# Who makes a good quality solar or battery fence charger?



## West Wind Acres (Apr 21, 2010)

I just purchased a few Highland Cattle to start a small Fold.  I plan to fence in a pasture that I am renting, I need to use solar or battery because there is no power.  

Do you have a good experience with a certain charger?


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## looptloop (Apr 21, 2010)

I've heard great things about Premier 1, they have 2 Solar units coming out the first week of May. PRS 50, PRS 100.

www.premier1supplies.com


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## patandchickens (Apr 21, 2010)

Rarely does it make sense (from a practical or economic standpoint) to buy a solar unit. They end up costing more and giving you less, as compared to a battery unit.

Your real choice is between a rechargeable and nonrechargable battery fencer. You'd have to work out the (projected) costs to figure out which will make better financial sense over five years or so.

Of farm-store type chargers, I've been happy with Zareba, Red Snapp'r is not so bad, really anything that is not super cheap is "okay". The units Premier sells are probably quite good, as far as I can tell (I only own one, one of the Kube plug-ins), although not your cheapest option.

Really what you need is to figure out is the specs for what you need, and then go shopping with that in mind. 

Specs will depend on the total length of fencewire you will be running (not the length of the *fence*, but the length of the *wire*, e.g. a mile-long single wire is only one-quarter the load of a mile-long four-wire fence), how much resistance the wire or other fence material has (some things, like electronet or cheap electric tape, have MUCH higher resistance than, say, 15-gauge aluminum wire), how much charge you require the fence to carry (e.g. fencing predators out is a lot different than fencing cows *in*), how much weed load you expect the fence to sometimes have, and whether you need this to work in dry or frozen/snowy conditions or only in damp-soil-green-grass times of year.

TOTALLY IGNORE any of this "energizes X miles of fence" crapola you see on fencer packaging or catalog copy -- it means next to nothing, it *certainly* does not mean what it literally says.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## West Wind Acres (Apr 21, 2010)

patandchickens said:
			
		

> Rarely does it make sense (from a practical or economic standpoint) to buy a solar unit. They end up costing more and giving you less, as compared to a battery unit.
> 
> Your real choice is between a rechargeable and nonrechargable battery fencer. You'd have to work out the (projected) costs to figure out which will make better financial sense over five years or so.
> 
> ...


Is the red zap that you have solar?  I was looking at the LIS3B today it is around $150.  I have a hard time finding/understanding the specs on the zappers.  At most I will be running 3 miles of 12 or 14 guage 2 wire.  Most likely I will section it off and only run areas as they are being used maybe 1/10th of the whole space at any given time.


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## Royd Wood (Apr 21, 2010)

we use 2 solar red Snap LIS10B for cattle sheep horses year round useage and have had no probs for over 2 years


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