestock but is not normally going to be a problem for someone just trying to protect a coop and yard

The second limitation however is a pretty serious one IMHO. Price it out and you will find that it is usually cheaper to just buy a battery-operated unit and be done with it. Yeah, you have to buy new batteries periodically, but then you have to buy a new battery for a SOLAR unit TOO (yes, solar-powered chargers do have a battery, that's how they keep the fence charged overnight and in cloudy weather, so when the battery croaks the fence will only be 'hot' while the sun shines). How often you have to replace a solar charger's battery depends partly on how good care you take of it -- I periodically find I've let mine ground out, e.g. in an ice storm, and as a result my batteries tend to last only a year or 18 months, but even with excellent management and never discharging too far, you will STILL not likely get more than a couple few yrs out of a solar-charger battery. Those who think their solar charger is running fine on the same battery it had when they bought it 5 or 10 yrs ago need to go out there in the middle of the night with the fence-tester...

. Losing charge after sunset is not usually a problem for keeping in well-trained stock; however it is exactly what you DON'T want if you are trying to keep predators out of the chicken coop)

Honestly, even though for various reasons I do happen to own a solar charger (as well as a plug-in one, and a very small portable battery-powered one), I do not think they are the smartest bet except in pretty unusual and specific circumstances.

If you can't (or don't want to) use a plug-in charger, any of the various types of battery-powered are really probably a much smarter use of your money.

You still have to size the unit correctly, and (this is the big reason why electric fences so often fail) SET THE FENCE UP TOTALLY RIGHT and CHECK IT FREQUENTLY.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ellieroo]

We have used one on the horse pasture for yrs now.That includes a once wild mustang.They all respect the fence! We lost power only once and got a new charger and so far it has worked for 5 yrs. Our version of winter is fog and clouds for days on end and it still works! Just check all the facts and brands.

 

[pips&peeps]

The battery never held a good enough charge to keep it going on cloudy days. We replaced it with an electric one and have had no problems and it will knock you on your butt.

We had beefalo for years, so do know how to install a fence charger.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

hmmm...the ones we have out here on the farm are totally awesome.

Intelli-Shock is the brand, I believe.

We've had mostly gloomy weather for the past month and those bat'ries are going strong. Two of those units are the only things protecting all the chickens out here from rat-coons, coyotes, the bird dogs next door, and especially the farm cats.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Can you turn the solar ones off and on? We leave it off during the day when the girls are free-ranging but put it on at night when they are safe in their coop. No lost chickens since installing the hotwire but would love to go solar!!

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Quote:
Yes

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Yes, they have an on-off switch just like any other charger... but as mentioned above, look hard at the financial angle before going solar. Units with a replaceable battery (either regular ol', or rechargeable) are generally less expensive for the same thing, yes even when you figure in battery replacement costs.

For night-only use, battery units make even MORE sense, since you have half the drain on the battery as you would from normal use, thus the battery will last almost twice as long. Whereas a solar charger used only at night is likely to need *its* battery replaced about as often as if you were using it all the time.

Pat