Seedmama,
From the way you describe Harbor Freight it sounds like you are setting yourself up for a disappointment.
There's an old sayin' about buying oats:

"If you want good, clean oats you have to pay a fair price. However if you are willin' to accept those that have already run through the horse, then they come a lot cheaper."

Keith

I cannot stand HF. Everything I have bought from them has been complete crap.

Hubby loves them. He has no standards, though, and misplaces and/or destroys things soon as he acquires them so I guess it works for him.

That said, electric fence of any sort, in my not exceedingly experienced opinion, doesn't do much in the world of wild critters. It works great for well-behaved horses and cattle. FYI: It most definitely does not work on mooching neighbors and mule-headed boy children.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

Diane

I agree with the assessments of Harbor Freight's quality. Go to the Greenhouse Forum and read about the 1,0001 extra things people do to hold their Harbor Freight Greenhouses together and keep them in working condition for just a few years. It is that old "you get what you pay for" scenario.

A high-quality, well-tended electric fence can work against some wildlife. especially when the fence line is checked daily for breaks, shorts, being grounded out, etc. A lot of folks who live around us use them for, as Diane stated, fairly well-behaved domestic animals. However, wild animals are very smart and figure out ways to go over or under the fence or to short it out.

Also, I don't trust electric fences very much because we've been to quite a few fires (not just grassfires, but also barn fires and house fires) where the electric fences have ignited fires that have moved across one's property and caused extensive damage, particularly if the fires reach someone's vehicles, sheds, barns or homes before firefighters arrive at the scene and can stop the fire. It is a heartbreaking experience to watch someone's emotions as their house or barn burns because of a stupid electric fence.

The wildlife we have here laugh at electric fences and routine jump them, scoot underneath the lowest wire, or (in the case of deer) carefully step between two wires without making contact with the wires. Deer and raccoons are especially good here in our county at working their way around or through electric fences. The electric fences used around here are used more to keep domestic farm animals in than to keep varmints out.

As Diane said, your mileage may vary. Would I spend our money on a HF electric fence? No.

Dawn

I used electric fences in the past, and may use one this year. I did ok at keeping deer and coons out as long as the fence did not ground out. The way I had my last one worked fairly well except I was killing too many birds.

I experimented with chargers from 300 volts to 2000 constant flow, and 5500 volt pulse. both have their good and bad features.

It might be worthwile to read about the "wireless electric fence on another garden web forum". I dont know how to link or I would. I like the remark that one poster made about putting peanut butter on his fence.

If I put in an electric fence I will design it differently this year, concentrating on grounding. It will me much easier where I live now because I can keep all the area clean.

Both types of fence can throw a spark under the right conditions. The constant 2000 volt charger I have can burn through a plastic insulater on a foggy or damp morning
The 5500 volt just throws a jolt for a fraction of a second. All of mine are AC.units

Just do your home work and go from there.

Larry

Purchased Harbor Freight solar fencer item #47454 last year on sale and it did a good job of keeping the deer out. It has enough power that it will burn marks into plants that touch the fence. It failed to work when installed this spring. The battery and the power switch is good so the circuit board apparently failed.

I would buy another if it is on sale again (about $40). Nothing else was in it's price range. Will try to repair the old one when I have time. (am a electronic technician)

I have not used the HF ones, and probably would not buy one with the experience i have had with some of their products.

I bought one at Atwoods farm supply for around $125 that uses a 4 volt battery and solar panel.It has been going non stop for 2 yrs. But it is mainly for cattle control. It was much easier to run a hot wire then build a 5 strand barbwire fence. Plus it can be removed fairly easy.

I also use one inside my yard fence to keep my dogs from excaping. It still works even though the grass had grown over and threw it this fall. I had a slack place in it and figured it was not hot since the grass had it smothered in places. Much to my surprize it was still sending out a good jolt when i reached down to give it another wind on the insulator.

I have since cleaned all the dead grass out of it, anyone want to come test this out now?

Busy1,

You want that fenced tested?

I'll give our local raccoons a map, help them pack their bags and send them your way. We have too many of them here, and apparently you need help testing your fence.

How many raccoons do you want? And, do you want the nice ones that drain the hummingbird feeders and eat all the garden corn, or the mean ones that kill our chickens?

Dawn

Poor Dawn.

OkieDawn, i cant tell you how many raccons i have dispatced here. They usually arrive in 5's.

