Off-topic-thx for your help !

[tstex]

Hello to all and Merry Christmas.

Pls pardon the off-topic ques, but I need a quick answer.

I have an electric fence charger and when I take a grounded steel rod and apply to the hot wire to test it, it sparks/arc's the first time well, then is does not on the following repetitive beats.

When standing next to the charger, I can hear the intermittent beats quite loudly. But when I apply the rod [standing next to the charger], I hear the first beat loud and it arc's well, then the 2nd on beats are very low and it does not arc well after the 1st one.

Couple of things:

Just put in a new battery.

The ground is 5ft long & 5/8" thick piece of rebar w the grounding wire wrapped around the rebar many times, then connected to the charger. The rebar is hammered 4.5Ft into the moist ground.

The fence lenght is a little over 1/4 mile and nothing is touching the hot wire to ground it or short it out.

The charger is about 8-9 yrs old.

Thank you very much for any feedback bc the cows are being kept elsewhere and I need to get them back.

Merry Christmas to all,
tstex

 

[gwdixon]

Buy one of those fence charger testers that have several lights to determine the strength of the charge. Use that to determine how long it takes for the device to come back to full power.

I could be a bad capacitor. The initial discharge is fine but it takes a while for the capacitor to charge back up to full power.

Time for a new charger.

 

[Depmandog]

Well, only two things I can think of that might be causing your problem. Your ground could be the culprit. Rebar isn't the best ground rod option. If it has been in the ground long it's likely pretty rusty. Also, your wire that's just wrapped around the rebar might not be making a solid connection. You might try and rework the ground.

The only other possible problem that I can think of is a malfunction of the charging unit...as in a capacitor going bad. Someone with electronics repair experience should be able to diagnose and repair. But probably not cheaper than the cost of a new unit.

 

[tstex]

When I biought the new battery, we tested the charger. It was putting out 7,700 volts at the hot terminal.

The first pop and sound [testing next to the charger] is loud, then diminishes while testing the hot wire while standing next to the charger [this is when the charger is installed to the electric fence]. If I pull the metal test rod away from the hot wire after the first pop, the chargers sound is still loud, and I can apply the rod back in 1-2 sec's and the first pop is loud, then lowers on the following. The recharger rate is quick, but only for the first pop.

I am wondering if when the previous battery was in and the cows breached the fence and some of the insulators were tossed and the hot wire was up again a metal T-post for 4-5 days, did that excessive grounding-out cause a problem inside the charger?

Thanks for your help,
tstxe

 

[Xfaxman]

I don't understand your method of testing the charger. Are you touching the hot wire to the ground rod or just bringing it close, like a 1/16 of an inch?

If you don't let it touch, it should spark at a steady rate.

You should be able to see the spark.

 

[tstex]

I am using a 3-4ft metal rod, place botton on to ground, then move it to the charged elect fence wire. it does not arc or anything until I touch the wire. When it either touches the wire, or after it touches the wire and I pull it back 1/16", it will arc the first time and the fence charger is ticks loudly, then every tick afterward the fence charger ticks 1/3 as loud and the arc'ing too diminishes. Does this explain it better?

Thx,
tstex

 

[Xfaxman]

I am using a 3-4ft metal rod, place botton on to ground, then move it to the charged elect fence wire. it does not arc or anything until I touch the wire. When it either touches the wire, or after it touches the wire and I pull it back 1/16", it will arc the first time and the fence charger is ticks loudly, then every tick afterward the fence charger ticks 1/3 as loud and the arc'ing too diminishes. Does this explain it better?

Thx,
tstex

Yes, you are completely grounding the output, so it is probably working right.

 

[bullbreaker]

Good solid advise given to you in posts B 4 IMO. Also how long/guage is wire extension between E-charger and power box ? What type brand charger you using ? How many joules ? Can you borrow someone's elses box and see if it does same thing ?

Boone

 

[Depmandog]

Parmak (Parker McCrory) is the inventor of electric fence chargers. They are located in Kansas City, which is close to where I live. Nice folks, was in their building this spring doing some work.

I popped onto their website, and they have a FAQ and troubleshooting guide that may be helpful.

Webllink: http://www.parmakusa.com/faq_details.php?FId=3

 

[DT86]

A large number of the problems I've seen with electric fence are due to poor ground rods.

First off, get yourself a real tester, they don't have to be expensive.

Here is a link to my favorite one by Stafix, which is expensive. It actually leads you to any short in the fence and shows how many amps it is drawing. http://www.stafixus.com/product-p/fstfc.htm