My husband would like to make one to recharge the battery that powers the electric fence. Thanks in advance,LaDena Johnson

-- LaDena,Tx9 (littledena77458@yahoo.com), March 22, 2002

Answers

get a panel thats rated to your system,, and wire it in

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), March 22, 2002.

Just getting ready to go full tilt on my solar system...Stan...LOL talk to us.... anything and everything....ill soak it up like a sponge

-- Doc (thisisdoc@aol.com), March 22, 2002.

heres the run down: The solar chargers you see advertise in JC whitney or the like are trickle chargers (really just battery maintainers), not true solar chargers. They are designed to hold a battery at peak for a long time, like in an RV or boat. They probabally arent heavy enough to work on a fence, nor are they trully weather proof. Nor are they designed to charge a battery that is low on juice. A true solar sheet for a fencer- the real deal- runs in the neighbor hood of 3 to 500 dollars. I was surprised at how high this flimsy piece of plastic was after pricing it at several stores around, and that was for the sheet, not the fencer and all. Farm stores sell an all in one solar fencer. the little guy- a 4 volt DC- is what I am usning to fence a 2+- acre pasture. It does ok, but nothing specacular. Your splices have to be super good and the ground, in order for the fencer to work best, mustnt be rocky or sandy, but should be wetish or clay, because the moisture on/ in the ground it what is allowing the shock to take place. The 4 volt store brand model runs about 100 bucks. The shock is potent, dont think- ahh its a 4 volt, it cant pack a punch. It can- in fact, I knocked myself out cold one dewy evening ducking through the strands when it touched my backbone with my knee on the ground. WHAM! The 12 DC solar fencer is considerably more expensive, but can fence a much larger area. A local farmer is using one on a MANY acre cow field, and it will shock you good and proper a long ways from the box. His has lasted many years with out replacement. One thing to consider- running your fence from a regular plug is considerable cheaper than using solar. It cost pennies a month to power one. If your like me, the grid be d*nmed, im going solar! Ever consider 12 dc from a wind mill- this might work out to be cheaper than the solar! You live in an area where winds are VERY regularly above 12 mph? You have any idea of how to build a wind mill using a car alternator and voltage regulator- there was a good article on this topic in something of 1985 in Mother Earth News, tho they used a generator, as opposed to an alternator.

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), March 22, 2002.

I get mine from Big-R. Have the best prices and nearly always available. They're advertising one now (Gallagher) with a battery backup for $129.99. That's good if you live in an area with limited sunshine. Where I'm at we get 215 days of it and my Parmak charger does the job perfectly ($139.99).

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), March 23, 2002.

www.MrSolar.com

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), March 23, 2002.

I'm guessing the technology involved in creating a solar panel to do a worthwhile job of keeping an adequate battery charged is beyond the scope of the average do-it-yourselfer. And in the long run it might turn out like a few of my little projects -- could have bought a brand new something or other a lot cheaper.
A mere $129.99 will get you the whole system from here.
If that link doesn't come out like it's supposed to, just go here: http://www.northerntool.com And put 33566 in the search box.

-- Hank in Oklahoma (hbaker@ipa.net), March 23, 2002.