electric fencing for dummies

Yep, don't touch the tape with your hands when its working! OUCH!

If you can get a solar powered unit then you don't need a battery that you have to make sure is charged up. If you have escape artists then go for the 5ft posts. Good quality tape to conduct the charge and a line tester so that you can check it is working all along the line.
 
Make absolutely sure the tape isn't touching anything, even a bit of bramble is enough to earth it, and as mentioned double check with a line tester if possible. Make sure you site the unit sensibly so you can turn it off and on easily.
 
Use one long run of tape/wire if you can, if you have to join it then use joiners not knots if at all possible

Put the odd post facing inwards if the others are facing outwards (or vice versa) this means if one wire pings off a post there is less chance of it pinging off a whole run of posts

Place the bottom strand on first, this is super important if doing the inwards/outwards facing posts mentioned above but even if you dont do that it makes it a thousand times easier on your back!

Tree stakes are useful to reinforce corners

Make the earth stake as deep as you can and if the weather is dry chuck a couple of buckets of water down on it, this will keep the fence working well

use something to cover up the energiser so the red flashing light doesnt attract light fingered attention.
 
How long are you running the tape for? The strength of the unit will indicate how many metres it will energize. You need an earth stake with battery units. Don't ask me the scientific reason but you need to "ground" the charge or something like that.
 
you definitely need an earth stake even for a 12v battery set up, not sure about those small battery self contained units
 
Do a search on electric fencing and read what they say on some of the major electric fencing manufacturer's sites before you get totally muddled!

The energiser sends a charge down the fence. A body (yours of an animal's) touches the fence. The charge is conveyed to the ground/soil/earth upon which you/animal stands. The charge is conveyed through the earth back to your energiser via the earth stake. For an electrical circuit to work you must have continuity. So, energiser to tape to someone/something touching tape to the ground, then back to the energiser via the earth stake.

http://www.electricfencingkits.co.uk/electric-fence/Electric-Fencing-explained.html

http://www.rappa.co.uk/advice-centre/20-how-electric-fences-work
 
rug~addict said:
Ok. So I have to erect my first lot of electric fencing running off a battery. Are there any dos and donts?
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Some people try & run electric fence just off a battery, don't do it, you must use an energiser. The instructions that come with the energiser will tell you what length of electric tape it will power. Remember that if you run 2 strands of tape then your distance will be halved. Don't have any undergrowth fouling the fence. This will earth the fence, drain the battery & greatly reduce the effectiveness of the fence.
You'll find everything you need to know on the web.

http://www.rutland-electric-fencing.co.uk/PageSupportFAQs.aspx
 
A tip for when you take it down - always roll up onto a reel as it comes down, else you'll end up with a tangled mess that takes hours to sort out!
 
I got mine all set up,horse in.Next day discovered tape/poles scattered.Horse blissfully fast asleep in lush grass after a good bellyfull.The culprits were the sheep the farmer grazed in the same field.Nibbled through the wires on the energiser.!Horse and sheep then pushed their way out /in.The farmers cheery response eyes twinkling, ,"Aye theyre deevils theyll do that alright."!
 
Mister Ted said:
I got mine all set up,horse in.Next day discovered tape/poles scattered.Horse blissfully fast asleep in lush grass after a good bellyfull.The culprits were the sheep the farmer grazed in the same field.Nibbled through the wires on the energiser.!Horse and sheep then pushed their way out /in.The farmers cheery response eyes twinkling, ,"Aye theyre deevils theyll do that alright."!
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Rabbits quite often do that too.
 
I started off with tape and a couple of years later, the tester was revealing breaks in the current. Tape blows in the wind and that can break the filaments - string-like wire is better so long as your horses don't fetch it down and decide to use it as a snare, it doesn't break easily. Rope is best if you have to have a central spine like mine, with branches leading off.
 
Are you fencing a more permanent area? If so don't bother with plastic posts just go straight in with wooden rounds, should be easy to get into the ground this time of year. Gives a much smarter look and are a lot stronger so you can set up a better fence. Plus they can easily be moved if required. This is what I have on an extra bit of grazing I have. Also after years of doing electric fencing I'm now a convert to the turbo rope style much more durable and as JillA mention the filaments in the tape break easily so your current can easily be broken. Just make sure that absolutely nothing touches the fence as it will make a drastic difference to the strength of the shock. Also buy good quality rope/tape/fittings will save money in the long run. Also if you can use leisure batteries as this is the kind of job they are designed for, car batteries will run down quicker. If your using car batteries ideally have 2 - one on the fence whilst one charges. Also make sure you have a charger that will charge a flat battery.
 
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