Any electric fencing experts?

Suby2

Suby2

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17 May 2009
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I have an old energiser which although the cables have been repaired has worked perfectly well for many years. It runs off of a car battery.

It has been 'ticking' more loudly recently and when I go up in the dark I can see sparks appearing at random spots on the electric tape. The tape at these spots look perfectly normal with no breaks or damage. The clip on the fence sometimes sparks as well. Does anyone kniow what is causing this?
 
The fence is shorting out somewhere along its length! Just try disconnecting the clip to the tape does the unit sound normal now? However 99.9% certain the tape is running to earth at some point you just need to find where. A common occurence with horse owners are gate handles left on the ground.
 
Old tape which is stretched has very small breaks in tin thread, everytime the tape bends in the wind it bends the threads of metal and they will eventually break. The flashs are the shorting between the break, if you have a high enough voltage it will blacken the tape with the heat generated. The louder ticking is also a sign of shorting out.
I would replace all the tape with a good quality with some copper in it, it conducts a lot better.
 
White tape has thin stainless steel wires running through it to carry the current and deliver the shock. Could some of these be broken so the resistance of the tape is increased? I notice my fencer seems to click louder when it is not connected to the fence. Also, check your earth stake, though that is less likely to be a problem with the current wet weather. Check joints? A good electric fence tester is a really good investment so you can check the fence along it's length. Some will even indicate in which direction you need to look to find a fault. Sparks would indicate a poor contact and so suggest a fault. You get a spark when the electricity is jumping a gap. You don't want gaps!
 
Thank you for the replies so far. I will put my detective hat on and try to find where it is earthing. It is only enclosing a small area as my pony is on restricted grazing.
 
The conducting part of tape or cord will break in the middle sometimes and the sparks are the current arcing across the small gap. If its just the odd bit put a joint clamp over it to bridge the gap, or break and rejoin with a clamp/clip. If there are several in a section, its easier to replace it.
 
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