2016 Premier Fence

77 / 152

ENERGIZERS & SOLAR PANELS 77
Fence Energizer FAQs
Q. What is a fence energizer?
A. A box that takes in electrical energy
from an outside source (either a
battery or a 110 volt outlet).
The energizer pushes the energy
out through the positive terminal
in very brief, high voltage, high
amperage pulses. The ground
(negative) terminal’s purpose is to
absorb any excess pulse energy back
into the energizer.
Q. What is an electric fence?
A. An extension of the 2 terminals (fence
and ground/earth) of the energizer.
The earth/negative terminal is
extended by driving metal rods into
the soil and connecting them to the
terminal with conductive wire.
The outbound/positive/fence
terminal is extended by attaching
conductive wires to it. They are
suspended above the soil and kept
separate from the soil by insulators or
nonconductive posts.
Q. How high is the voltage of a pulse?
A. Up to 14,000 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. Yes and no. You will feel nothing if
you touch only one.
But 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 an insulated metal wire!
Q. What happens when grass touches
an energized fence wire?
A. The fence wire is “pressurized” with
excess electrons from the pulse.
Green vegetation is a conductor—
particularly when wet. When it
contacts an energized wire, the
pressurized energy (measured in
volts) is pushed down through the
moisture in the stem to 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 topsoil and
increases the joules of energy 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
why calves, lambs or goat kids seem
to be less affected by a pulse than
adult cattle, sheep, goats or horses.
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 indicates the opposite.
Q. Which species are most affected by
an electric fence pulse?
A. In order from most to least affected:
pigs, horses, cattle, canines (wet
noses, bare pads), raccoons,
sheep, goats, deer, geese, chickens
and rabbits.
This assumes 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 users have strong preferences
based on prior experience.
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 troubleshooting
(pp. 113–117).
When you join our community 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/minute 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 200Ω then 2000 ft is 400Ω.
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 it 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).