Fencer Repairman Owns Fantastic Collection Of Chargers

Fencer Repairman Owns Fantastic Collection Of Chargers FENCING Fence Systems When Kevin Blase turns on the juice to his wall of old fencer chargers bulbs light up marbles roll and a cacophony of clicks fills the air Blase runs a business fixing fencers and occasionally adds a “new” old fencer to his collection of more than 50 antiques “My collection started when people couldn’t justify the cost of fixing an old charger and just told me to keep it ” says Blase “After a while I started going on the internet and looking for interesting models ” Blase learned the fencer repair business from his grandfather who fixed fencers from 1973 until 1990 What started as a hobby for Blase grew into a full-time business He runs an authorized service repair center for Zareba and Parmak but regularly works on more than 30 different brands “I’ve repaired fencers from New York to California and Texas to Canada ” he says “We keep a large inventory of parts on hand ” Blase suggests FARM SHOW readers give him a call if they are having a problem with their fencer He may be able to diagnose it over the phone “If it’s clicking but there is no charge it’s often the transformer ” says Blase “If it’s not doing anything it’s probably the circuit board which I can often rebuild for half the cost of a new board ” Blase warns that turnaround depends on the time of the year with summer being peak demand with up to a 3-week wait His collection has many unusual chargers including an early one that sold for $1 50 and used a coil from a Model T Ford He even has the wooden box the coil came in He also has a Coburn One-Wire electric fencer made by a Wisconsin dairyman According to a great grandson Orrie Coburn saw a homemade fencer when visiting Europe in the early 1920’s When he came home he built his own By 1925 he was selling the first mass-produced electric fencer under the Coburn Company brand While no longer selling fencers the company continues serving livestock producers Early fencers often included very visible components that told the user the fencer was working One included a marble in a glass tube Each time the transformer magnetized it would push the marble up the tube When the marble returned it would hit a point and break the circuit A fencer from Leitner Electric Company Dalton Ohio had 2 bulbs inside a glass jar If one was lit the fencer was working If a short occurred on the fence the other bulb would light up Blase says nearly all the fencers in his collection still work Contact: FARM SHOW Followup The Fencer Shop 2406 E 23rd Rd Polk Neb 68654 ph 402-765-7222; www thefencershop com; www thefencershop net

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