Solar-Powered Fence First Of Its Kind

Solar-Powered Fence First Of Its Kind ENERGY Solar 5-5-29 "Most farmers need more fence but, because fencing is one of the worst jobs on the farm, they get along without it. We're hoping to change all that," says Paul Janssen, Creston, Iowa, inventor of a new solar-powered electric fence that's installed by professionals to last "practically forever" with minimal maintenance. The new fence is unique in that its battery and charger are contained in a 6-in. dia. PVC endpost that has a bank of solar cells mounted on top of it. Just one day of sunshine is enough to charge up the 6-V gel or 12-V car batteries that can charge up to 5 miles of fence for 21 days, according to Janssen, thus making the fence suitable even in minimal sunshine areas. The 8,000-V charge won't be grounded out by weeds or branches either, he says. "We usually build with five strands of high tensile wire spaced 9 3/4 in. apart," says Janssen, explaining that his company's 1 1/2 in dia. fenceposts are hollow and made from bendable PVC plastic. "People have to get it through their heads that fences don't have to be rigid like a tree. That's what causes them to look poor later. Our new fence will bend about 2 ft. so, when a steer or other animal smashes into it, the fence will bounce back and look as good as ever." Janssen began working on his new fencing idea nearly 10 years ago ù not with the idea of inventing a fence that you could install yourself but to develop a fence that could be installed quickly with good equipment, and look good for a long time. "We want something that will be as good as other equipment on the farm. Combines, tractors and other equipment are guaranteed so why not fence? We fully guarantee our fence and should anything ever happen to it, it will be fixed," he points out. He adds that the price is competitive with a good five strand barbed wire fence. Janssen, who has teamed up with local businessman William Kuntz, hopes to sell his fence machine to farmer-dealers. Mounted in the back of a pickup, the machine simultaneously drills and sets posts while stringing five strands of wire at once. Once strung, the wires are torqued to the proper tension. The fence is designed to be quickly re-torqued in the future, if needed. Janssen and Kuntz say they will travel anywhere to set up fence. Cost for one mile is $8.50 a rod. Costs increase to as much as $12 a rod for lengths down to 1/8 mile. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Janssen Industries Corp., Box 102, Creston, Iowa 50801 (ph 515 782-5040).

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