Electric fencing help?

milesjess

milesjess

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I have set up my fencing and get a current about 3/5 of the way round. I think I just need more charge to complete the circuit and it's just weak.

I have an energiser but was also going to run it off a car battery but I'm not sure how?
 
Generally speaking, Electric Fences fail for one of 3 reasons;

1. An ineffective or unsuitable 'Earth'. You will need AT LEAST 3' of steel post driven in to the ground and a NON-rust covered connection between the terminal end and the stake itself.

2. Interference from any contact with the fence which actually touches the wire, and shortens it.

3. A loose wire fence. The wire needs to be tight for a decent contact to be made with the animal (victim)!

Fully charged car batteries will work very well.

Alec.
 
Your energiser must be manufactured to accept a 12v battery. It will have leads to attach to the battery. Red wires to red terminal, black to black. A mains energiser will not work from a battery (unless it is a dual volt energiser)

Current only going a portion of the fence sounds like you have a break in the conductor. If the energiser was too small the current would be low all the way around.

What is the joule rating of your energiser? What is the current reading before attaching to the fence?
 
Alec Swan said:
Generally speaking, Electric Fences fail for one of 3 reasons;

1. An ineffective or unsuitable 'Earth'. You will need AT LEAST 3' of steel post driven in to the ground and a NON-rust covered connection between the terminal end and the stake itself.

2. Interference from any contact with the fence which actually touches the wire, and shortens it.

3. A loose wire fence. The wire needs to be tight for a decent contact to be made with the animal (victim)!

Fully charged car batteries will work very well.

Alec.
Click to expand...

Alec,

Apologies, jumping into this post, as I have a similar issue. My big energiser is giving weak output. We unscrewed and re did the connections, and it improved, and a few weeks later tailed off. Good, fully charged Leisure battery, new tape – no joins, earths or knots, earth stick, wet ground.

I think the connections are wet and rusty. Alec (and others), can I bring it indoors, dry it, rub with wire wool, and then re assemble and dry all connections with lots of WD40, and then smear in Vaseline? Is that a good idea. Does that help or insulate connections? Might I make it worse?

I have to build a plastic post and tape fence on a hill to divide two groups of horses over winter (one is disrespectful of fencing).

I am planning three lines of new tape on the dividing fence. Four battery powered energisers (that I already have). One on each strand of new unbroken tape. One on the corral at the bottom which has wooden fence posts. I have 4 long earth stakes.

I need cable and crocodile clips to connect them. Any recommendations where from? I can connect more than one earth stake in series, along the fence?

Aim is to give the horse a strong enough pelt that he leaves fence alone. I have two big energisers, and two leisure batteries, and two smaller energisers that take D batteries.

Also can you productively have more than one energiser on same line of fencing, or do then cancel each other out?

Many thanks
 
"Apologies, jumping into this post, as I have a similar issue. My big energiser is giving weak output. We unscrewed and re did the connections, and it improved, and a few weeks later tailed off. Good, fully charged Leisure battery, new tape – no joins, earths or knots, earth stick, wet ground.

I think the connections are wet and rusty. Alec (and others), can I bring it indoors, dry it, rub with wire wool, and then re assemble and dry all connections with lots of WD40, and then smear in Vaseline? Is that a good idea. Does that help or insulate connections? Might I make it worse?"

How did you test the output? Is the output weak when tested directly from the energiser, or on the fence itself? Smearing vaseline, or another petroleum jelly product, will help to prevent corrosion (this is usually done on the terminals when you put a new battery in a vehicle and should be redone from time to time). Cleaning the terminals with a wire brush is also a good idea. WD-40 is a magical product that only does good and will not do any harm.

"I have to build a plastic post and tape fence on a hill to divide two groups of horses over winter (one is disrespectful of fencing).

I am planning three lines of new tape on the dividing fence. Four battery powered energisers (that I already have). One on each strand of new unbroken tape. One on the corral at the bottom which has wooden fence posts. I have 4 long earth stakes."

Why tape specifically and what is the length of the fencing that you're planning on doing? Tape is the least conductive of all the fencing products, so I would recommend 6mm rope, if you're doing long distances. The more expensive rope will have copper in it, which is very conductive.

