Best value energiser... Electric fence help

GemG

GemG

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Looking for recommendations for best value energiser / battery - although can buy battery separate or combo.. Whatever.

I have plenty posts and lots of tape, only looking to use it for fairly short section, say 50 - 100 m single strand, say strip grazing style usage.

There are so many on the market and prices vary so much. I'm ..lost...

What is the best, without costing silly money?
 
Really depends on what you are looking for. I really like the Hotline Gemini 120 (£100). It has a very good zap, runs off a 12V battery or mains. I like the flexibility it gives me on the power source, and IMO it is money well spent to go with an energizer that can power more than just a few hundred metres, in case your use changes in the future. I just bought another 12V leisure battery for £60 from Halfords, which is IMO a good price for a new leisure battery. You can often get used car batteries for cheap/free, but I've been fed up over time with those either not holding a charge well, or having other issues (such as leaking, then corroding all your clamps...).

I have a second energizer, originally bought for travel (Fenceman DP350B). It runs off 4 D-cells internally or can be hooked up to a 12V battery. Comes with it's own earth stake for around £75. It's definitely much more whimpy in terms of the zap than the Gemini, but neat for travel. In the end, you get what you pay for. I err on the side of quality these days after wasting quite a bit of money on inferior stuff that breaks.

Another tip: do check how well your tape still conducts. We swapped old cheap tape for newer, better quality tape and it made a huge difference. I've found http://www.ukcountrystore.co.uk to have competitive prices and good service (including replacement within warranty period).
 
Thanks supsup, there are just so so many on the market, I'm going round in circles!!! Useful to see what people think who have actually used them.
 
I've got a Wolsely Mosquito which has a built in earth stake and runs off 6, 9 or 12v batteries which makes it pretty flexible, particularly if you are fencing off smaller areas and moving them around fairly often. It was about £90. Decent zap on shorter runs. I've also got a Hotshock A50 which runs off 12v only but is immense, one of the highest powered 12v energisers available. Got it when my youngster kept trashing the fence, put her off for good!! Not cheap though, about £195 but does exactly what it says on the tin and is also very good if you have a lot of vegetation. Runs my 5 acres fully fenced with loads of vegetation perfectly, with no loss of zap! You really want a leisure battery if going 12v route as they are built to be run flat often and recharged - its called deep cycle or something, a normal car battery will pack up much more quickly. I have a second hand car battery that I got for £20 as a back up for when the other is flat. Good earthing is the key, I've got 2 1m earth stakes hammered right down which keeps my fence effective even in v dry weather.
 
Personally I've always been a huge fan of the Hotline products; mainly because my uncle when he was farming a good many years ago now, used them - so they're obviously a good old reliable concern and have been around for a while.

As I'm in Devon it also makes good sense as they're offices and workshop is based at Newton Abbot - and I've had excellent service when I've taken units down for running repairs. You can deal with a Real Person instead of having to take the item into an outlet and explain what's wrong to a third person.

I'd recommend their stuff every time: we've recently purchased their Mains Energiser.
 
My friend has a solar energizer that we use when travelling the horses together (Wolseley sx250). I have to say, it's not particularly effective. I have a suspicion why: It has an internal rechargeable battery, as well as a compartment for D cell batteries. The internal battery is charged by the solar cell, and the energizer uses power from the built-in rechargable battery as a first option, but will switch to the D-cells as a backup. IMO, the problem is that you have no option to directly recharge the internal rechargeable battery apart from the solar panel. (My friend's energizer spends a lot of time packed away in the lorry without light). So, to give it a full charge, you'll have to expose it to lots of light (and not drain the battery at the same time). As far as I'm aware, there's no way to check the charging status of the battery (other than a more or less bright LED). I think her energizer, now a few years old, mostly spends its time with a semi-discharged battery and the battery has probably lost its ability to hold a full charge over time.
I've killed a couple of leisure batteries in my time, and have finally learned the lesson that no rechargeable battery likes to be fully drained (not even so-called deep-cycle leisure batteries), and they perform best if they are fully charged, then drained, then charged. I use a multi-meter to check on charge status, and a lab power generator for charging so I have complete control. I also have a separate solar panel (Maplin) attached to my 12V battery to top up the charge while it's in use. In summer, it really does extend the time between proper charging, but the battery will invariably drain eventually.
So, long story short: I don't think I'd go for a solar charger with internal battery because you don't have the option to check battery charge, and top up with a mains charger if necessary. IME, the battery will eventually drain and need a full recharge, and the solar panel may not be up to the job.
 
