Has anyone ever used a Dare fence charger?

VA Shepherd · #1 09/14/11, 09:16 AM

I have three fence chargers at the moment:

A Zareba that I got from craigslist for $10 that works great; I've had it longer than the rest.

A Stafix from Kencove that can be plugged in to an outlet or connected to a deep cycle marine battery (great for hurricane season); that one's new but it's been very handy for outages and has exceeded my expectations.

And the problem child, a Dare that I bought from AgriSupply last October. About 2 months ago, it started making sizzling noises

and instead of pulsing it was sending juice through the fence uninterrupted. AgriSupply said bring it in, we'll fix it, no problem, no charge. Well, they fixed it, but it took a few weeks, and even though they gave me a loaner that meant two trips there & back, at $35 a trip in gas. And yesterday, it just completely gave up the ghost, no clicks, sparks, sizzles, or pulses, just dead.

AS is going to fix it again (while I wait, this time), and they assure me that Dare is top of the line and it must have been struck by lightning

, but I am not impressed. Did I get a lemon, or is this the way it goes with Dares? I know a lot of people hate Zareba, and the next one I buy will almost certainly be another Stafix, but I'd like to know if this is standard. This is the last time I'm having it fixed, I can promise you that.

Otherwise, I love AgriSupply, they have great customer service, but so does Kencove.....

debd0712 · #2 09/14/11, 10:25 AM

I have had a Dare charger for about 6 years and been very happy with it. The only trouble I have had is when it got hit by lightening. I contacted Dare directly and they were wonderful to work with. I had the part in 2 days, and person I worked with gave me his personal phone numbers in case I had any difficulty installing the part. My warranty was for a year and Dare stood behind it. The charger does seem to be very sensitive to lightening - mine got hit 3 times the first year and once since then. I ended up unplugging and disconnecting charger whenever there were thunderstorms in the area which was highly inconvenient. I have since installed an approximately 100' lightening choke and not experienced any further problems. You might try contacting Dare and see what they recommend. Good luck!

agmantoo · #3 09/14/11, 10:37 AM

debd0712

If you do not have a surge protector on the charger add one. A charger can be damaged from the mains as well as lightning coming in on the fence.

Bearfootfarm · #4 09/14/11, 11:31 AM

I have a couple of Dares that have had no problems in about 4 years of constant use

debd0712 · #5 09/15/11, 12:12 PM

agmantoo,

Thanks for the info. I do have surge protector, arrestor, sufficient grounding rods, etc on fence in addition to choke.

VA Shepherd · #6 09/15/11, 06:29 PM

Thanks for weighing in; turns out the circuit board was bad. Not a very informative diagnosis, but it's up & running now. And they said that if it needs fixing again, they'll pay to ship it there & back again, as long as it's under warranty (2 more years). Like I said, I love AgSupply, but I probably won't be buying any more Dares.