Fencing smarts from the Emerald Isle
While a leading New Zealand brand seems to have a stranglehold on the local electric fencing market, a company from the Green Isle seems to be making significant inroads, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere.
National sales manager Peter Nation says the company’s high-powered M10,000i fence energiser, and its innovative wireless water level monitoring system, point the way forward in these technologies.
Due for retail release in March, the M10,000i has a stored energy capacity of 100 joules and a potential output of 10,000V. It can power 405ha of multi-wire fencing.
Part of the Gallagher i Series range of energisers, the M10,000i combines “brute force with incredible intelligence, delivering advanced monitoring capabilities to give farmers peace of mind their animals are where they should be,” the company says.
“A good energiser is like an invisible asset protector – making sure valuable animals, pastures and crops are safe and secure,” says Nation.
Like other i series energisers, the M10,000i has a controller unit that monitors energiser performance and highlights faults in a fencing system. The controller can be located up to 50m from the main energiser.
The waterproof controller displays the energiser’s voltage and current readings and can be used to turn the energiser on or off, set alarm levels and fine-tune operating output voltage.
Up to six fence monitors can be installed onfarm and linked back to the central energiser controller to fully monitor a fence system – saving time and giving confidence a fence is working effectively.
“Having six fence monitors spread around a farm is a bit like having six staff members out there looking after six different zones, all the time,” says Nation. “The beauty of the i series energiser is that everything is monitored for you, so staff can focus on other jobs. It’s a huge labour saver, especially for larger farms with bigger fencing systems.”
The M10,000i can be supplied with an optional remote that enables the farmer to quickly locate faults within a monitored zone, turn the energiser on or off remotely, and test a fence once a repair is completed.
An optional SMS controller adds a cellphone dimension: if a fence problem is detected it will notify the farmer immediately via mobile phone.
Meanwhile, Gallagher’s wireless water level monitoring system notifies of water leaks.
Launched last year, this system gives farmers a close watch on water usage without the high costs of flow monitoring. It measures water pressure in the water vessel, transmitting that data to a wall-mounted or desktop display unit as far away as 4km. Power is by solar.
Up to nine tanks can be monitored by one display unit. The display has a 2.8inch colour touchscreen and shows, e.g. abnormal water loss caused by broken pipes or overflowing troughs, number of days of water remaining, and 30-day historical levels of monitored tanks.
The system can also alert farmers if the level in one or more tanks begins to decrease rapidly.
Tel. 0800 731 500
