Author Topic: solar panel for electric fence (Read 2741 times)

Dogwalker · « **on:** June 08, 2015, 10:13:04 pm »

If I want to connect a solar panel to a battery powered electric fence to keep it charged up, do I need a charge controller or can the panel connect directly to the battery terminals?

cloddopper · « **Reply #1 on:** June 10, 2015, 10:27:42 pm »

Best go to a big caravan or boating supply place, even one of the online ones on eBay and ask questions .

You can get all manner of solar charging stuff for caravan & boat ledger batteries.
Some panels are like hinged a suitcase so you can take advantage of a split array. scenario .

mab · « **Reply #2 on:** June 10, 2015, 11:08:39 pm »

as a general rule, I would say you should have a charge controller; but if it's a small panel and/or a large 'wet type' battery (as in you can top up the battery with water) and you check the electrolyte level regularly, then you may get away without a controller.

Creagan · « **Reply #3 on:** June 12, 2015, 10:59:06 pm »

The rule of thumb is that you need a charge controller if the output of the panel is more than 10% of the Ah rating of the battery. So, for most installations, anything much over 6w of solar is likely to need a controller, unless you have a particularly large battery.

The good news is that charge controllers are not expensive. EBay is definitely the place to go, much cheaper than the likes of Maplins.

Dogwalker · « **Reply #4 on:** June 13, 2015, 09:59:03 pm »

Thank you, that's just the sort of info I needed.
One battery is 90Ah the other I'm not sure - a sealed cell type I was given and doesn't have anything on it to tell me.
I'll check out ebay tomorrow.