Fence Chargers

[rScotty]

rScotty, MORE information needed. Mains , solar or battery?
Proximity to house? Theft can be a problem especially solar units. (drug growers) Mains, is shed lockable? Battery , out of sight of the road.
LENGTH of fence. Note each powered wire must be counted, ie 5 wire fence with 3 live wires @ 100 yards long x 4 sides = 1200 powered yards. It does not take long to clock up a mile of fence
If you have not got a "short" tester, get one. Also if you have a long enough fence get the "remote switch off" option for conveniance when hunting and fixing shorts. It saves a lot of time.

Special Note: MOST electric fence failures are due to poor earth/ground. READ and FOLLOW the earth/ground instructions.

I use a Gallagher M2800 (approx 7 years) on my farm, replaced a 17 year gallagher unit that lightning killed.
Farm was leased out.

Well, our application is not typical. That's why I didn't give all the info at first. I thought I'd learn more from a sort of general discussion.

We are old and retired and no longer have any large animals to fence in. The need for a fence charger is to mainly to deter large wild animals. They don't need much of a shock, but it does need it to be reliable. We want to keep bears from breaking into the barn or cars, and also keep them off the porch at night. Same for families of mountain lions - they don't care about the barn, but they seem to be attracted to porches for some reason. Bears are a daily thing, cat families are much more rare - maybe once a year.

So it's not much acreage. What I've used for years is to surround all the windows and doors of the barn with a wire on regular standoffs. That only amounts to a few hundred feet. We do the same for the porch and for about the same distance. I'm not trying to hurt the animals, or anger them, ....just laying out the rules here.

Since the wire runs are short and both animals have feet that are soft and kind of wet, the charger doesn't need high joule shock capacity. Any shock will do. Bears especially are smarter than domestic animals, They are pretty handy at figuring out door knobs on cars and buildings, and will smell the wire to see if it is live. Some also learn the click of the charger and I'm pretty sure they associate that clicking sound with it being on.

Since we are on a creek we do sometimes have moose go by, but haven't had any problem with them - except one young bull did charge my wife. Luckily she jumped up on the big tractor and that stopped him. I told her she should have started it up and charged him right back!

Oh, as for grounding....Very important. I use regular electrical grounding rods 5/8" x 8 foot copper coated and a standard UL brass clamp.
The length is long enough to reach the water table. And being that all this is close to the house we use AC for power.

For years we used the Parmac SE4 models. They lasted 4 or 5 years, but then quit. I've had both SE4s rebuilt by the company 3 times each now. None lasted more than a couple of days - often only a couple of hours. So much for "made in the USA". Rebuilds are expensive and the company hasn't been responsive. So I'm looking for another brand.
rScotty

 

[CADplans]

Well, our application is not typical.
The need for a fence charger is to mainly to deter large wild animals.
We want to keep bears from breaking into the barn or cars, and also keep them off the porch at night.

We have a bear (and other animal ) issue where I live,,

The ONLY time the bear will approach the house is if there is easy access food,,
trash, dog food, cat food, bird feeders (even hummingbird feeders)

We have 100% success simply eliminating ANY easy food source.

Also, if we show the state game warden that outside food is eliminated and the animal still comes,, they will come trap the animals and remove them.
If they are approaching the house, and there is no food,, it is probable that there is a issue with the animal, that is not normal.
So, the state might be the easiest fix,,

As far as trash, I have two motion lights near a very heavy, large, sealed, metal bin (with a heavy lid) that I put trash in.
One of the lights also powers an old FM radio that plays southern rock music (2 minutes on, then reset)
Also, we put NO food in the trash, the garbage disposal, or chickens gets it ALL.

We have not had a bear or even a raccoon since I added the lights, and eliminated all other food.

We have a neighbor that never gets a bear visit,,, except,, when he forgets and puts a pizza box in the outside trash,,
100% of the time that he puts a pizza box in the trash,, the bear spreads it all out,,

Eliminating food might be easier than a fence charger,, and more reliable,,,

 

[rScotty]

We have a bear (and other animal ) issue where I live,,

The ONLY time the bear will approach the house is if there is easy access food,,
trash, dog food, cat food, bird feeders (even hummingbird feeders)

We have 100% success simply eliminating ANY easy food source.

