|
Post by pinkfox on Jul 9, 2012 17:06:23 GMT -6
so ive got a AC 20 mile Zabera low impedance charger... ive psent the last 2 days hooking my 3 line goat fence up (i know i should do 4 lines)
ive got 2 grounding rods, both are 8ft long and sunk in 6ft.
im running 12g insulated wire from the charger to the groundng rods and to the fence.
Fence wire itslef is 17g (box is rated for 10g-17g so fine there)
corner T-posts, Plastic insulators and Fiberglas step ins between.
i plug her in and the chargerblinks that fence is "ok" when i remove the fence and ground wires form the box and touch the box wiht my fence tester it lights up. so i know the box itslef is working.
but touch the fence tester to the fence lines...nothing.
walked the fence line 4 times, first time found a few spots that i did some tweeking, but that didnt fx the problem...i cant find ANYWHERE along the fence where it would be grounding out. theres no brush, weeds, grass ect on the fence, the lines are not crossed or loose, nothing touching the metal t-posts, so i cant find a spot that would be shorting/grounding it out...
gove both grounding rods a watering just in case....
but looking for thoughts/ideas.
Im tired, ive got a good ole sunburn, and realy ache, i pulled about 60 ticks off me despite 40% DEET...i think ive earned the right to have this simply WORK... not to mention the goats, who spent all day following me round have EARNT the right to actually have a real pasture.
since the charger is working it HAS to be the wiring....i just cant figure out whats going on.
theres about 125 ft of 12g insulated wire betwen the charger and the fence itself...
HELP! please?!
|
|
|
Post by herb on Jul 10, 2012 10:10:25 GMT -6
check the connections right at the box
|
|
|
Post by pinkfox on Jul 10, 2012 15:21:55 GMT -6
did that... heres what ive done thus far.
took off the wires on the box, touched the fence tester to the terminals. box IS working...
figured its a grounding issue...my grounding rod is much too far away, so took the energizer down to my curret grounding rod with an extension cord, hooked it up with some scrap wire and the "hot" line was showing hot...so figured DEFINATLY too far from the grounding rod..., today whent and bought another grounding rod. hammered it in 5 1/2 ft (hit something solid down there and was bending the galvanized rod trying to getit to go further...) rattatched the box...STILL nothing. moved the box to literally 12 inches from the new grounding rod...hooked everything back up, tested AT the enrrgizer, the hot wire HAS power... took it down to the fence...NO power on the fence. checked the perimeter line again theres NOWHERE shorting this fence out... so unhooked the hot wire from the fence and tested the hot wire loose, and the power reaching the fnece is INCREDIBLY weak...(my little blink light barely blinks) and as soon as you touch it to the fence, theres no blinky light. theres power going to the "hot" wire, BUT its just not staying strong by the time it gets to the fence end.
am i right in thinking this is still a ground issue.
i personally have had no rain (untill just now) in a month (other areas around me have at least had sprinkles but we've recived no rainfall on my town since june 7th...
we just got downpoured and its thundering right now...waiting for this storm to pass then will go and try again with wet ground...
If not does someone have a fence voltmeter i can bowwl to see if i can narrow down what the heck is going on?!
the only think it can be is the grounding system...right?! because the energizer is working, and theres no faults on the fence (nothing grounding it out along the fence line....) ive poudd 3 8ft rods into the ground now, 2 are too far away thinks to the idiots at TSC... but now ive got one literaly 12" from the box...and everyone else i know with electric fence is having NO issues using a single ground rod...so why am I !?
|
|
|
Post by Crystal Lake Farms on Jul 10, 2012 17:10:00 GMT -6
Just a thought are u sure your tester is working right? One way to check is to touch fence with finger. (sorry but may hurt). Other than that the box may not be putting out enough current. There isn't any adjustment on it is it?
|
|
|
Post by pinkfox on Jul 10, 2012 17:21:18 GMT -6
no adjustment...
Due to the fact i have a heart condition i will not be trying to "touch it and find out" method lol. Not realy up for a trip to the ER. I will proably pick up a voltmeter tomorrow (since i have to go into selmer for an apointment and at least that should be able to give me a better idea of what kind of output im looking at. the tester itself is a realy BASIC fence tester, simply a hoo on one end with a single LED and a ground probe on the other. its telling me ive got power at the hot line at the box with a good red blinking light...but down by the fence (even with the line not attatched TO the fence, that littl blinking light might as well be none existant) unfortunatly obviously with such a basic tester im not getting any kind of numbers to see where the actual box output is...it could very wellbe that the box isnt putting out enough current...but theres nothing on the box that can be adjusted (its borrowed form a friend too)
Im HOPING all this rain this afternoon however fixes the issue for me... lol.
|
|
|
Post by Timbo on Jul 10, 2012 19:00:34 GMT -6
Oh in that case wouldnt recommend peeing on it either ;D
|
|
|
Post by pinkfox on Jul 10, 2012 21:15:46 GMT -6
lol, that i can definatly agree with...especially since i ust dont have the Aim a guy would have LOL.
I think my lead out line is faulty, as i took the "hot" line off the charger and hooked up a peice of scrap wire and was getting a pulse on the far end...so tomorrow ive got to pull all the wires and rewire the hot line and see if that does the trick...
For something thats supposed to be "user friendly" its sure not ME friendly LOL
|
|
|
Post by Timbo on Jul 10, 2012 21:23:32 GMT -6
LOL! Well wish u luck.
|
|
|
Post by rinksgi on Jul 11, 2012 13:07:37 GMT -6
use the dog to test the fence,lol. I'm glad I didn't know of all these issues when we hooked ours up. We pounded an old pipe we had about 2 feet in the ground. Stuck plastic posts in the ground. Ran the wire, plugged up the charger and turned the dogs loose. When they yelped, we knew it was working. We must have gotten lucky. Hope you get your's worked out soon.
|
|
|
Post by pinkfox on Jul 12, 2012 13:23:03 GMT -6
well i finally got it figured out... i invested $20 in a voltmeter... found out the charger was busted...it was only putting out MABE 600v...should have been putting out 7000v so...charger has been replaced, 4th line has been added to the fence and the goats are currently enjoying about 1/3rd an acre of grass and weeds that havent been mown in about a year, and once they get brave theres alos soooo much brush back there for them to chew through. wounder how long itll take 2 young nubians to clear 1/3rd and acre lol... once this section is cleared the pasture will get expanded further back, and hopefully eventually i can have this property re-claimed from the mass of privet thats taken it over lol.
|
|
allie
Junior Member
Posts: 206
|
Post by allie on Jul 12, 2012 21:41:22 GMT -6
It won't take as long as you think, unless there is something they don't like. Our two pygmies and chickens kept about 1/4 of an acre completely clear...except for certain weeds they didn't like. But...if you have thorn bushes or poison ivy, our goats LOVED them. And Johnson grass. And locust trees. And grass. And ragweed. And leaves...I could go on Goats are so much fun! I'm glad you got your fence fixed!
|
|
|
Post by Timbo on Jul 12, 2012 23:04:19 GMT -6
Oh they will eat alot. Allie is right there are some things they wont eat. i still have to go in and mow down the stuff they dont eat but only do it once a year.
|
|
|
Post by cks4me on Jul 13, 2012 8:36:52 GMT -6
It really sounds like your charger is not putting out enough electricity..
|
|
|
Post by pinkfox on Jul 14, 2012 13:55:36 GMT -6
that is indeed what is was cks4me... it was a borrowed charger and out of its warentee period too so i ended up having to just bite the bullet and buy a new one for myself... MAJOR OUCH on the monthly budget but it didnt realy give me an option lol.
|
|