Fence tester/fault finder

[lilipansy]

Any recommendation on a good, reliable and somewhat affordable brand/model? I've shopped on line and it looks like there are mainly 3: Speedrite, Gallagher and Zareba. They are priced between $99 to $130 with free shipping from ebay and Amazon. We're using on the Premier 1 electric fences. Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We have a brand new electric fence. I wasn't sure if it was working well because none of the critters seemed to avoid it much. (except Cowboy and that's another story). So, I sent DH to Home Depot and he got this:

It's a Zareba. It works ok I guess....but before we actually had a chance to use it a goat touched the fence with her ear, and the other dog stood up and bumped it with her head .....fence works just fine!

 

[secuono]

Cheap ones work well when you know how to read them.
My first was the 5 light tester. Less lights flashing equals less power. Then I got one that displayed the voltage, was under $50. Those never told me where the fault literally was, I had to put 2 n 2 together to work it out.
But I now use sound alone. When there is a strong ground out, a length of the wire "pings" and the energizer reads zero. Medium ground outs also ping, but it is much more faint. Weak ground outs will zap/spark to the pulse of the energizer. Depending on where the ground out is, the loudness of the ping and how far the wire goes on before it stops pinging, tells me where it is, which direction.

Best to make sure hot wires are an inch away from any other wire, as a strong energizer with very good grounding will easily cause it to jump/spark. It may even lower output some, too.

 

[greybeard]

If you have very much electric fence at all, you definitely will want a fault finder and not just a simple tester.

Speedrite, Stafix, and Gallagher are good, with Patriot being the bottom of the tier. (Speedrite and Stayfix are both made by Trutest group..so is Patriot, but Patriot is definitely the economy class. )

 

[babsbag]

I could use a fault finder...on my list. My tester is made by Fi-shock but it is pretty old so not sure they make that exact model any longer. It is digital.

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH @lilipansy So glad you joined us. I see you joined quite a while ago and missed welcoming you when you first posted. As you probably know, there's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

You know you have two testers already... one attached to each wrist Just reach out and touch he wire and you should be able to get an idea of whether it is working and to what degree. Or you could try training the animals by moving them into contact and watch the results. (just kidding - wait long enough and they'll touch it on their own).

Oh, if you haven't done so already, PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. Old folks like me will never remember otherwise. I went and read your first post so know you're in HI someplace. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you (continue to) enjoy the site!

 

[lilipansy]

I ended up buying the Gallagher 50905 ($99.99 plus free shipping to Hawaii -- unheard of!) It got good reviews on line and it also works on polywire which is what we are running right now. I'll come back and post a review of the product once I get it in case someone else is in need of one. Thanks everyone for your replies. You guys are awesome!

 

[mystang89]

I like the one you bought. It's a bit expensive for myself ATM but definitely gives me a good idea of what to look for!

 

[lilipansy]

We like it and it seems to work well. The best thing about it is that it tells you the direction of the short so you can easily locate it. I was told by some local farmers that the lesser cost ones do not last. Definitely worth the investment if you have a lot of electric fencing.

 

[canesisters]

This is long... I'm a rambler...


I've struggled for YEARS with my fences.
First and foremost issue was the complete lack of time available when we first put them in. We were given 1 day's notice to get the horses moved so installing the fence lines was literally, walking along the edge of the mostly open field, pounding in a tpost, attaching a line and walking some more.
Second was my compete lack of funds to maintain them for several years. This was made even worse by only having 2 elderly horses who never - NEVER - challenged the fence... I thought that, despite all the cobbling together, it must be good enough.
Then the horses passed and I got a cow.
Eva almost never challenges the fence. As long as she has an abundance of 'acceptable' food she is more than happy to stay in her boundaries.

... THEN SHE HAD A CALF!

Keeping him in the fence was a nightmare!!! I patched, I added lines, I improved where I could. I found out that I had NO understanding of what grounding meant. I made attempts to have a better ground.
Everyday I would tense up as I turned onto the driveway... 'Where is that calf today?"

Another year... another calf... another 12months of stress & anxiety
A 3rd calf... he didn't even slow down to cross the fence - walked through it like it wasn't there

I contacted a local guy and offered to trade him the calf for some fence advice. He was very helpful and even came over with a skidsteer to help with my ongoing grounding problem!

Over the years I've put together a combination of cotton stainless fibers in a braided line - poly wire of various brands & wire counts - and the original, remaining metal lines (aluminum? steel?).
I've finally come to the conclusion that I need to replace ALL of the poly and braided lines with metal. Those little filaments are just so fragile.

So I started last night cutting out the OLD cotton lines and replacing them with salvaged metal from an abandoned section of pasture/yard; just doing 1 section at a time as I can get the materials together. In the process I found & replaced 2 completely destroyed insulators.

SO - FINALLY - here's my question. I've improved the conductivity of about 50' of fence last night by removing VERY OLD cotton braid & replacing with metal wire (aluminum I think)
I can hear the little arc/snap where one of my connections wasn't wrapped completely tight - so that should tell me that that section IS charged? But my little 5-light checker only lights up 1 light - and only every 4th or 5th 'snap'.

I have a LONG way to go before the 2week old calf is big enough to want to wander - but I want to try and understand what I'm missing as I go. Do I need a better checker?