Solar Fence Trouble Shooting

[texasjohn]

To experiment and learn, go to the middle of your fence and CREATE a short. Now, go down the fence 100 yards or so each way and see how the numbers are. I use the single display which shows amps, direction of flow and volts in a simple bar at the bottom. Now, having removed the dead short, see if you can create an intermittent short... one where a spark jumps occasionally or almost always to ground, but it is an audible spark jump, not a dead short against a wire. You should note that the current flow is less than a dead short but still more than a clean wire. Also, beyond the spark you may see a reasonable, but reduced voltage, as well...depends on nature of the spark. Observe this beyond a Y in the fence and note the readings along all branches of the Y for both types of shorts....you are now ready for a REAL short and FAST fence fixing experience!! Have fun!

 

[TomSeller]

To experiment and learn, go to the middle of your fence and CREATE a short. Now, go down the fence 100 yards or so each way and see how the numbers are. I use the single display which shows amps, direction of flow and volts in a simple bar at the bottom. Now, having removed the dead short, see if you can create an intermittent short... one where a spark jumps occasionally or almost always to ground, but it is an audible spark jump, not a dead short against a wire. You should note that the current flow is less than a dead short but still more than a clean wire. Also, beyond the spark you may see a reasonable, but reduced voltage, as well...depends on nature of the spark. Observe this beyond a Y in the fence and note the readings along all branches of the Y for both types of shorts....you are now ready for a REAL short and FAST fence fixing experience!! Have fun!

Very good advice. Thank you.

 

[TomSeller]

I was able to spend a short time with the new meter today, and is this thing handy or what? Nice not to have to stick the probe in the ground too. I moved a few cows into a field with lots of tall green grass against the fence so I knew I would have lots of draw but with lots of green grass I don't have to worry about the cows getting out anyway. The field is looped and as you can see in my pictures, you can instantly tell how much current is flowing in each direction. The charger is coming in from the wire from the top and goes either left or right (I did not do the joint by the way).

I can't wrap my head around 14.2 amps at 7300 volts.

 

[ultrarunner]

I just went through this with our charger...

Walked the line several times and simply couldn't find the problem... others walked it too.

We all missed a rusty wire sticking out of the ground enough to ground the hot wire... boy did I feel dumb!

 

[texasjohn]

OK, good info. Here's my take on your numbers....

7400 volts...means fence is NOT badly shorted out at any one place. If it were badly shorted, the VOLTS would drop a lot. Anything over 3000 volts or so is enough to keep your cows where they belong...it really hurts even at that voltage...true, some grass is along the fence and this causes lots of little current leaks resulting in the 14.2 amps total flow. But the voltage remains high. I often see this kind of flow on my fence when grass is growing all along it. If you start at the fencer, likely the amps is a little greater than the 14.2...and as you go along the fence, the current flow will slowly decrease until it is near or at 0.0 at the very end of the fence.
If you find a spot where the flow drops significantly, then back up and locate where the sudden drop happens...right in there is a spot that needs better insulation...or some brush cut down...to reduce the current flow.

I see current flow in the range of 27 amps when I have a direct short...and volts is very low. The total amps a charger can deliver under a direct short depends on the capabilities of the charger. Mine and yours are likely different.

Happy fence fixing!!

 

[redman135]

A little labour saving trick.Work out the maximum height of your grass, and make the wires at and below this point able to be disconnected from the power. This saves the frustration of the rampant spring growth induced shorts. Then when the stock catch up to the grass you reconnect the lower wires.
For me this means I disconnect the lower wires in spring and reconnect in autumn/fall . The sheep and goats will crawl under the fence if they see a gap, this effectively means late autumn and winter when the grass is shortest.
I run a 5 wire all electric fence and have the lower 3 wires set so I can disconnect them. This leaves the top 2 wires live all the time. If a sheep or goat challenges the fence they will do so where they can see a gap, ie 2nd / 3rd wire, ZAP(wire 1 & 2 are still live),instant lesson on "why you don't touch a fence". If you are educating sheep, then shear them first( they learn best freshly shorn) as wool is a good insulter and they will walk through many live fences.

 

[redman135]

ultrarunner, don't beat yourself up. Rusty wire is hard to see and easy to miss,and that is with 25 years farming with "hot fences".

 

[TomSeller]

I just went through this with our charger...
Walked the line several times and simply couldn't find the problem... others walked it too.
We all missed a rusty wire sticking out of the ground enough to ground the hot wire... boy did I feel dumb!

The fault finder would have walked you right to that rusty wire. As you walk down the fence you can test it periodically and after every brushy, etc. area. As soon as you see the current flow reduce you are at the right spot. The meter turns on automatically when it senses the fence pulsation which speeds up testing, you barely need to pause for more than a few seconds.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm thinking of putting one on the wish list...

My meter now reads 9.3 and before it read .5

Had to put the charger on a timer because no matter how I explained it... poor mom was always getting shocked!

So now the fence if off around the garden from 8 in the morning to 7 at night... no more shocks!

 

[TomSeller]

I have 1.6 amps showing on the grounding wire, but no direction. I am thinking the meter may not be designed to show current on the ground wire?

If anyone thinks the lock and lube tip for a grease gun is a time saver (and it is), it is nothing like the time this saves if you have miles and miles of hot wire like I do. Not to mention the time saved from not getting the call to get your calves off of the road or out of a neighbor's place. This spring I was able to keep the wire over 4K volts all during and after calving. Even the calves became fence trainer faster, which is usually my problem animal. The cows and bulls know enough to stay off the fence.