Getting Electricity to Field - Would you bother!!

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canteron

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My horses are moving to a field half a mile away from me and there is no electricity.

Is it really viable to run electric fencing &/or CCTV, etc from batteries/solar?

Obviously, I have other things I could happily spend the money on ..... but is the convenience of electricity the best investment?
 
It depends on the cost and if you own the field or are renting. If you own it and can afford it, the field will be worth a lot more if you ever sell it assuming it is big enough to be a permanent grazing field.
 
I would stick with batteries for electric fencing.
Mine are heavy duty and cost me £55 each, and I have two, but each one only needs charging approx every 4 weeks.
Do you need power for anything else? If so get a generator!
 
joeanne said:
I would stick with batteries for electric fencing.
Mine are heavy duty and cost me £55 each, and I have two, but each one only needs charging approx every 4 weeks.
Do you need power for anything else? If so get a generator!
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Ditto this. You can also get such cheap solar lighting now - certainly good enough for stables for feeding etc. A good quality headtorch is fab for in the dark depooing etc too.
 
Solar power energisers run electric fences very well, ours have internal batteries, excellent piece of equipment. Pricey, but they pay for themselves in the long run, so much better than faffing with batteries, re-charging them etc.

I can't see why they couldn't run some sort of lighting. At one old yard we had a mini 'windmill' mounted on a post, that ran basic lighting down the aisle.

Failing that good old fashioned torches and a generator are your friends. The small, portable generators can be carried in a car and are adequate to clip with, no worries about some light fingered visitor taking it home with them either.
 
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I'd go for proper batteries for the fence (otherwise, horse will soon learn there is no 'whack' if they touch it) and if needed, get a generator for light / clipping. This mix of power worked well for me.
 
Electric fencing, fine to run off batteries etc. However, if you have stables and lighting etc then better to actually spend out and have electric put in. We used to run our stable lights off car battereies and the we got a generator which worked really well. However, seemingly other people (I'm not going to point the finger at who i think would be responsible!!) would quite like a generator for free and, 3 generators and spending out on replacing padlocks on gates and, fixing the metal shipping container they cut a hole through to access the generator later - it seemed much more cost effective to get electric installed!!!
 
I've been there with the generator and batteries. If the field is yours and you can afford it (it ain't cheap!) get electricity installed, it changed my life. I used to dread the winter and the dark nights but now it's fine, my electric fencing is also mains powered which makes a difference to would be Houdinis. And I have a beer fridge! Oh, and I can boil a kettle as well of course!
 
canteron said:
Enfys that sounds worth a look - any change you could tell me what make the solar energisers are.
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We run our electric fencing off leisure batteries and also have a solar panel to trickle charge the battery. It has worked well so far this year. The solar panel charger is deisgned for using on boats to keep the batteries charged up so quite prowerful. Can't tell you the cost but I thought around £50.
 
YasandCrystal said:
We run our electric fencing off leisure batteries and also have a solar panel to trickle charge the battery. It has worked well so far this year. The solar panel charger is deisgned for using on boats to keep the batteries charged up so quite prowerful. Can't tell you the cost but I thought around £50.
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Good thought - I will look up some of OH sailing mags!!
 
My Electric fencing is run off batteries, and I'm really pleased with it. I only need to recharge it about once a year, although it's turned off when they come in at night.

I've tried solar panels for stable lighting, but tbh I was deeply unimpressed. In the winter when I needed it most, it let me down badly and wasn't worth the money and effort setting it all up. We have family that use the same solar power lights in Cyprus, and it works much better over there. There doesn't seem to be enough sunlight in the UK in the winter.

A small generator is best for supplying power for lighting, clipping and making cups of tea. Buying that and setting it all up would cost several hundred pounds, but once you've got it you are sorted!

I have no idea how much power is required to run a CCTV unit, and don't know if batteries would work. I think your best bet would be to contact someone who sells CCTV and see what they suggest for your situation.
 
hessy12 said:
I'd go for proper batteries for the fence (otherwise, horse will soon learn there is no 'whack' if they touch it) and if needed, get a generator for light / clipping. This mix of power worked well for me.
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This is what I have ( x 4 at the moment) and I can assure you that the horses do not go back for a repeat visit once they've touched it, night or day.:D

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http://www.scruggsfarm.com/Gallagher-S17-Supercharger-Solar-Energizer.html
 
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ladyt25 said:
Electric fencing, fine to run off batteries etc. However, if you have stables and lighting etc then better to actually spend out and have electric put in. We used to run our stable lights off car battereies and the we got a generator which worked really well. However, seemingly other people (I'm not going to point the finger at who i think would be responsible!!) would quite like a generator for free and, 3 generators and spending out on replacing padlocks on gates and, fixing the metal shipping container they cut a hole through to access the generator later - it seemed much more cost effective to get electric installed!!!
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Yep...we had our genny nicked last year- I refused to allow OH to buy another as we've had no trouble before or after,......the genny was what they were after.....

Head torches are your friend, I have batteries for the leccy fencing and I'm gonna get the lights sorted so I can clip them to a car battery this winter.
 
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