The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Techniques and skills => Topic started by: johnmac on January 05, 2009, 05:10:38 pm
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Just trying to price up a few things, assuming i'm able to buy my house, then the land! (might be getting ahead of myself!)
What are the running costs for one of these mains electric fencing kits? I'd be looking for about a two acre circuit to keep the two horses in, then i could add smaller paddocks for other animals or chicken netting.
Are we talking pennies a day? or pounds?
Also are mains kits better than the big car batteries?
Your thoughts please!
Thanks.
John. ;)
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Hi John,
I'm no expert having only had 1 temporary fence powered by a chunky 9V battery.
But this is what I have managed to gleen from google:
Battery powered fences are best for temporary fencing and you get a solar panel option to recharge them the battery energisers are around £60-£80 and running costs are that of your batteries and keeping them charged. I'm not sure how effective they are long term though - the shock delivered would get weaker as power runs down, I'd imagine (hence why my pigs escaped from mine !)
The mains powered energisers are most expensive and need to be housed indoors or in a dry shed but are the best in terms of performance. Price depends on the size of area to be fenced but I think they start from around £90 and go up to £200. The website I found quoted running costs of £20 per annum (might have been before the price rises though)
Two websites worth checking are - farmcareuk.com and countrystoredirect.com.
Good luck with it all & I'm sure there will be more thoughts from other more experienced members too.
Karen :pig:
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Hi,
I have a battery powered energiser that will do 5km of wire,it's fully weather-proof and hangs on the post by the gate,(easy to switch off in an emergency. It cost £95 and included the earthing spike and 400m of white nylon/metal rope. I run it off a car battery of 65amps,and have a spare inside the shed on trickle charge. One battery lasts about 3 weeks on permanently if there's no shorts with vegetation. I also have a solar battery charger (£10 from Maplins) and that extends the 3 week period if it's sunny. The running costs are minimal.
I did look at mains energisers,the area I wanted to fence in is 30metres from the house,but the cost of the armoured cable to run that 30m,digging a trench a foot deep and all the sand ontop of the cable in the trench etc,all added up to a lot of expense and effort,plus the mains energisers are generally more expensive. Obviously,your personal situation might dictate which you use,either way,build in a switch or breaker in an easily accesible place..... Ree
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Thanks for the info Karen and Ree,
I shall look into the links!
All the best,
John. ;)
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if you use a caravan leisure type battery these will last much longer for running the fence
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if you want your animals top respect the electric fence teach them young as they say its hard to teach an old horse new tricks i had older from else where.. animals check the wire if not working they go through
in a pinch
you can make a electric fence control with a car ignition coil and flasher control fond in older cars the 2 prong ones car battery B+ to flasher to ignition coil B+ and B- to battery and ground ignition spark out to fence wire works fine till you replace your damaged unit