"I can connect more than one earth stake in series, along the fence?" - yes, you can and it's a good idea, if they are all connected to one energiser.

"Also can you productively have more than one energiser on same line of fencing, or do then cancel each other out?"

No, you cannot do this. The more powerful one will probably damage the other, or both will be damaged. You would have to put them on separate lines. Like one energiser powering line 1, another energiser powering line 2 and so forth. Then you would have to make sure that the lines never touch each other anywhere.

I am not sure why you need 4 energisers, and hence why I am asking about the length of the fencing. My big Rutland 12 volt unit can do 35 kilometers, if there is no vegetation touching the line. In reality I use it for approximately 2.5 miles of fencing without any issues with 2 x 1 metre earth stakes (or it could be 3, I can't remember how many I put in now)
 
Sebastian said:
"Apologies, jumping into this post, as I have a similar issue. My big energiser is giving weak output. We unscrewed and re did the connections, and it improved, and a few weeks later tailed off. Good, fully charged Leisure battery, new tape – no joins, earths or knots, earth stick, wet ground.

I think the connections are wet and rusty. Alec (and others), can I bring it indoors, dry it, rub with wire wool, and then re assemble and dry all connections with lots of WD40, and then smear in Vaseline? Is that a good idea. Does that help or insulate connections? Might I make it worse?"

How did you test the output? Is the output weak when tested directly from the energiser, or on the fence itself? Smearing vaseline, or another petroleum jelly product, will help to prevent corrosion (this is usually done on the terminals when you put a new battery in a vehicle and should be redone from time to time). Cleaning the terminals with a wire brush is also a good idea. WD-40 is a magical product that only does good and will not do any harm.

"I have to build a plastic post and tape fence on a hill to divide two groups of horses over winter (one is disrespectful of fencing).

I am planning three lines of new tape on the dividing fence. Four battery powered energisers (that I already have). One on each strand of new unbroken tape. One on the corral at the bottom which has wooden fence posts. I have 4 long earth stakes."

Why tape specifically and what is the length of the fencing that you're planning on doing? Tape is the least conductive of all the fencing products, so I would recommend 6mm rope, if you're doing long distances. The more expensive rope will have copper in it, which is very conductive.

"I can connect more than one earth stake in series, along the fence?" - yes, you can and it's a good idea, if they are all connected to one energiser.

"Also can you productively have more than one energiser on same line of fencing, or do then cancel each other out?"

No, you cannot do this. The more powerful one will probably damage the other, or both will be damaged. You would have to put them on separate lines. Like one energiser powering line 1, another energiser powering line 2 and so forth. Then you would have to make sure that the lines never touch each other anywhere.

I am not sure why you need 4 energisers, and hence why I am asking about the length of the fencing. My big Rutland 12 volt unit can do 35 kilometers, if there is no vegetation touching the line. In reality I use it for approximately 2.5 miles of fencing without any issues with 2 x 1 metre earth stakes (or it could be 3, I can't remember how many I put in now)
Click to expand...

Thanks, Sebastian.

One of the horses seems to have a spectacular lack of respect for electric fencing. Hence wanting the fence to be as live as possible. The distance to fence is one straight line, so if single lines for tape, I am estimating easily under 500 metres.

Prior to this horse (young horse, not mine) all the others left fence totally alone, no problems. I am worried this problem horse will knock fence down at top of hill (out of direct sight line, and my horses will get tangled in it (as mine live out on one side). I am also conscious that horses will be wearing rugs. So the stronger the zap the better.

Is rope as safe as tape if horse gets tangled in it? Both doesn’t easily break and can sever tendons if wrapped in it. Are the risks equal? And does Rope attach well to normal plastic fence posts? Or might it be too thick to hook on? I do need to buy more tape, so could buy rope instead and do a top line of rope.

Regarding using WD40 and vaseline, are both insulators? So if I got them inbetween the wire, the screw and the washer where the connections are, they connection would drop off? Or is this not a problem? Do I wire brush, fully tighten, then spray and coat in vaseline. Making sure none on the inside?

