Electric Fence Question

[circlet]

ok, due to circumstances beyond my control, i'm going to be forced to put up some electric fence for awhile, i'm not too worried about it, because i've only got to hold a few old cows on some really good corn stalks and i'll supplement their grazing with hay, etc. but, this is the first time in my life i've used electric fence, so got a couple questions.

first, do those solar powered chargers really work? second, i was going to use the braided wire (because it's cheapest and looks pretty easy to deal with) any comments on it?

i don't want to start a debate on the merits vs. the evils of eletric fence, because frankly i'm not a fan of it, am just going to have to use it for a couple months, but any suggestions and/or info is appreciated! :help:

 

[dun]

Good solar chargers work fine, the operative word being good. 9 conductor poly wire or you may want to use the poly rope with the maximum number of condutors, works great for temp fencing. Easy to put up and take down, relatively inexpensive and it's all 100% reuseable except the plastic spool the wire comes on. Never have figured out how to rewrap the stuff on that so that it wouldn't fall off. Get a windup type spool to store the wire on inbetween uses and the simplify the taking down on the wire. The only catch could be how deep and hard your soil is and if the deer will be visiting. During the first couple weeks of the rut we have to check the fence everyday and put back up sections that Bambi has run through while persuing Bambi juniors future mom.
If the soil is really loose and deep you might have to use something like long t-posts instead of the inexpensive fiberglass or plastic step in posts.

dun

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

I second what Dun said. I've used the braided wire for temp stuff and bought the windup spool. Worked very well.

On the fencer side itself, I'll echo what Dun said. Buy a good one. Fencers are rated on volts AND Joules. The Joules rating is far and away the most important rating. 5 - 6000 volts at 4 or 5 output joules is plenty to keep most stock in. When buying the fencer, if the box doesn't say, ask if the Joules rating is "stored" or "output". Output Joules will often be half of stored, if the unit uses cheap capacitors. Even with good caps, output will usually only be 3/4s of stored.

Rod

 

[MillIronQH]

We have completely given up on the high tensil wire if favor of the Baygard 1/2" tape.It has a high UV resistance and the heaviest stainless conductor wires on the market. We use the Yellow Jacket chargers either the battery operated type or solar powered. The battery type will work off of 4 D cell batteries or a 6 or 12 volt car type battery. I've seen them throw an arc an inch into one of my studs on a 12volt battery when it was fresh.

Besides electric fences can be fun when your city cousin comes to visit and y'all have a few coldbeers before the walking tour of your place. hehhehheh...Z

 

[Dusty Britches]

frankly i'm not a fan of it, am just going to have to use it for a couple months, but any suggestions and/or info is appreciated! :help:

You will be after you use it for awhile.

I have 3 Gallagher Solor powered fences and I really like them. Gallagher makes one of the best, easiest to use and hook up systems out there.

 

[ENNOT]

We run all of our cattle on one to two strands of (I think) 14 gauge wire. Once they know what it is, they will respect it. When we move cattle to a new field we hang pieces of white plastic bag on the wire so they can see it and then push them to the edge of the field so they can get a look at it. We move cattle cattle around throughout the year and have little to no problems with this.

Do buy a good charger. It is money well spent. We dont use solar chargers as we run on circle ground and tap in at the circle for power. On the solar charger get on with a good joule rating and (from what I've been told) make sure you charge it for a day before you hook it up to the fence and expect it to hold power on the fence.

 

[llcupit]

I've used gallagher and zareba like both units. Using 14 gage wire now on cross fences totaling 4 miles and have no trouble. Cheaper than barbwire and works just as well. Have found in the past that once cows are trained I can turn it off leave it off and they still respect the wire.

 

[mtncows]

Allow me to add .02.In addition to getting a good chargeyou want to use a goodground. I like to use a copper rod into fairly moist soil.Have had good results with 12volt solar chargers made by ParMak and like someone already said 9 wire string is better than 6 wire type.On "new"cattle,you may want to use two wires.Also have used the car battery type with good results.

 

[circlet]

thanks alot guys. now if you'll all be as helpful the first time one of the gals runs through the darn thing!

in all seriousness, i appreciate everyone's feedback :cboy:

 

[Millerfamfarms]

Make sure You use a good fencer. Like someone said, "Once they respect it you won't have any troubles." Get a bad fencer, they won't respect it and you will be chasing them more then you want to be. Also.... We have used the braided wire... Its cheap and will due the job. Really don't like it though. If it kinks it breaks and you really can't tightened it properly. A good thick wire works best around stalks.

 

[Old Dog/New Tricks]

first, do those solar powered chargers really work?

Work fine for us but 'chain N lock' the up to something or they will grow legs - Fast