Reasons for Using Battery or Solar-Powered Fence Energizers

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Farmers looking to install electrified fencing tend to choose energizers that either plug into outlets or are hardwired to an existing electrical system. Nonetheless, Mytee Products sells both battery- and solar-powered energizers for a variety of uses. You may wonder why. If so, you are not alone.

Both battery and solar-powered fence energizers have their uses. They are not likely to be a long-term solution for a large amount of acreage, however they can be rather handy in some situations. Below are a few reasons farmers would purchase these energizers. After reading through, it would be hard not to consider buying them.

Frequent Power Outages

You may be a farmer that lives in a rural area subject to severe weather throughout the late spring and early summer. On any given day, a storm could blow through and knock out the power for hours. What if all your energizers require mains power? Your electric fencing could be down for quite a while.

A battery-powered energizer is the obvious answer in these kinds of situations. Just disconnect the standard energizer, connect the battery-powered unit, and let it go until electricity is restored. Then go make the swap back and you are all set. The battery-powered energizer can be put on the shelf until the next power outage.

Utilizing Temporary Pastures

A lot of our customers who choose solar-powered energizers do so because they make use of temporary pastures. These are generally smaller operations or hobby farms where animals are frequently moved from one temporary pasture to the next.

Because there is no need to keep all the fencing electrified around-the-clock, a good way to save money and alleviate dependence on grid power is to use solar energizers. A good solar energizer is just as functional even if cloudy skies are prevalent from time to time. The energizer can be hooked to the fencing where needed, and then unhooked and moved to the next temporary pasture in the rotation.

Installing New Fences

Yet another reason for using battery-powered or solar energizers is to get a new electrified fence up and running while you are waiting on power to be run out to that location. In other words, farmers can install new fencing more quickly by having an alternate means of energizing on hand. They do not have to wait until electric lines are run and outlets installed. They just hook up and go.

Getting off the Grid

Believe it or not, we have worked with customers running hobby farms who are doing everything they can to get off the grid. They might use a turbine for their electricity coupled with a solar system on the roof. Out in the field, they want to contain their animals behind electrified fencing powered with solar energizers.

Getting off the grid is a perfectly legitimate way of doing things. We are just happy we can help meet the need with a selection of solar-powered energizers that are perfect for hobby farms. And even if these kinds of energizers cannot make a farm completely independent of grid power, they sure can supplement quite nicely.

Mytee Products is grateful for the opportunity to provide supplies to farmers and ranchers. If you are a farmer using electrified fencing, we invite you to take a look at our inventory of energizers, fencing wire, and heavy rope. Also be sure to check out our hay tarps and moisture testers.

If we don’t have what you’re looking for, please do not hesitate to ask. We will do everything we can to get it.

Mytee Products Expanding Our Moisture Tester Line

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If you have previously browsed our selection of agricultural products you’ve probably viewed our selection of hay moisture testers.We are proud to say that we have expanded our tester line to include moisture testers for both grain and coffee. We have added a few additional products to this category as well.

Our goal is to be one of the first suppliers you think of when you need agricultural products ranging from moisture testers to hay tarps and temporary storage buildings. So if you ever have need of something we do not carry, please contact us and let us know. We are always looking for new items that we can add to our agricultural products inventory. With all of that out of the way, let’s look at moisture testers.

Hay Testers

Moisture content is more critical for hay than most people realize. A person who has no knowledge of hay farming may drive down the country road and think nothing of the bales waiting in the field to be retrieved. To them, it is just grass compacted into a rectangular or circular shape. To the farmer though, those bales represent income.

Moisture can affect income by spoiling a crop. Farmers expect some amount of loss due to moisture, but they try to mitigate losses as much as possible. The moisture tester is an important part of that effort. Simply by inserting a rod into a bale of hay, a farmer can instantly know whether the moisture content of that bale is too high or low. Then adjustments can be made accordingly.

Wise farmers routinely check moisture levels, at least several times during a given storage season. The more often, the better. We are thrilled to be able to give them a number of different moisture tester choices.

Grain Testers

Moisture level is just as important to grain growers, but for a different reason. Where hay growers are more worried about moisture content during storage periods, farmers who raise grains use moisture content to determine when it’s time to harvest. The only challenge is deciding what constitutes optimal moisture levels.

Farmers, researchers, and biologists have been arguing over grain moisture content for decades. We are getting closer to the answers as time goes by, but a lot of what goes into determining optimal moisture content is really an art perfected by the growers themselves. That’s why our grain testers are so important to them. They know what kind of moisture content they are looking for to initiate harvest. Our testers are merely tools to tell them when that moisture level has been reached.

