Electric fencing

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Vodkagirly

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Can someone give me a beginners guide to electric fencing? I have too much grass and need to section off a paddock and all the options are making my head spin. Needs to be battery as no mains electricity. Approximately 40 metres. How many posts do you think? Any recommendations for brands/suppliers?
 
I have just moved and bought a solar energiser as it seemed the best option having previously had a mains one, it was easy to set up, needs no charging or messing about with, not the cheapest but pleased with it so far, you will need to buy an earthing stake, this was the best price I found, delivey was free so it was better than some and arrived very quickly..

http://www.molevalleyfarmers.com/mvf/store/products/gallagher-s16-solar-powered-fencing-energiser

Then you need about 1 post every 5 metres, a reel of tape which is usually 200 m so you can double it if required, shop around as I have not needed to buy tape or posts.
 
I can thoroughly recommend Agri-Supply on Ebay for posts, tape and energiser or Farmcare UK
Next day delivery @£6.95 for as much kit as you buy. WAY cheaper than buying from an equine or farm shop (like half the price)
 
I post between 5-8 strides, it's not much so you won't need a particularly beefy energiser even if tape. Earths are very important, even if energiser has a stand a long proper earth stake is often worth it particularly in dry weather.
 
In this dry weather I slosh some water around the ground stake every couple of days. I've just bought an energiser with built in ground stake, and a leisure battery. Apparently you shouldn't use a car battery as it can damage the energiser (although I'm not sure why).

This is the energiser I just bought:
https://www.throstlenestsaddlery.co.uk/wolseley-mosquito-energiser.html I really like it as it has the LEDs that display line strength and battery life.
 
Very basic introduction: The fence works by building up a strong charge on the electric fence (created by the energiser). When the horse touches the fence, it closes the circuit and gets a shock. The circuit is between earth stake (ground) - energiser - tape - horse - ground. The horse basically closes the gap between tape and ground, completing the circuit. Anything else making contact between ground and tape (grass, tape touching wooden posts etc.) will weaken the shock. Also, the resistance of the tape, handles etc. will also sap energy from the circuit.

So, for an effective fence, you want a strong energiser and tape that conducts well. The shorter the fenceline, the less power you need. However, If you can't build up at least 8000V or so on the fence, the zap will be too weak if you have a persistent horse. By that I mean, if I touch a fence with 8000V, I can't help but jump, even when I'm expecting the shock. With less voltage, you get a zap, but it's fairly tolerable. Depends on the horse whether they need a proper shock, or a gentle reminder will keep them away from the fence.

The "output joules" on the energiser tell you how much charge it can build up. I would buy one with around 1 Output Joule. The solar energiser linked above only has 0.1J, and many of the small, portable energisers with internal batteries are weak as well (e.g. Shrike 0.03V on D-cell batteries). These are fine for a small travel paddock, but I wouldn't buy one to section off a field longer term, especially when the other side has the good grass.
When you buy tape, look at the resistance (in Ohm). The lower the resistance, the more zap your fence will have. As usual, higher quality stuff will cost you more.
My experience with fencing equipment is that if you buy poor quality, you buy twice. And energisers break. A good warranty (at least 2 years) is worth it when you shop around.
I've bought from https://www.ukcountrystore.co.uk previously, and they've had great service when I've had to send a broken energiser back under warranty. You could have a look at some of their starter kits and compare. They start at around 120GBP, but you have options to upgrade to stronger energisers or taller/different posts. Any of the options for stronger energisers will require a separate 12V leisure battery though, which will cost extra (and a charger that can charge your 12V battery).
 
I get my posts and tape , and any insulators, gate handles etc. from Voss, they are really good, have a very helpful explanation on their site of the layout of fencing, and sell kits, I believe. I have a hotline A8 energiser which is about 15 years old now, I use a car battery and always have done. I'm going to change to mains, and will be buying another Hotline energiser, as A8 is battery only. Second the importance of keeping the earth post in damp soil.
 
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I use the portable D battery energizers and have been for years. I often have two or three separate electric fences up in different areas at once and these are the cheapest and simplest solution. From personal experience I can tell you they deliver a nasty shock, enough to keep our heavyweight cobs petrified to go near the fence.
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supsup said:
My experience with fencing equipment is that if you buy poor quality, you buy twice.
Click to expand...
This.
I bought tape and posts from agri supply this year. Can't fault the sales process/
delivery, but the quality is poor to say the least. My mum bought different tape and posts and said they were shockingly bad - asked her who she bought from and turns out it was also agri supply, as they were cheapest.
It's worth paying extra upfront.
 
BeckyFlowers said:
In this dry weather I slosh some water around the ground stake every couple of days. I've just bought an energiser with built in ground stake, and a leisure battery. Apparently you shouldn't use a car battery as it can damage the energiser (although I'm not sure why).