I know this fence is not for critter control. I have to fasten my hens up at night or they would be gone by preditor in a flash.

I dont know if your coon would like being displaced to a hostile enviroment.

I have been know to set on top of my barn at night waiting for the raccoon to come out and show their selves.I will not share my garden with varmits if i can help it.

My uncle uses one hooked to 12 volt car battery. He must be happy with it because he could easily run an extension cord to the garden, or a hot wire from a charger. I have used 4 units in the past, all 110 volts, all worked fine if you could keep them from grounding out. I think the pulse, discharge type works better under extreme conditions.

I use Zarebas solar electric fence and have found them to be high quality.
There are three main types of fence energizers: AC-Powered, Battery-Operated and Solar-Powered.
The source of power for the electric fence controller to function determines the type of charger you will be using.
Each type of fence energizer has specific situations in which it is most desirable to use.

lol @ Keith

I have used/been exposed to electric fence chargers since around 1964. Have used many of the brands all the way up to the old neon sign transformers. Each have their pros and cons. The battery on a battery charger has to be recharged on a regular basis or the fence goes dead. When I used to run a few thousand head on wheat pasture I would always have a few battery chargers around for locations where there was no electricity. That was before the solar powered chargers of today. They work well if the battery is changed on a regular basis. I used to change batteries every week and charge the one I would remove for future change outs. Like Keith stated you get what you pay for. I have bought a few cheaper models the last few years and they last 1-2 years and then either go bad or get weak. A good indication of the life of a charger is the length of the warranty. I just bought one this afternoon. I bought a Gallagher. They are one of what I consider good, reliable chargers. They are a little higher. Many have had good results with the Zaebra's that Tractor Supply sells. I bought one of them a year ago and have never been happy with it. It says it is good for up to 10 miles. The spark is so weak that in this dry soil the the only thing it will deter is me. I've had the horses push against it trying to graze underneath it till they break it. And that is on around 50 yards of fence. On the two acres it don't bite me hard. And it has gotten weaker in the year of use. I'm going to move it to a 40 foot fence around a small bed. And put the Gallagher on the fence I have running around the two acres and the horse pens. The best 110V charger I ever used was the old Holdem 57's. They lasted for years and up to ten miles of fence would bite most things hard enough they didn't go back for seconds. I did see them start hay, ect on fire under the right conditions. My last one went bad about 3-4 years ago. It was at least 20 years old. As for keeping critters out it is hard. I have seen some systems that work but it takes some time and money to make them fairly critter prove. I've seen it done. The most effective method I've seen around chicken pens was the person poured a concrete footer around it and inserted pipes in the cement. He then installed heavy PVC pipe inside them along with laying and attaching one on top of the footer. Then attached chicken wire to it. It stopped his coyote,red fox and coon problems. But this is more money than many want to spend. Like stated I have used them to mainly to control domestic animals. Solar chargers work well if you buy a good quality one. My BIL uses them on a regular basis. Many pay a lot of attention to the joule rating. From my experience with electric fences and also my electrical experience I tend to agree with those who say that the power(highest voltage & amps) available is more important that the joule rating. I do prefer a low impedance type. An electric fence is like many things. It is not a miracle tool but when used wisely can be effective in helping to manage the control of animals. Jay

For me crows are the worst critter to control, next would be moles, gophers and squirrels. Then I would say coons and ground hogs. I have had good luck keeping the deer out as long as I remember to turn the fence on. I keep it turned off in the day time because I have killed a few birds in the past with an electric fence. I would not try to garden here without an electric fence, but I have seen them burn through plastic several times in foggy or dew conditions. My best guess is that water boils at 212 degrees and the plastic must be melting at something less than 212 degrees.

Larry

We once came home from town to find several of our neighbors fighting a grass fire that came within a few feet of a barn full of hay. The electric fence had started it. It was around about 8 acres and of all places for the fire to start, it started close to the barn. We've been afraid to use one since.

My Dad still uses one on a very short stretch--a couple hundred feet of straight wire. Dh has probably fixed that fence 5 times in the last three years. Sometimes it's deer because we see their tracks. They run into it at night, breaking the wire.

Mulberry one trick I've used on short stretches of fence something runs into or when fence breaking new animals is to use truck inner tubes around the corner posts to stretch the wire too. This gives the wire some stretch before it breaks. Doesn't stop it all but has helped me before. Jay