Coffee Testers

Coffee may not necessarily be a cash crop in this country, but it still produces quite a bit of income for the growers who specialize in it. For them, moisture content signals bean maturity. This is important because moisture content also determines how a bean will be roasted, the amount of weight loss beans will undergo during the roasting process, and the quality of the finished product.

Our coffee testers tell growers everything they need to know about bean moisture content before they harvest, roast, and ship. If we can help coffee growers get it right when measuring both green and parchment beans, then we are happy to do so.

Mytee Products is working hard to find the right kinds of agricultural products to add to our inventory. We have grown our selection of moisture testers from just a few testers for hay to a much more comprehensive line that includes hay, grain, and coffee. Keep checking back to see what’s new in this category.

Things to Know When Planning Your Electrified Fence

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The addition of fencing material and energizers to our inventory has afforded us the opportunity to work with new farmers and hobbyists setting up operations for the first time. We get to talk with them about planning their fencing properly, and what constitutes an effective electrified fence. And yes, we have the opportunity to help them avoid some of the more common fencing mistakes.

Planning out an electrified fence is not difficult in principle. But to do it right, you have to understand the principles of electrified fencing. An electric fence is substantially different from a barbed wire fence – in both function and purpose. You will not get the best results following barbed wire principles.

The fencing principles described below are complements of Beef Magazine and contributing author Alaina Burt. They are part a great article describing electrified fencing mistakes as explained by industry experts.

Corner Post Depth

The corner posts of any fence system take most of the stress given that they support wires pulling in two directions. One of the biggest mistakes people make is not driving corner posts deeply enough. The general rule is to measure the distance between the ground and the height of the top wire, then drive posts in to a depth equal to or greater than that measurement.

If the highest wire is going to be 3 feet off the ground, you need 3 feet of post driven into the ground. You need enough post to offset the tension of the wires pulling in both directions. A post that is not driven deeply enough is one that will eventually pull out.

Post Spacing

The general rule for barbed wire fences is to place a post every 16 feet or so. Though this distance is quite short, a lot of posts are needed to support the barbed wire. Electric fencing doesn’t need nearly as much support. Rather than 16 feet apart, posts for electrified fencing should be closer to 80 feet. You could go as far as 100 feet to save money on posts. Space them as little as 50 feet apart if you are not comfortable with greater distances.

Why does all this matter? Because wood does not conduct electricity. Every post in an electrified fencing system represents a choke point if it interferes with electrical conductivity.

Matching Energizers

An effective electrified fence applies just the right amount of voltage based on the total length of the system. Regardless of the number of wires in the system, the rule for containing cattle and horses is 1 joule per mile of fencing. For smaller animals, it is okay to use energizers with outputs of 0.05 joules per mile of fencing.

This is one particular area in which it’s impossible to give rock-solid advice. Property owners have to consider the animals they are trying to contain in order to determine the correct voltage. We offer enough choices in energizers to meet the needs of most smaller systems.

Grounding the Fence

One last thing to consider is how you will ground the fence. Normally, grounding rods are installed at a rate of 3 feet for every joule of output. The experts recommend against placing all the grounding rods very near the energizer. Instead, they say it’s better to space grounding rods evenly apart. This is because soil conditions can affect how well grounding rods work.

Once you understand the principles of electrified fencing, planning and installing new fence is pretty routine. Here at Mytee Products, we have what you need to build your own fence for cattle or small animals.

The Characteristics of a Good Bulkhead

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Few things in the trucking industry offer as much value per square inch as the venerable bulkhead. If you are flatbed trucker, you know exactly what we mean. Bulkheads are one of the most functional pieces of equipment you will ever use. They are also key to your safety.

There is no denying the importance of the bulkhead for safety purposes. As such, Mytee Products is more than pleased to serve our customers with custom-built bulkheads for 102-inch trailers. Our bulkheads are not stock items and may take up to a few weeks to receive delivery. Trust us when we say that the wait is worth it.

What goes into manufacturing or bulkheads? Quite a bit. While we don’t have the space to give you all the details, there are a few characteristics we believe are important.

1. The Right Materials

Choosing the right materials for constructing a bulkhead is imperative for both safety and fuel economy. You want something durable enough to stand up to the punishment of shifting cargo but not so heavy that it adds excess weight to your rig. The obvious choice is a lightweight aluminum alloy with a high strength rating. That is just what you get with our bulkheads.

