I had been told a while back to just shut my solar powered fencer off when the snow came, based on the understanding that when the bottom wires are covered in snow, it just shorts and drains the battery.
I replaced the battery in one unit this year, and the other is only a season old. I'm wondering if any of you folks who are using solar-powered fencers could let me know what you follow for winter procedures. It's probably safe to shut mine off now, (bears should be in hibernation, and I don't think the cold is the best for running these gel-cell batteries in) but I wanted to hold out as long as I could. I also don't want to be destroying my batteries over the winter and having to replace them every season. One should be able to get more than a season out of a battery, I just don't have the documentation that shows 'winter care and operation'. One of my mentors had told me that it was as simple as turning them off when the snow began to fly, and turning them back on when the snow melts.
Surely someone else out there has had to deal with this >>> Would anyone to share their experience?