I have 2 x Hotline CP250's.
Both can run off internal batteries if you pop them in, both 12v otherwise. Have their own 'stick in the ground' earth stake attached to the box, which only in very very dry weather may need a bit of water tipped down the stake to help with earthing (only had to do this a few times when had no rain for days on end in the summer).
I run mine off a selection of leisure batteries (1 large leisure battery lasts around 45 days running perimiter of 4 acres) or old car batteries, which usually last a week or so if being run 24/7. I run 4 batteries in total (2 on fencing, 2 in yard for each side) and have 2 spare.
So far since xmas, I have taken 2 batteries home to be re-charged. I have a small solar charger panel on 1 side of the yard which I have a leisure battery (the smaller one around £80) hooked onto all the time, as that runs 4 lights as well :)

They work really well on a long distance too.
1 unit is 4 yrs old & the other is 'aged' and over 12 years old & both in good nick doing their job :)
 
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I use the Rutland ESB57 (around £95) run off a leisure battery with an old short electric fence post as the earth stake.

one lasted 15 years and the other 16!!!!!!!! i am very bad and my fence is all knotted and ancient and i only charge the batteries about every 2 months but it keep fat Bruce in his diet paddock so would no doubt work even better for someone who could remember to charge them and used better wire lol!
 
we rely on electric fencing for our entire farm, everything's behind it. I like the gemini ones but they don't tend to last very long, the wires just wear out and I get fed up replacing all the time. Best so far have been the rappa mains-and-battery ones but I'm trying out a new shockrite one with a 1.2joule output which was a very reasonable price on Amazon - no problems so far and half the price of rappa.

For batteries I now only use the Numax charge-one-use-one sets. approx. £100 on amazon (2in a set) and they are such a handy size for the laydeez, with carrying handles, power plenty and have lasted me ages and been totally reliable.
 
Mmmm thank you all for your replies, most helpful. I am, much to my own surprise, thinking of trying a solar power one as per 'Highlands' suggestion, I am only looking to use it for a small bit of fencing, to help stop them eating someone's flowers over their fence (naughty horse!) ...

I bet once I've bought it I will need a bigger one for some reason, but I will see how it goes! ��
 
I've got a Hotline Gemini 120 which runs off a Numax 12V battery. I bought the Fit One Charge One, so I have 2 batteries, which means I'm never without electric in theory, I do tend to forget to charge one though :lol:
The energizer is good for what I need :)
My friend has a solar powered system and it's got a good old zap on it... been shocked one too many times!
 
Just replaced my solar one with a eBay £60 bargain. Got a keep one charge one but fed up with batteries being charged every 2 seconds so back to solar! GemG just leave it in the sun or light to charge it up.. So easy! Used mine all winter!
 
GemG said:
Would this work in Scotland!?!? We have a lack of sunshine sometimes :-)
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Not sure what make it is but we've been using a solar powered one at our yard in the central belt for the last 3 years GG. It's been so good YO has just bought 2 more. The trick seems to be to a/ to angle it so that is gets as much direct sun (when it appears!) on the panels for the longest time possible and b/ turn it off when not required so that it recharges. Not had any problems even if there's no sunlight. Our nags always come in for a period of time, usually afternoon in the summer to escape flies/midges and have a kip. We have some fence-duckers and have had one or two new arrivals with no respect for fencing.....until they met the solar zapper :D Much easier than finding batteries have run out and having to recharge and works during winter too.
 
I've just bought shockrite and bought a new 12 volt car battery to try with it. I'm really rubbish with this kind of things so I need all the help I can get. I only need it to a split a paddock in half literally 9 fence posts wide so not a big distant at all. However I'm doing 3 rows of tape between posts. I'm getting a connecter for the top line and middle line so hopefully nothing will try and go underneath. I just need to know the earthstake that comes with it the energiser also hangs off it. Will this be sufficient or will I need another earthstake?
 
I bought a Hotline Falcon, they run off a 12v leisure battery & can power up yo 18km (12 miles) depending on conditions. There is a low & high power switch & also a light which tells you when the battery needs charging. You have to shop around to get the best deal, Mole Valley are about the best at the moment, but sometimes Ebay come up slightly cheaper. It would cost around £127 at present. I've never needed vast distances of electric fence but should I need it I have to power to charge it. Its never let me down.
 
Plumped for a cheap £80 ish solar powered energiser job off eBay and I'm very impressed actually! I already had the tape and poles etc and just had to buy some connectors.

It's not a big distance, but so far, so good. !

Thanks for ideas all posters :-)
 
GemG said:
Plumped for a cheap £80 ish solar powered energiser job off eBay and I'm very impressed actually! I already had the tape and poles etc and just had to buy some connectors.

It's not a big distance, but so far, so good. !

Thanks for ideas all posters :-)
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What make is it? - or could you possibly post a link please? - I'm thinking of replacing my temperamental/possibly broken energiser with a solar one but getting a headache trying to decide what I need!
 
Copy and pasted the description.... On eBay...

6v SOLAR 2Km ELECTRIC FENCE ENERGIZER ENERGISER complete Unit 0.2J CE RoHS

Seller is called 'standout'.

X stop. Solar 8015 is on the item itself.

I am no electric fencing expert, but this is doing the job perfectly well so far for us, so good!! Cost £89.99. Which I thought reasonable. Hope this helps!
 
I have a Hotline Falcon which I bought as I've used them a lot at livery yards and always been great and totally reliable, then it packed in after less than a year! Still under warranty and the company was very helpful, got it back and fixed ASAP at their cost (even though I'm in Ireland now so higher postage costs).

I the meantime I bought a cheap e-bay bargain (about £60) and it died within 2 weeks, also had a (1 year) warranty so sent back for repair.

I then bought a Wolseley Mosquito and its great! It's just really neat and compact, it has a built-in earth stake and a fence warning as well as the usual battery warning. I'm really happy with it so far and was a good price too.
 
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