OP
OP
Yessir it do. I figured it was worth a try. If no luck I'll be putting rods in for sure.
Side note - I been getting feed from your buddy Butch the last couple months.
Solar Fence Charger
- Thread starter ClinchValley86
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
Side note - I been getting feed from your buddy Butch the last couple months.
Lucky_P
Well-known member
I'm no electrical engineer, but I would think the barbed wire fence could 'come up short' if you get into significant drought conditions... a few 8-ft ground rods driven deep can access soil moisture and ground more effectively than a thousand t-posts that only go a foot or so into the dry, dry soil.
Dave
Well-known member
I have 2 Pakmar 12v solar chargers. I have had them for 15 years or more. At least 10 of those years I was in western Washington. It was cloudy and rainy there for days on end. They always worked.
As Lucky_P said, the fence will act as good ground as long as the soil stays damp. It will not work so well when it gets dry.
I will be seeing Butch this week. I will tell him you said hello.
Ebenezer
Well-known member
Use a posthole auger and bore the top 4 feet. Then you only have the drive the bottom 4. Add and mis well some sodium bentonite to the soil as you fill the part that you dug with the auger. That effectively gives you a ground rod the diameter of the auger in that top section.
10-e-c-dirtfarmer
Well-known member
A group 30 or 31 battery that's weak, or will not start a tractor in winter will power the 12v fence chargers that Ive got for 3+ months, if i forget to charge it
wbvs58
Well-known member
Most have a plug for a small transformer to charge the internal battery when needed, just a small gel battery wired to a suitable plug would get you out of trouble if you got caught short in prolonged overcast weather.
Ken
The folks down under, where Ken is located, make some darn good chargers. Stayfix used to have a 64-joule model I wanted. I believe Stafix was acquired by Speedrite and they discontinued the Stafix brand. Speedrite charges are very good too. I have a couple of their fence testers.
wbvs58
Well-known member
New Zeland is down under to
OP
OP
That's a slick idea!
Ebenezer
Well-known member
If you are lazy like me, you can make an extension out of heavy pipe and bore deeper.
wbvs58
Well-known member
Just across the ditch or Detch as the Kiwi's pronounce it from us.New Zeland is down under to
Ken
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
The fence grounding did not work for me with hundreds of T posts. I moved the unit near a pond. Drove a ground rod in the mud. Took a tiller and ran a deep trench to the charger to bury the ground cable in. About 100 feet long. There has never been a problem since.
