What does low impedance mean?

A. In non-technical terms, low impedance means the fence charger is designed to effectively shock through vegetation and other foreign matters contacting the charged wire. Vegetation such as grass, weeds, vines, etc., contacting the charged wire tend to impede or stop the flow of electricity by "grounding out" the fence. This is a common problem which exists on most electric fence installations. The low impedance fence charger is a solid-state capacitor discharge design and has enough power to force the shock through vegetation.  more

In non-technical terms, low impedance means the fence charger is designed to effectively shock through vegetation and other foreign matters contacting the charged wire. Vegetation such as grass, weeds, vines, etc., contacting the charged wire tend to impede or stop the flow of electricity by "grounding out" the fence. This is a common problem which exists on most electric fence installations, the low impedance fencer is a solid-state capacitor discharge design and has enough power to force the shock through vegetation. The best low impedance fencers have an on-time of less than 100 micro-seconds (100 millionths of a second) with a pulse rate of approximately 55 times per minute. 3. Q. Does Parmak Manufacture low impedance models? Yes. The Parmak models DF-LI, DF-SP-LI, Mag 12 U.O., Mag 12-SP, HS-100, FM, Mark 6 and S.E.3 are low impedance, UL listed models. See Parmak's full line brochure for details on these and other top quality Parmak fencers. 4. Q. What is a Joule? The joule is a ...  more

A. Low impedance fence controllers have the capability of increasing their energy output as fence load increases. This means as weeds touch the fence and draw voltage and amperage to earth, a low impedance fence will begin to produce higher amounts of energy or joules. These higher energy levels will overcome the voltage and current loss caused by the weeds and maintain energy levels on the fence for controlling animals. Q. What is a "solid state" fence charger? A. Solid state refers to the high-impedance-type fence charger. High-impedance fence controllers do not have the capability of increasing their output energy as fence load increases the way low-impedance fences do. High-impedance fences cannot overcome high levels of fence load; they "short out" when too many weeds touch the fence. Q. How long will a solar fence operate without direct sunlight? A. Any fence controller used during extended periods of cloudy weather (usually 2 weeks or longer) should be turned off to allow the ...  more