Also, if we show the state game warden that outside food is eliminated and the animal still comes,, they will come trap the animals and remove them.
If they are approaching the house, and there is no food,, it is probable that there is a issue with the animal, that is not normal.
So, the state might be the easiest fix,,

As far as trash, I have two motion lights near a very heavy, large, sealed, metal bin (with a heavy lid) that I put trash in.
One of the lights also powers an old FM radio that plays southern rock music (2 minutes on, then reset)
Also, we put NO food in the trash, the garbage disposal, or chickens gets it ALL.

We have not had a bear or even a raccoon since I added the lights, and eliminated all other food.

We have a neighbor that never gets a bear visit,,, except,, when he forgets and puts a pizza box in the outside trash,,
100% of the time that he puts a pizza box in the trash,, the bear spreads it all out,,

Eliminating food might be easier than a fence charger,, and more reliable,,,

Yes, I know about eliminating food sources. That's not our problem here; it would be nice if it was. It is problem for other people who leave food out - particularly pet food. They will learn....eventually. Most of those are people new to rural life; they don't understand about leaving food out, and they aren't familiar with fence chargers as a deterrant.

Because the animals have learned that some houses mean food, they will try to get into any house, barn, or car just to look around. In particular the bears are curious and persistant.

Cats are another subject. Normally shy, but they seem want to check out porches for whatever reason. We don't have raccoons.

Fence chargers have been proven to be the simplest solution here. I'm just looking for a charger that is reliable than the brand I have have been using.
Thanks,
rScotty

 

[CADplans]

Hey, rScotty,, do you live near this,,??

Colorado man speaks out after fighting off bear in kitchen

If so,, you need a Model 629-4 Smith,, not a fence charger,,

I would "holster up" every morning,, and practice at least once a week,,
It is part of the cost of living where you choose,, it is a good thing that we can do that,, if we choose,, :thumbsup:

 

[Industrial Toys]

I used to love repairing old fence charges found at the dump. They were always there. A metal box mostly full of air rivetted closed, and a buck worth of parts. Always the 39 cent SCR that was blown. What a racket!

 

[rScotty]

Hey, rScotty,, do you live near this,,??

Colorado man speaks out after fighting off bear in kitchen

If so,, you need a Model 629-4 Smith,, not a fence charger,,

I would "holster up" every morning,, and practice at least once a week,,
It is part of the cost of living where you choose,, it is a good thing that we can do that,, if we choose,, :thumbsup:

No, it is beautiful but expensive there. I live a long ways from Aspen, Colorado both in miles and I guess in most other ways too. We used to go there for the motorcycle races in the 1970s, and haven't been there much since. I understand that it's mostly a tourist destination today.

But I'm thinking that guy sounds like he did ok with the encounter. Good for him.
Didn't even get beat up much, and the bear did leave soon as it could.
These black and brown bears will run from a person if given a chance.
There's just no need to get go and get deadly with one.
However, you sure don't want to be standing between a bear and their escape route.
rScotty

 

[rScotty]

I used to love repairing old fence charges found at the dump. They were always there. A metal box mostly full of air rivetted closed, and a buck worth of parts. Always the 39 cent SCR that was blown. What a racket!

I don't know why I never thought about fixing the fence charger myself. But it is probably pure laziness coupled with the guilt about opening a rivited case & maybe a desire just to let Parmak do it. But now that I know that they cannot service their own units, I guess I had better figure out how to do it myself. After all, I do like their product. I just want it to work.

I remember my dad saying. "When you want it done right, do it yourself".

Now I don't know anything about what is inside the riveted Parmak box. In fact, I've never looked at fence charger circuitry at all.
Theoretically, you can get a high voltage spike several ways. One is by suddenly collapsing a magnetic field...is that what they do?
Or do they just discharge a capacitor through a transformer?... It's hard to do that quickly. Or do they do something else?

What role does the SCR take? What other hints do you have?
And why does it make the clicking noise?
rScotty

 

[STx]

I'm really happy with my Stafix 13 joule charger, it replaced a Kencove 13j charger that needed warranty repair twice in a year. I got remotes for both, a very good investment, the Stafix remote does a much better job with fault location. I use mine to keep pigs in, they're tough and need a very strong charge to discourage them from testing the fence constantly, the 13j will knock you on your butt, it arcs across an inch or more.

Gallagher has a good reputation as well.

 

[bullbreaker]

STx wow 13 joules , yikes ! That won't just keep the pigs in , but roast them for the party all at once ! .............

 

[Industrial Toys]

With me, it's when you want something done right, maybe after fifty attempts, I will have fixed it myself. lol The Internet sure helps alot though.