Fence Charger Problem

[skyhightree1]

the companies here will read the meter sometimes and sometimes they do some kind of estimated usage and bill you its bs but thats what they do. So to answer your question MOST of the time its an flat rate per kw

 

[runningr]

Im guessing that banjo and i have a similar set up, i have never had trouble with my cyclops by taylor fence either, and i do have several of the parmarks 12v and 6v solar chargers they do fine for small fences or extremely clean ones but for a permanent solar set up cyclops has the largest i know of on the market and by far the best one i have used. The parmarks when pushing there limits wont hold up on a lot of cloudy days the cyclops has not given up yet in 3 yrs and its still on the same battery.

 

[HDRider]

I never heard anyone talk about Taylor chargers on here before.

I looked them up on the web. I sure like what I read.

http://www.taylorfence.net/about_us.php

 

[Banjo]

The Cyclops is supposed to have the most extensive lightening protection in the business.

 

[wbvs58]

I would say that your battery is getting a bit tired but suspect it will charge up again if given a good charge.
I live with a standalone solar system and it works real good but with a couple of overcast days in a row like of late, the batteries get down a bit and it takes several days of good sunny conditions to get them back up to where they should be. Since the overcast weather we have had fine days but a lot of cloud has come over in the afternoon and I have noticed my batteries are not up where they should be yet and this morning it is dark and drizzly and this evening I will have to start the generator to get the batteries properly charged.
The solar panels on those fence chargers are only small and not really up to getting a battery charged from a dead flat situation. Also most of them don't have a charge controller, just rely on the small panel to not fry the battery, so with a poorly controlled charge the batteries don't last as long as they should.
Ken

 

[hayray]

I have several Taylor Cyclops, those are for sure the best I have ever used. Two are DC units I have hooked to solar panels. Bez is right, it is way more expensive then a plug in unit. They work great and are more consistent then line units because they get no problems from power surges from lightning strikes however you have to keep up maintenance on the battery, connections (corrosion) and make sure to way over-size your solar panels.

 

[GaryGutierrez]

I have several Taylor Cyclops, those are for sure the best I have ever used. Two are DC units I have hooked to solar panels. Bez is right, it is way more expensive then a plug in unit. They work great and are more consistent then line units because they get no problems from power surges from lightning strikes however you have to keep up maintenance on the battery, connections (corrosion) and make sure to way over-size your solar panels.

I am still not aware about right size of solar panels. It is expensive so I am bit worried.. I will take expert guidance for this.

 

[pdfangus]

those little internal gel batteries give up the ghost pretty easily....

I lke a 12 volt charger with a deep cycle 12 volt automotive type battery and like others have said a decent sized panel to keep it charged....a 15 or 20 watt panel has worked for me. when it is cold it helps some to put the battery in a cooler to help insulate it some....

basic 12 volt charger is cheaper to buy as well.....

 

[skyhightree1]

Since I unhooked the charger and left it in my shed with bright lights for a while and hooked it back up about 2 weeks ago its going strong again. Today is cloudy and overcast and supposed to rain soon. I am gonna see how it holds up. I took this pic a couple days ago I think intending to post it to show how its operating now.

 

[GaryGutierrez]

I have several Taylor Cyclops, those are for sure the best I have ever used. Two are DC units I have hooked to solar panels. Bez is right, it is way more expensive then a plug in unit. They work great and are more consistent then line units because they get no problems from power surges from lightning strikes however you have to keep up maintenance on the battery, connections (corrosion) and make sure to way over-size your solar panels.

I am still not aware about right size of solar panels. It is expensive so I am bit worried.. I will take expert guidance for this.

 

[Banjo]

I have several Taylor Cyclops, those are for sure the best I have ever used. Two are DC units I have hooked to solar panels. Bez is right, it is way more expensive then a plug in unit. They work great and are more consistent then line units because they get no problems from power surges from lightning strikes however you have to keep up maintenance on the battery, connections (corrosion) and make sure to way over-size your solar panels.

I am still not aware about right size of solar panels. It is expensive so I am bit worried.. I will take expert guidance for this.

There is a local farm/feed store that sells the taylor and they told me what I needed in the way of solar panel size etc. be careful about hooking up to your battery.....it will discharge the battery if you hook it up backwards like I did the first time.....it will work fine for a couple of days and then nothing.

 

[runningr]

Each manufacturers joule ratings are different most use there stored joules as the chargers rating where cyclops(taylor fence) uses there output joules as there rating i.e. the super model has 12 output joules verses 16 stored joules as a general rule of thumb you will need 10 watts per joule of output, but this is variable based on where you live kencove fence has a chart and has a calculation on there website look for it i cant remember exactly where. They explain it very well and it helps with picking the right charger/ panel set up.

 

[hayray]

My 8 joule Taylor Energizer has a 120 watt panel and a 120 reserve capacity deep cycle battery and then I bought a 30 amp. charge controller for it. I am using it to charge 2 strand high tensile fence on a 40 acre farm. In the winter on long cloudy periods with no sunny days as we often get here in my part of the country the panel does not keep up with the battery so I attach another 30 watt panel. One thing is that also when it is real cold down to zero then the battery capacity is down to 50 % anyways and we average 2.7 solar hours a day in mid winter.
To give you a n idea of what the manufacturer recommends on this unit is to have a 75 watt panel. So usually manufacturer recommendations are for ideal conditions and a little under-designed as I think they are trying to keep cost down.
On another 20 acre farm I have a 2.8 joule energizer with a 30 watt panel and that works just fine.

 

[pdfangus]

great point about cold weather killing batteries.....a battery is no different on a fencer than it is in your truck or tractor....cold diminishes capacity....