I am certain problem is energiser connections, not sure which ones.
 
WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement. It displaces water (moisture) and helps to prevent corrosion. Vaseline will also help to prevent corrosion by preventing the chemical reaction between water and oxygen that creates rust. Even air with more than 50% humidity is enough moisture for the reaction to occur, so actual water is not required.

If the inside is looking a bit worse for wear, or you suspect moisture is an issue, then I would spray the inside of the energiser with WD-40. Regarding vaseline, you should make the metal to metal connection first and then smear some vaseline, if corrosion is visible and a problem, but I would not do this and I do not bother my energisers. Have you tested the output directly on the energiser?

"Is rope as safe as tape if horse gets tangled in it? Both doesn’t easily break and can sever tendons if wrapped in it. Are the risks equal?" In my experience after switching to rope from tape a couple of years ago, it is just as safe and, since it results in more powerful "zap" to the horse, they learn to respect it quickly.

"And does Rope attach well to normal plastic fence posts? "

Yes, standard horse plastic fence posts have slots that the 6 mm rope fits into perfectly

IMG_2599_zpse92ec36b.jpg


The top slot is for tape, the next is for rope, and so it goes. You can also easily thread the end of the rope through the tape slots, but getting the rope in and out of the tape slots by pushing it in, or pulling it out, is hard work and usually results in damaging the rope. I hope that is clear.

Finally, I forgot to ask how will the fence be joined at each end? For such a long run, I would expect it to be joined to a wooden post, or at least a metal one, like this

ScaledImage.aspx
 
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Lots of good advice above and here's one more tip. Make a very small paddock large enough for one horse and put as much power as you have available through the perimeter fence. The idea is to train your horse to avoid electric fencing. Believe me, if they get a big enough zap, they won't be back for a repeat performance! Would you? :)

Then go over your fence with a fine toothed comb looking for weak spots and shorts. Even though I've been using electric fencing for at least 20 years. low power in my fence was traced to the stupid mistake of making a connection on the wrong side of an insulator!
 
bouncing_ball said:
Belated, reply, thanks, much appreciated.

Does 6mm rope like this work? http://shop.electricfencing.co.uk/shop/42/53/66/paddock-rope

Do you have a link to suitable end posts?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

That type of rope will be fine, when comparing rope, the lower the conductivity figure is the better the rope (and more expensive) The lower the Ohms/metre is, the more electricity it will carry and deliver an effective sting.

For example:- Where an energizer is used to charge 1.3 km of fence using a good conductor (0.3 Ohms/meter) it will draw far less energy from your battery or mains than when using a poor conductor (10 Ohms/m.);- your batteries will last far longer. If you have a low powered energiser you will be able to put more rope of good conductivity than a poor conductor.

The type of conductor used in the rope/tape, stainless steel or copper, does not matter - the conductivity does. Many companies don't quote conductivity.

The other thing to think about. Sunlight breaks down plastic so plastic has to be protected by including a barrier. Not many of the cheap ones give a guarantee.

End posts are normally wood, or metal with insulators on. Generally freely available everywhere. Plastic posts are great in the line but useless at the ends and corners where tension is applied. They WILL bend under tension.
 
Thanks. Can you provide an online link to an end post suitable for rope? At other end of fence I have a wooden post. Are there rope screw in connectors like you get for tape? Link if possible? Can I loop and knot rope to slip it into connector? Final question my energiser has a metal clip for attaching to tape fence. Will these bend round rope? Or do I need special connector for linking energiser to rope?

Many, many thanks!
 
Ensure that your energiser has enough muscle and ensure that the two battery terminals are kept thoroughly clean and all the corrosion/oxides are regularly removed (once a fortnight). (You can use steel wool to clean them or buy a battery terminal rotary tool from a car accessory shop). Also keep the crocodile clips of the energiser clean. Use good quality electric fencing tape as the cheaper ones (even when brand new) have a high resistance which causes the voltage to drop. (Some of the cheaper fence posts are made from re-cycled plastic which because of the impurities contained within them allow the current to pass through them to earth).
 
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