Electric Fence Charger Basics & Options for Mobile Electric Fencing

Because temporary fencing is so widely used, it has a lot of options for electrifying it but most are going to depend on your land/ sun exposure/ and livestock. Keep reading for all the details!

 Solar vs Plug-in Chargers vs Battery: This one comes down to mostly preference and options of electric sources. If there’s no electric outlets close by, you will need to evaluate battery or solar options. If you do have electric access close to your paddocks, plug in chargers are more affordable and easy to add to a system. These do come with operating costs though as they will be feeding from your electrical source also meaning they do not work during a power outage.

Solar vs. Battery: The jury is still out on which is the more affordable/ better system so it just comes down to preference. Either system will provide you with charge needed to electrify your fence. Either can be taken into the pasture and operate without other inputs. Solar chargers will tend to have higher price tags but batteries will have to be changed more frequently.

Charger considerations: The most important part of all the charging options is are they able to put out the amount of electricity needed for the type of livestock. The bigger the animal the more joules or volts are needed. Here is a general guide per type of livestock.

• Cattle: 1 joule of output per mile of fence

• Sheep: 0.16-0.33 joules of output per mile of fence

• Chicken: 0.25 joule for 300ft of netting

When in doubt, always air on the side of more rather than less. Branches will fall, grass will grow, many things in a real system will hit the fence but if your joules are high enough they will continue to work until you are back to clear the fence in normal situations.

 
Just our 2cents, we have been using the Paramak 12 V Charger on our farm for over 5 years and LOVE them. They have worked on mobile and semipermanent fencing for years. We very rarely have issues with them and have only had to replace a battery once in 5 years and we own over 5 of these solar chargers!

Other considerations are what you are trying to keep OUT of the pens. Areas with predator pressure need to take into account how much voltage would be needed to keep predators out. Knowing what predators you’re dealing with will also help you determine what kind of fencing will help protect your herds.