Solar Fence Charger

mdbee · May 26, 2011, 07:47:21 AM

I went from 3 hives to 12 and I'm making a new yard in bear country. I read some of the old posts on solar chargers, can i get some input on the ones that you are using(power; size;best buy for the money?

mdbee · May 26, 2011, 05:09:47 PM

I guess its the wrong thing to ask, Thanks anyway

Larry Bees · May 26, 2011, 05:20:21 PM

I couldn't help you cause there's no bears where I live.

jmblakeney · May 26, 2011, 05:55:55 PM

It doesn't look like there's been much activity on here today. Give it just a lil while longer and someone with that experience will chime in.

Im like Larry don't have any bears around here.

James

Jim134 · May 26, 2011, 06:06:17 PM

I got this from Robo about a year a go

Jim,

I have tried a few over the years and Parmak http://www.parmak.com/ is my brand of choice. They are very reliable and they have great support. I have one that has been running 3 years non-stop. I watch eBay and buy used ones and then ship then to Parmak for repair, It can be a lot cheaper that buying a new one. Occasionally (once a month or so) there is a guy in Texas that puts up a new one for $125 on eBay. I've bought one from him for a client and it was perfectly fine.

As far as fence, if it is a permanent yard, I drive T post in the ground and run 3 strands of wire. For temp yards I use the push in plastic posts with 2 or 3 runs of the string line. They key is to bait the wire by hanging strips of #8 hardware cloth with peanut butter on the wire. Without bait, they will just plow through the fence and be insulated by their fur. With the bait, they get nailed on the nose or tongue and never come back. I've had 4 bear in my yard at one time, and the only hive they got was a nuc I had in my garden that was only protected by 8ft high fencing. They ripped right through the fence. I had a trailer with 8 full hives about 10 ft away protected by the temporary electric fence and they never touched them. They also tore the door off my chicken coop to get at the feed, and were back every night, until I put a single baited strand of electric wire around the chicken coop, never had a problem since.

I also use the non-solar parmak's and power them with a standard 12V wall wart with no problem. For the 6v ones I just use a couple dollar voltage regulator. I also have converted a non-solar unit to solar by putting a $20 car solar panel on top and using a 12V car battery.

I have never had a lightning issue with the parmak's like I did with most other brands. I also had bad luck with the Zareba solar units, if they weren't in direct sunlight for 8 hours a day, they would not get enough charge to continue working. I have had the parmak's go weeks with the solar panel covered with snow and still work.

There are some other high end units out there like gallagher that I have no experience with.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

buzzbee · May 26, 2011, 08:54:10 PM

Guys,whatever you do,test these fencers after the sun goes down. I have heard many stories of damage to electric fences. If it quits working after the sun goes down for whatever reason,It's useless.
CHECK IT AFTER DARK!!!!

AllenF · May 26, 2011, 09:44:23 PM

And make sure that the voltage is high enough to cook meat. :evil:

mdbee · May 27, 2011, 06:51:10 AM

Thanks Jim,
We have a big problem with the bears in MD. we have a bear season run on a lottery, its a joke. We have more bear hit by cars.
This is the first time i have look into a Solar Fence charger and i know there is a Lot of them are in service, i don't want to feed the bears,love my bees.
Thanks again!

Mike Tuggle · May 27, 2011, 10:35:50 AM

My dogs told me the day after I installed mine that the Harbor Freight #47454 solar-powered charger is very effective (Yikes!!!). It has a built-in lead acid gel cell.

After doing a lot of reading, I did a couple of special things in the hook up. 1) Each fence wire has a separate feed from the controller and 2) I used two ground rods. See the last post in: "tinyurl.com/3w8vrkt"

Mike

Robo · May 27, 2011, 11:43:49 AM

Quote from: buzzbee on May 26, 2011, 08:54:10 PM
Guys,whatever you do,test these fencers after the sun goes down. I have heard many stories of damage to electric fences. If it quits working after the sun goes down for whatever reason,It's useless.
CHECK IT AFTER DARK!!!!

Another thing to watch for is that some of the "cheaper" brands work fine as long as they get 6 or so hours of direct sun each day. Get a week of cloudy weather and they can't keep up. I had it happen with the Zareba brand specifically, but I would be concerned with any of the cheaper fencers until proven otherwise. I've never had any issue with the Parmak's even when the solar panel was covered by snow for a month.

danno · May 27, 2011, 12:00:25 PM

As stated above baiting the fence is important with a animal that has dense thick fur. Instead of number 8 hareware cloth and peanut butter try 2 inch strips of foil. It protects the bait from sun and rain. Hang a strip baited every 10 or 12 ft. Licking a fence just has to hurt!!!!

Kathyp · May 27, 2011, 12:04:15 PM

another thing about the solar chargers is that they degrade over time. i have a battery power fence that is really good. is to get a plug in charger. if there is any chance of getting power out there, those are the best.

i don't think you can go wrong with parmak. i have used their chargers for years. get the biggest, baddest, charger you can afford. if you don't and they figure out how to hit the fence and take it out, no charger will ever stop them.

Mike Tuggle · May 27, 2011, 01:49:15 PM

If you zoom in on the photo from my post, you can see the foil-wrapped "peanut butter treats." One of my Goldens forgot the first day's introduction and just this morning gave one a "wet nosed sniff" --- Yelp-back-flip! It's still working.

Some people advise hanging bacon... In my opinion, dogs, coyotes, or birds can go after bacon, requiring it to be replaced. Foil-wrapped peanut butter is a better rewardfor getting too close.

Michael Bach · May 27, 2011, 10:29:07 PM

I have two parmak 12 volt chargers. Just about bullet proof.

Your soil conditions will impact the fence voltage. On dry soil you cannot have too many grounding rod. On wet soil you can use as little as three.

My home yard has six grounding rods and I get 7000 volts on the fence. The charger's output is about 9000 volts. The soil is dry and I loose voltage because of it.

My working yard has two grounding rods on wet soil. The voltage is 10,000+. My meter blinks 9.9 so it is over 10,000 volts.

Make sure you get a 12 volt unit, 6 volts is not enough. Also, get one with a joule rating of atleast one joule.

The parmak sp12 is 2.5 joule.