A Mytee Products bulkhead is made with a high strength aluminum alloy capable of handling a lot of punishment. Furthermore, our bulkheads are DOT rated for maximum safety. You get the lightest possible bulkhead that still meets or exceeds all regulatory and industry standards.

2. A Turnback Design

In general, bulkheads are constructed in both flat and turnback designs. A flat bulkhead is good enough if it is never used on loads that require extra reinforcement along the sides. But how common are those loads? As long as you’re investing in a bulkhead, you’re better off buying a turnback model.

Our bulkheads offer a 10-inch return on either side. This is useful in a number of ways. First, it offers a little bit of extra support that could mean the difference between a load shifting and it staying in place. Second, the turnback makes it easier to entirely enclose a flatbed load with side rails and panels. The turnback provides the support you need at the front end of the enclosure.

3. Extra Features

A bulkhead may look like a pretty plain piece of equipment, but it doesn’t have to be. We like to see bulkheads with extra features. For example, having a rail running across the front side of the bulkhead provides plenty of space for easy location of straps, hooks, and bungees. You can never have too many anchor points in our opinion?

Another excellent feature are extra baffles that provide superior dampening. Baffles are commonly built into bulkheads for this reason, but there are some baffle designs that are better than others. A good baffle design maximizes safety by providing extra surface area to absorb energy.

Order Your Bulkhead from Mytee

Whether you run a single truck and trailer or multiple rigs, the bulkhead is an important part of your safety. We get that, which is why we only sell bulkheads made from the finest materials. We encourage you to order from Mytee Products along with your other trucking supplies.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions. One of our customer service reps would be more than happy to give you the heads up. If you are ready to order now, you can do so right from our website. Just navigate to the ‘Trailer Parts’ section and click on the ‘Bulkheads’ link.

Could a Modified Headache Rack Make Trucks Safer?

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We are always trying to stay one step ahead in terms of safety here at Mytee Products. In light of that, there was a news article published on an Australian website late in 2017 that warrants further investigation. The article is causing some people to wonder if a modified headache rack could make U.S. trucks safer.

The article in question was published by Wildfire Today. This is a website dedicated to those brave Australian firefighters who battle wildfires down under. Like their American counterparts, these men and women put their lives on the line every day to protect the rest of their country’s citizens.

The point of the article was to highlight a brand-new firefighting vehicle introduced by the Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning. One look at the vehicle clearly shows how much effort designers put into safety. It features a modified headache rack along with a roll bar cage to protect the cab of the truck from collapse in the event of a rollover or a tree falling on it.

The Headache Rack

Previous models of Australia’s firefighting trucks were built with a standard headache rack to protect the cab from horizontal penetration. The new model has been extended to include vertical protection as well. Attached to the top of the rack is a frame with a large plate that covers the top of the truck cab. The frame extends rearward over the front portion of the bed as well, thus offering extra protection for what appears to be a toolbox.

In testing, the modified headache rack did very well. When combined with the internal roll bar cage, it proved itself more than capable of preventing a complete cap collapse. The Australian government is so pleased with the design that they are now thinking of other ways they can implement it.

U.S. Tractor Trailers

Looking at the design of the Australian truck leads some to wonder whether we can do something similar with U.S. tractor trailers. We obviously can build modified headache racks that include an extra plate over the top of the cab. The question is, how effective would such a plate be? Moreover, is the extra protection necessary?

Headache racks on U.S. tractor trailers are designed to provide the same protection against horizontal penetration. When used in concert with a bulkhead, the chances of a tractor trailer cab being impaled by moving freight is slim to none. And yet cab roofs are left unprotected against vertical penetration and rollovers.

Photographs of trucks damaged in rollover accidents tend to make it to the front page of newspapers for many to view. Tractor trailer cabs are just as vulnerable to collapse as smaller trucks and even passenger cars. It would seem as though a modified headache rack coupled with a roll bar cage would be more than adequate for most accidents of this type.

Let the Market Decide

At this point, there doesn’t seem to be much demand among truck drivers for a modified headache rack or an internal roll bar cage. Perhaps they’ve never thought of it before, or perhaps the number of serious accidents involving cab collapse is so low that the extra reinforcement really isn’t warranted.

In the end, the market will ultimately determine whether headache racks are ever modified in the future. Manufacturers will make what their customers want. We know that here at Mytee Products. Among all the headache racks we could stock, we have chosen those models most in demand by our customers. If demand is ever there for modified headache racks with overhead plates, we will have to consider them.

 

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