Help me buy a battery for an electric bear fence.
July 7, 2017 8:42 PM Subscribe
It's official: I can't have bees without a bear fence. So I have the fence, and now I need a 12-volt, 110-amp-hour deep-cycle battery, preferably a marine battery with a handle.
I thought they ran maybe a hundred bucks. Um, nope. The only ones I can find are about $230. Is there a place online to buy batteries? Can somebody who runs a battery-operated fence tell me exactly what they are using and how it is working? I'm kind of stuck on this issue, and meanwhile my hive is unprotected.
Response by poster: I will bring the battery into a closed porch to charge when it needs it.
posted by Camofrog at 9:54 PM on July 7, 2017
posted by Camofrog at 9:54 PM on July 7, 2017
So the hive will be unprotected during battery charging? Alternating use of 2 batteries needing more frequent charging might cost less.
posted by Homer42 at 10:50 PM on July 7, 2017
posted by Homer42 at 10:50 PM on July 7, 2017
Google solar bear fence. Lots of options and discussions there.
posted by Oyéah at 11:06 PM on July 7, 2017
posted by Oyéah at 11:06 PM on July 7, 2017
Go to your nearest batteries plus or similar chain and buy fork lift batteries. That's the best deal you will get on large deep cycle batteries with decent weather resistance. Store them in a weather-ish proof plastic or metal box- lift it up off the ground a tad (like sitting on 4x4s) and drill a hole in side to run the wires in so they don't get wet when it rains. If you feel fancy install a bus bar so you can swap the batteries out super easy. Buy the handle they sell for a few bucks to move them. This message brought to you by your local friendly scientist who powers shit in remote places and who also grew up on a farm with electric fences. And get a solar panel. You'd be amazed how much time that adds in summer.
Also for bears run a return wire on all the strands- may as well get your moneys' worth.
posted by fshgrl at 12:11 AM on July 8, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also for bears run a return wire on all the strands- may as well get your moneys' worth.
posted by fshgrl at 12:11 AM on July 8, 2017 [3 favorites]
Just came by to say that RVers have been using 2 6V golf cart batteries connected in series as an ideal setup for ages. Not sure how many amps your fence will draw, but seconding that a solar panel will help regardless of size.
posted by cgg at 6:34 AM on July 8, 2017
posted by cgg at 6:34 AM on July 8, 2017
Response by poster: I hope to be able to charge the battery during the day. So far the bears have only come at night. The bee yard is right next to my house.
posted by Camofrog at 7:59 AM on July 8, 2017
posted by Camofrog at 7:59 AM on July 8, 2017
Batteries - check Walmart. I have a solar starter kit and got my battery there. You can get solar starter kits for @ 150. Lugging a battery will get old. Good luck.
posted by theora55 at 8:20 AM on July 8, 2017
posted by theora55 at 8:20 AM on July 8, 2017
A lot of boaters i know get their "marine" batteries at CostCo.
Boaters use two kinds of batteries. One is used for starting the engine. That is a high-amp, short time usage. Basically, a car battery. The other is used for lights, etc. This is low-amp, long time usage. I suspect the reason they suggest a marine battery for your use is because your fence is a low draw, long time application. There might be similar batteries sold for RVs.
posted by SemiSalt at 9:51 AM on July 8, 2017
Boaters use two kinds of batteries. One is used for starting the engine. That is a high-amp, short time usage. Basically, a car battery. The other is used for lights, etc. This is low-amp, long time usage. I suspect the reason they suggest a marine battery for your use is because your fence is a low draw, long time application. There might be similar batteries sold for RVs.
posted by SemiSalt at 9:51 AM on July 8, 2017
If you want to fall down the endless rabbit hole of home battery banks, an excellent resource is Steven Harris's website.
A few words of description or warning: Steven has a strong preparedness/survivalist bent, but he is actually the real deal who trains state and local governments and even military special forces on battery techniques. He is a former automotive engineer who worked for Chrysler for decades before setting up his shingle as an energy consultant.
He is a real scientist/engineer who does the math/calculations/data/observations and is not afraid at all to talk about the science behind what is going on. He has the typical engineer's lack of social skills and can be very brash and abrasive. My wife loathes even the sound of his voice, but he is the best I have found in this area. He also answers emails from people!
It is worth navigating through his many clunky websites, he makes a ton of material including interviews and videos available for free, and the alternate energy books he is selling are in my opinion guaranteed to be the best in the their field and sometimes not available anywhere else. He also sources the best items and provides affiliate links to purchase, as many people do in the 21st century.
Would love to hear an update with your final solution-- I am hoping that we are going to face this problem with our next house!
posted by seasparrow at 2:35 PM on July 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
A few words of description or warning: Steven has a strong preparedness/survivalist bent, but he is actually the real deal who trains state and local governments and even military special forces on battery techniques. He is a former automotive engineer who worked for Chrysler for decades before setting up his shingle as an energy consultant.
He is a real scientist/engineer who does the math/calculations/data/observations and is not afraid at all to talk about the science behind what is going on. He has the typical engineer's lack of social skills and can be very brash and abrasive. My wife loathes even the sound of his voice, but he is the best I have found in this area. He also answers emails from people!
It is worth navigating through his many clunky websites, he makes a ton of material including interviews and videos available for free, and the alternate energy books he is selling are in my opinion guaranteed to be the best in the their field and sometimes not available anywhere else. He also sources the best items and provides affiliate links to purchase, as many people do in the 21st century.
Would love to hear an update with your final solution-- I am hoping that we are going to face this problem with our next house!
posted by seasparrow at 2:35 PM on July 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I really appreciate the answers so far.
But I'm kind of more confused than ever, and I am trying to exchange the battery-powered fence charger for an AC-powered model and just bury a line to power it. The mom-and-pop place I purchased the fence kit from is trying to talk me into keeping what I have. They just don't want the hassle, and I don't blame them.
Thanks fshgrl for the rec of batteriesplus. I don't see a forklift category, but they have a marine battery that comes pretty close to what I'm looking for (just a bit underpowered) for about $150 after recycle deposit, much closer to the price I was hoping for.
If I can talk the fence company into exchanging, I'll probably go with that.
posted by Camofrog at 7:59 PM on July 10, 2017
But I'm kind of more confused than ever, and I am trying to exchange the battery-powered fence charger for an AC-powered model and just bury a line to power it. The mom-and-pop place I purchased the fence kit from is trying to talk me into keeping what I have. They just don't want the hassle, and I don't blame them.
Thanks fshgrl for the rec of batteriesplus. I don't see a forklift category, but they have a marine battery that comes pretty close to what I'm looking for (just a bit underpowered) for about $150 after recycle deposit, much closer to the price I was hoping for.
If I can talk the fence company into exchanging, I'll probably go with that.
posted by Camofrog at 7:59 PM on July 10, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
Are you pricing gel-cells? Wet cells are cheaper and I think they'll be fine in your application.
Jamestown Distributors has them at $158
Defender has them $149
Are you attaching some sort of charging system?
posted by humboldt32 at 9:29 PM on July 7, 2017