Ninbank

What is the difference between fence chargers for short hair animals like horses and goats and chargers for long hair animals like cattle and sheep? What happens to a horse or goat (or human) if it gets zapped by the other type charger?
I have just aquired a Hol-Dem 502, 2 joules, low impedance, 50 miles. What kind of animal is it for and is it any good?
Thanks.

For the kind of Animal that likes to get out!!!

I've been through 3 $200 Holdem's in 2 years. No, I don't keep buying them, they keep getting exchanged. My Third one quit working and I bought a Paramak and haven't had any problems at all.

Each failure has been the transformer inside arcing through the enamel insulator on the XFormer windings.

The Service Center told me they build low cost units for Tractor Supply, and for $100 I could upgrade mine with a new board and Xformer. It's wasn't worth it, so Paramak ended up in the pasture!

The one I bought is the 502 which sells for $100 list. It is 'reconditioned', so I don't think it's returnable. There also was a reconditioned 501 . Maybe they're all having the same shorting problem. Only time will tell if the insulation has been improved. Anyway there is no tractor supply anywhere near me. It was an Ebay purchase for $60. Oh, well....

While I thought they made both low and high impedance models for both types of wire (poly; aluminum) I may be wrong and greywolf may be right. But types of chargers as I know them....

Regular high impedance -- if grass touches the wire it will short out.

Weed chopper high impedance -- This type shocks hard enough to cut grass off to keep it from touching wire.

Low impedance -- has the ability to increase its energy output as load increases from grass touching which gives it the ability to still shock.

A 2 joule I would call a medium to medium low charger. I have seen 0.5 joule to 15 joule. This would make yours a very good short hair charger in my mind used for cows and horses but a lot has to do with the lenght of fence and how good a ground you have. If you have sheep or a long hair dog ect. and a long fence you may need a little higher joule. To correct this problem I have found it best to release animals into a new area for the first time during or just after a rain. The wet hair plus wet ground aid in shocking and gaining respect for the fence.

I have two black labs that USED to love digging/chewing their way through a wooden fence, until I hooked up a 'hot' wire (charger) with a single strand wire about 8' off the ground. I think they may have gotten into the wire once since it's been hooked up.
That solved all of the dog retrieving problems. I tested the wire to ground. In dry soil, it read about 1100 volts. Like someone else has said, the animal (or human) won't intentionally repeat the experience!

Robert, what kind of meter did you use to test the fence? My meter will test to 600v ac and 1000v dc. One time I went over 1000v on a microwave oven and it wrecked the meter, even tho it was fused. Maybe the fence doesn't have much current or you are using a high voltage probe.

Just use a Db meter to measure the level of the scream when you get into it to calculate the voltage. Each 3 Db of sound ( scream) increase = approx 500 V :)

Slowpoke, I don't have the reference handy, but I know that company has a website with all the info on all the models of chargers.

There isn't any type for long or short haired animals.

Regular fence chargers of old do a good job with regular or barbed wire.

The low impedence fencers of today are needed when using the vinyl tape or rope type fence. The small wires imbedded in the vinyl will act like a toaster wire when used with a regular fencer. They will get hot and melt. But the low impedence can be used on regular wire.

Can't comment on the brand, but a 2 joule is a medium powered fencer and unless you are really stretching the footage of fencing will do nicely to hold your livestock.

Biggest factor you need to pay attention to is your grounding system for the fence. With that unit I would drop 2 8' grounding rods spaced about 8' apart. Grounding is the most common cause of poor electric fence performance.

Generally, the horse, goat, or human will avoid repeating the experience, if at all possible.

It hits an animal a good bit harder than a human because they are grounded better with their claws ect sticking into damp dirt. I owned a dog that would not go where an electric fence had once been. alvinnms