# Solar or AC/DC charger



## garye5007 (Oct 22, 2011)

Hi, 
Obviously from my post count, I'm new here. I am planing to get a couple of wethers (Hopefully Obers) and am planing my fencing. I settled on electric with some type of poly braid rope. I am going to fence a semi permenant pasture, but, also want to fence areas here and there to thin some brush.
So I am going to need to move the charger to areas without AC.
Are Solar chargers a good choice for this, or would I be better off with a AC/DC unit in your opinion?
Thanks in advance for any replies! Gary


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## RareBreedFancier (Oct 22, 2011)

Hi!  

I personally would always go with the solar. 

I'm currently running my fences off the main farm charger but I'd like a solar unit for portability. Would make dividing up the paddock much easier because I don't have to rely on hooking to the outside fence. I actually have an AC/DC charger and I don't use it because I was warned by my auto electrician friend it will flatten a car battery in a few weeks and I will only get a few recharges before it kills the battery. He said I'd need to buy a deep cycle battery and those are expensive! It would cost the same to buy a solar unit as to buy the AC/DC unit and the battery here. You also don't have to worry about trailing wires or the battery getting wet with a solar unit.

Hope that helps.


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## Ms. Research (Oct 22, 2011)

Hi  from New Jersey

Read your post regarding using solar.  Here's something you may find very interesting.  Affordable and buildable.  Not a kit, just some really good down to earth ideas.

Wishing you luck.  Hope this helps.  

http://offthegrid.com/


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## cmjust0 (Oct 24, 2011)

garye5007 said:
			
		

> Hi,
> Obviously from my post count, I'm new here. I am planing to get a couple of wethers (Hopefully Obers) and am planing my fencing. I settled on electric with some type of poly braid rope. I am going to fence a semi permenant pasture, but, also want to fence areas here and there to thin some brush.
> So I am going to need to move the charger to areas without AC.
> Are Solar chargers a good choice for this, or would I be better off with a AC/DC unit in your opinion?
> Thanks in advance for any replies! Gary


A solar fence charger is really just three pretty simple things built into one expensive thing..  It's a DC charger with a built-in battery and built-in solar trickle charger.  And they're usually pretty expensive..  And the batteries are small..  And if the solar part goes bad, you're stuck with a DC charger that can't really even be used..

What I've considered using as a backup to my A/C charger in the past is a strictly-DC fence charger, a regular ol' car battery, and a cheapy little solar trickle charger for the car battery..  My only concern is whether or not it would hurt anything to have the solar charger trickling into the battery while the fence is trickling charge out of the battery, at the same time..  Wouldn't think it to be an issue, though..


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## Beekissed (Oct 24, 2011)

My experience has been, with the solar chargers, that any short or a blade of grass or anything grounding that line will drain that solar charger very quickly.  Then your goats have tried the fence and found it permeable....electric fences are better at deterring break outs then preventing.  After they find it down once they will just walk right through it later because they no longer fear the charge....they get under it, it will zap them and they will continue on their forward tragectory.  Out of the fence.  Just my experience.  

My folks had a charger that ran off a lawn mower battery and the fence charger just pulsed electric in waves....and the battery lasted a very long time.  Not sure what it was called or if you can still get them but the battery rarely needed recharging and the deer never broached the fencing.


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## elevan (Oct 24, 2011)

Welcome to BYH!  I don't use electric fencing but we've got some great members here who do!


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## garye5007 (Oct 24, 2011)

Thank You for the replies! I don't want to buy 2 chargers so I think I will get a ac/dc charger and lug a battery out to the places that i need it. For the $ It seems that those pack the most punch. 
Thanks again! Gary


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