This is the energiser I just bought:
https://www.throstlenestsaddlery.co.uk/wolseley-mosquito-energiser.html I really like it as it has the LEDs that display line strength and battery life.
Click to expand...

I've always known it as more of a battery issue, ie car batteries are not intended to run down to zero and be charged up again, leisure batteries are, though OP might be fine with one of the shrike D-cell battery ones anyway.

I will also say it is worth spending more on tape. Our gallagher and hotline tape is 15ish years old now, the cheap stuff barely managed a couple of years.
 
chaps89 said:
This.
I bought tape and posts from agri supply this year. Can't fault the sales process/
delivery, but the quality is poor to say the least. My mum bought different tape and posts and said they were shockingly bad - asked her who she bought from and turns out it was also agri supply, as they were cheapest.
It's worth paying extra upfront.
Click to expand...
I've been buying from Agri-Supply for years, some of my 4ft posts from them are now at least 10 years old possibly older. I recently bough extra 5ft posts and they are SOLID and cost £44.90 inc P&P for 20, my local agri merchant would charge £4-5 plus each.
My original 5 ft posts from them were bought in 2013 and are still going strong.
I agree their tape isn't the best quality but I use 2 or 3 strands of tape and like it very tight so I accept it won't last forever.
 
I've switched to pigtail posts for sectioning off small paddocks - they have double prongs, so stay in the ground better - I just had to use the claw bit of a hammer to pull some out, as they were so firmly bedded in! They also wobble instead of bending/being pulled out, and the tape goes across the top, so horses can't grab the top to pull them out (and they'd struggle to pull them out anyway!) The tops of mine are plastic coated, so I have no concerns about a horse spiking itself on them.
 
I have a post every length of the height of the fencing posts. So if the fencing posts are 5 feet high they are spaced every 5 feet from each other. I also have them at 180 degrees to each other so that in gusts of high winds there is less chance of the fencing coming off the posts. Also buy two identical leisure batteries and a car battery charger so that you always have a spare fully charged. Always ensure that no vegetation touches the electric fencing (you would be surprised how quickly it grows) as otherwise the current will short to earth and it will not be as effective and also drain the battery. The posts I use are Agrifence H4780 140cm Megapost White Qty 40 H4780 as they seem to last longer and have a foot tread on each side which makes it easier to place them in the ground. On corners put 3 posts very close together as otherwise if you just put one on a corner it will bend.
 
As someone who has managed to kill several leisure batteries by deep-discharging them, I would add that it's a very nice feature to have an energiser that will automatically switch itself off if voltage drops below about 11V. Yes, leisure batteries might take the charge/discharge cycle better than car batteries, but you can still kill them if the energiser keeps pulling charge while e.g. touching wet grass/ground (e.g. fence tape got pulled/blown down), even moreso in cold weather.
BTW, I also have a Shrike and really like it as a travel energiser. I just wouldn't trust it for semi-permanent fencing in a field. But maybe that has to do with having a pony with several inches of coat and loads of mane, which makes for pretty good insulation.
 
There will be one near you www.screwfix.com just tap in electric fencing i suggest the 20mm tape with 9 conductor strands tape is more visible but some people think the rope is more effective they have both battery and solar powered energises 4 ft and 5 ft posts (1.2m and1.5m)
 
When buying your conductor always look at the amount of resitance it has, the better quality ones will have a lower resitance which means they need lose less power, measured in Ohms, the lower the number the better. A narrow tape with the same amount of conductors as a wide one gives a greater chance of getting a shock.
Always buy a bigger energiser than you think you need, because if it earths out anywhere, the worst thing is wet grass,a part from metal, the chances are there will be enough power to keep them off the fence.
All of the suppliers mentioned are good, but I like Voss because for the quality of the product for the price, far cheaper that your local merchant, the information given and choice of products. It only takes about 3 days to delivery.
 
Auslander said:
I've switched to pigtail posts for sectioning off small paddocks - they have double prongs, so stay in the ground better - I just had to use the claw bit of a hammer to pull some out, as they were so firmly bedded in! They also wobble instead of bending/being pulled out, and the tape goes across the top, so horses can't grab the top to pull them out (and they'd struggle to pull them out anyway!) The tops of mine are plastic coated, so I have no concerns about a horse spiking itself on them.
Click to expand...

and you can get fittings to add a second line.

facing posts in opposite directions for the wind is one of those things I always think everyone does will remember to mention it on electric fence threads :D
 
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I have tracked my field & basically have a full circle in the middle charged off a solar panel which has been excellent so far, a lot easier than dealing with normal batteries.
 
I got a solar energiser and battery all in one last year, I think it cost around 170 but it's been great.
You do need a 1m earth stake, good luck digging that in in the dry weather we've had!
 
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