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80 ENERGIZERS & SOLAR PANELS
www.premier1supplies.com• 1-800-282-6631
Fence Energizer FAQs
Q. Exactly what is a fence energizer?
A.
A box that takes in small amounts
of electrical energy from an outside
source (battery or 110 volt outlet).
The energizer pushes this energy
from the outbound (
positive
) terminal
in very brief, high voltage and
high amperage pulses. The ground
terminal’s (
negative
) purpose is to
absorb as much of the pulse energy as
possible back into the energizer.
Q. What, exactly, is an electric fence?
A.
An extension of the 2 terminals (fence
and ground/earth) of the energizer.
The inbound (earth) terminal is
extended by driving metal rods into
the soil and connecting them to the
earth terminal with conductive wire.
The outbound (fence) terminal is
extended by attaching conductive
wires to it. They are suspended
above the soil and kept separate
from the soil by insulators and/or
nonconductive posts.
Q. How high is the voltage of a pulse?
A.
Up to 10,000 volts. That sounds
extreme—but static electricity is often
as much as 25,000 volts.
Q. How brief is the electric pulse?
A.
Less than 3/10,000 of a second.
Q. Will I feel anything if I touch a
terminal when the energizer is on?
A.
Not if you touch only one
and don't
touch the other one at the same time!
If you accidentally touch both at
the same time
(we strongly advise
against this!),
you will feel the full
impact of the pulse.
Note: We never contact the terminals
(even when the energizer is off) without
first carefully touching both terminals
with a long metal screwdriver
with well-
insulated handles!
Q. What happens when grass touches
energized fence wires?
A.
Think of the wires as pressurized
with excess electrons from the pulse.
Green vegetation is a conductor—
particularly when wet. When it
contacts an energized wire, energy is
pushed by the voltage down through
the moisture in the stem into the soil.
Folks call this a “leak” (similar to a
hole in a water hose) or a “short.”
Q. What happens when an animal
touches energized wires?
A.
The high voltage of the pulse pushes
electrons through the animal’s point
of contact (often the nose or ears),
then through the body’s tissue and
fluids and out through the feet/
hooves/paws into the soil moisture.
Q. Why is animal weight a factor?
A.
The weight of a heavy animal
compresses the soil. This reduces
electrical resistance of the soil and
increases the joules that can flow
through the animal.
This explains why heavy animals
are more affected by electric fence and
light animals less so.
Weight (or the lack of it) explains in
part why calves and lambs will seem
to be less affected by a pulse than
adult cows and ewes.
Q. Why is grass color a factor in
choosing a suitable energizer?
A.
Green grass
indicates the soil is moist,
so the soil will have less resistance to
a pulse.
Brown grass
suggests the opposite.
Q. Which species are most affected by
an electric fence pulse?
A.
In order from most to least: pigs,
horses, cattle, canines (wet noses, bare
pads), raccoons, sheep, goats, deer,
geese, chickens and rabbits.
This assumes a low-impedance
energizer was used and adult animals
are contacting the fence with their
nose, beak or paw.
Q. I’m confused by all the energizers
that Premier offers. Why so many?
A.
Some have strong preferences based
on prior experience or advice.
Q. Why is Premier’s energizer know-
how unique?
A.
Other firms may supply more units—
but no one supplies more units
(50,000)
direct to end-users
and
tracks
the results
.
We know what failed, when and
why. Often the energizer is not the
problem. See t
roubleshooting pp. 16–17.
When you join our list of satisfied
customers you tap into that experience
and expertise.
Key Definitions
Volts/voltage:
A measure of
the
pressure upon electrons to move
from
“A” to “B”. Very similar to psi in water
and air systems.
Electrons can’t flow from A to B
unless enough voltage (pressure) exists
to overcome the sum of the resistances
between the 2 points.
Joule(s):
A measure of
the volume of
electrical energy
(electrons) in a pulse.
Comparable to pints, quarts or gallons
in water systems.
When enough electrons (joules)
suddenly pass through an animal’s (or
human’s) nervous system, the pain is
memorable and cause for avoidance in
the future.
Amps/ampere/amperage:
Measure of
the
rate of flow
of electrons per unit of
time. Similar to gallons per minute for
water systems.
Pulse frequency:
The number of pulses
that occur each minute; 40 pulses/min
equals a pulse every 1.5 seconds.
Ohms (
Ω
):
Measure of resistance
to electrical flow.
More
Ω
= more
resistance
. It’s additive. If 1000 ft of
wire is 200
Ω
then 2000 ft is 400
Ω
.
Conductor:
Any material with low
ohms/1000 ft numbers such as copper,
aluminum, tin or steel.
Water is a conductor. Wood, if wet
internally (e.g. sap) or externally
(dew, rain), can become a conductor.
Similarly moist soil and grass stems
are conductors. Animal tissue with
moisture in or on is a conductor.
Electroplastic conductors/netting:
A cable or ribbon comprised of
small conductive metal (copper or
steel) filaments and nonconductive
plastic filaments. The metal carries
the electrons. The plastic provides
visibility, strength and elasticity.
Insulators:
Materials with high
resistance (ohm numbers) such as
fiberglass and plastic.
Wood is an insulator
if it is dry
internally and externally.
Dry
animal hair, wool and feet
are poor conductors and thus are
insulators (albeit often poor ones).