electric fencers

[dfarms11]

Hey all, I am needing to go buy a new fencer. which one does everyone like the best? Locally the guys here like the gallaghers. Thanks in advance.

[grassfarmer]

It seems every time we have this discussion the ones you mentioned are most popular. Personally I like PEL chargers. We bought an extra solar charger this spring - a Parmak (sp?) which nobody rates very great. It certainly doesn't seem to put out as much power but it's still keeping the cattle in just fine.

[cowboss]

I think if I was buying a new battery/solar charged model I would go PEL however for a "plug in" model the Gallager is tough to beat.

[smcgrath76]

Tru-test (the makers of PEL) are also the makers of Speedrite and Stafix. These are a great line of fencers. Gallaghers are good as well, but generally run about 2X the cost for the same fencer.
Buy the biggest fencer you can afford. You will always be putting in more fence, and nothing is worse than an underpowered fencer. Also, ground rods are what make an ok fencer into a good fencer.
GF - I agree 100% on the parmak, generally they are crap. Our recorde is a new fencer that quit in less than 6 hours. I do have to give them credit for their little yellow and black hornet fencer they make. For strip grazing or temp fences it works really well. We have some that are nearly 10 years old and have been thrown into truck boxes etc. that just keep on ticking.

[perfecho]

For us, the battery operated fencer works much better than a solar powered for swath grazing. We had good luck with the Galliger fencer as well as their tumble wheels for this application. During the winter, the solar didn't have the jam (or sunlight)to keep the girls cleaning up as well as I like.

[smcgrath76]

We have built our own battery powered/solar fencer. Just get a big panel and charge controller off ebay and attached to the battery. Hook up your big battery fencer and voila, a high powered solar fencer for way less $ than the regular solar ones.

[poorboy]

For my operation, I have had terrrible luck with the gallagher fencers.

I have had very good luck with the bee 12 volt fencers. They do not seem to be waterproof, so you must put them inside of a waterproof box. The bee fencers are cheap and the biggest voltage ones seem to work well. I find that over the long run, the bee have performed well and at much less cost than the more expensive gallagher model.

It must be kept dry, rainfall wrecks bee fencers.