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Electric Branding Iron

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High Plains

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I need to purchase an electric branding iron. I've never had one before and I'd appreciate some advice on the best brand name or company to work with on this. If there are any additional particulars to be aware of or to consider I'd sure appreciate that too. I need a cow-sized iron for immediate needs but in my ideal world I would like one that was medium-sized that would work on cows or calves. I realize that's not too realistic since the two different sized animals really need to have different irons applied. Still, I wonder if anyone goes that route. We don't brand our calves but do brand replacements that will stay in the herd. I don't really know what measurements are most common but I did see six inch and three inch options on one web site. Any thoughts or comments would be helpful.

HP
 
HP, these guys are in North Dakota and have a good reputation.
http://www.lhbrandingirons.com/index.asp
I use a custom made iron that came out of Edmonton (I will check the name in the morning) It is bigger than a calf brand and smaller than a cow brand (again I will measure in the morning) that I use on both. It is a box with an R inside and the R is raise up an 1/8 or so as to not be too hot. I had our version of Sparky modify it after the first year use. They are a bit tricky to get used to the heat. We have a steel pail that it can hang in when it need more heat or on top when it needs cooling down. Once used to it you can lay a nice consistent just right brand every time.
 
i bought mine from the outfit per mentioned, L & H Branding Irons. i believe mine has 4 inch letters. i've used it mainly for cows, but looks fine on calves aswell.
 
Our electric iron came from the same mysterious place as Per's, custom made somewhere near Edmonton.

It is 3 1/2 inches high and works on all sizes of cattle. This was the first year for electric and I sure didn't miss the roar of a propane torch all day.
 
Thanks for all of the information and leads. This ought to be enough to get me going in the right direction. This is the best place to get solid advice from folks I can trust.

HP
 
Have had mine from L & H have had some issues with it but not to bad. Dad had to order a new brand and he went throught Husky I think they are out of Arkansas. The nice thing about them it only took 48 hrs to get the brands made and sent to us.
 
MY opinion:
The company who makes the iron may not be as important as the size of the iron. Generaly I would say get one a bit smaller then your fire heated iron to use on calves. My fire heatd iron was 4 inch, it had letters aove a bar, the bar was a seperat iron, it worked well. The electric iron is all in one. I had it also made 4 inch. It is a little tricky to get a good brand on calves unless they are a little bigger. If you are careful it will work. If I still intended to stay in the cattle business I would get a 3 inch iron. The 4 inch iron may be a little small for older animals. I have used it on bulls, but usually don't get the brand I like.
 
Looks like the price is the same through Husky and L&H companies. $105 for a two-character brand. So now I don't really have any reason to differentiate between these two companies besides votes from happy and unhappy customers here on Ranchers.net. I see that Justin talks about a 4" brand and Gcreek says 3 1/2". Guess I'll wait to hear from Per to maybe break the tie. Half an inch isn't too big a deal either way, so now we're getting pretty specific with details. Suppose 3 1/2" is a little closer to middle of the road size for use on calves. Thanks again to you posters and anyone else that wants to weigh in would be great.

Wish I had enough of my own personal cows to worry about wearing out a branding iron. Not likely to happen very soon for me. :cry:

HP
 
OK the box is 5" x 4 1/4 and the R inside is 3" long. Like I said it is custom sized. The place is El Toro Manufacturing in Sherwood Park Alberta. (Edmonton). What ever size you use will look just fine. I know there are regs up here that specify and mine is a little big for calves according to them but I can always claim they grew since they were branded. :)
 
Per, I can see how your box would need to be plenty big so that the R can be big enough so as not to blotch.

HP
 
I have 2 electric R's, one separate and one inside the box. Both are 2 3/4's long and 1 3/4 wide. No blotching or such, they work well.
 

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