November 17, 2013
I'm building a permanent power fence. How do I make sure it stays permanently grounded?Use a minimum of three, six-foot long, galvanized steel ground rods, spaced at least 10 feet apart. Drive them into the ground so that only 2 or 3 inches are visible, then securely clamp one continuous galvanized wire to each rod.
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November 15, 2013
Gallagher Fencing Tip: A Well Constructed Power Fence Saves Money
With the drought, cash is tight this year. Can I save money by building a barbed wire fence? No, a barbed wire fence can cost up to $1,000 more per mile to build. A well-constructed power fence can save, too, by keeping your herd contained as well as more secure from predators.
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November 15, 2013
Gallagher Fencing Tip: Which Energizer To Use
I'm building an electric fence but I'm confused by all the power choices.
Which energizer should I use?
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November 15, 2013
I've got a lot of gates. How do I handle running the hot and ground wires past them?
For both the hot and the ground, bury one heavy-duty insulated cable for each about 10 inches deep in a trench under each gate. Make sure it's rated to 20,000 volts minimum or it may leak current with high-power energizers like our Gallagher MR5000.
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November 11, 2013
The Recent Drought Has Dried Out The Soil & My Animals Don't Respect My Power Fence Anymore. What Should I do?
You’re using an “all hot” system where all your fence wires are charged. All hot systems should be used only in areas with 30 inches or more of moisture annually. During a drought, an alternating hot/ground system is a better choice. Make the top wire of your fence hot, then the next one down a ground wire, and so on. Tie the ground wires together with galvanized wire and connect them to ground rods and the ground terminal of your energizer. This system carries the ground to the animal and doesn’t rely on damp soil to make the connection.
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November 10, 2013
Does power fence cost more to build than barbed wire?
No. Materials needed and labor required to build power fence are both significantly less than for barbed wire – up to $1,000 per mile less.
Isn’t power fence intended to be a temporary fence?
High tensile power fence is every bit as permanent as barbed wire.
Is power fence safe for horses?
An equine power fence is one of the safest and most effective fences and training tools you can use for horses. It teaches horses to respect all fences, and when properly designed, it will keep dogs and other unwanted animals out of your horse pasture.
Deer, elk and antelope tear up barbed and net wire fences. Why should I consider a power fence?
Deer, elk and antelope will always win the battle with a traditional fence – it’s a physical barrier that doesn’t match the strength of the wildlife involved. The proper design and post spacing of a power fence allows for a “flexible“ fence, which can take the abuse of the wildlife yet remain intact and control livestock.
What’s the most common cause of power fence failures?
80% of all power fence problems can be traced to inadequate grounding. Your grounding system must be perfect for your fence to perform at its best. After all, it’s half the system.
What does Gallagher recommend for grounding a permanent power fence system?
A minimum of three, six-foot long, galvanized steel ground rods, spaced at least 10 feet apart, and joined with one continuous galvanized wire clamped to the rods.
Can I use copper ground rods?
No. Copper ground rods are not recommended since copper will react with any galvanized steel through electrolysis, and corrode the connection. Gallagher uses only galvanized steel components to avoid this problem.
My animals don’t respect power fences when the soil dries out. What can I do?
You have probably used an all-hot system (all fence wires are charged). Gallagher recommends all-hot systems only in areas with 35 inches or more of moisture per year. A hot/ground system might be a better choice. Make the top wire of your fence hot, then the next one down a ground wire, and so on. Tie the ground wires together with galvanized wire and clamps at the ends, then connect this to the ground rods, and the ground terminal of the energizer. This way, you carry the ground system out to the animal, and are not relying on dry soil to make the connection.
How do I carry the hot and ground past all the gates in my fence?
The best way is to bury heavy-duty insulated cable in a trench about 10 inches deep. Make sure it’s rated to 20,000 volts minimum or it may leak current with today’s high-power energizers. Do not staple it to the post. Remember to carry the ground wire across the gateway also, using the same type of cable. It can be buried in the same trench as the hot cable.
Can I use bare wire to carry the ground under my gates?
No. Use heavy-duty insulated cable for the ground wire. Even good Class III galvanized wire will corrode rapidly when in contact with the soil. Corrosion leads to electricity resistance and soon there is no connection at all.
What should I keep in mind when using high-tensile wire for a permanent power fence?
The two most common errors we see are using too many line posts, and over tensioning the wire. Remember, this isn’t barbed wire. Power fence is a mental barrier for your animals, not a physical one. When using high-tensile wire, it allows for greater line post spacing than conventional wire usually 50 feet as a minimum. Also, don’t over-tighten the wires. You want a flexible system that allows for wildlife impacts, snow loading, etc. Over-building a power fence makes it too rigid, and you lose this benefit. Plus, it costs you more for materials.
Which energizer should I use?
It depends on your situation. Gallagher makes many models with different capabilities. The questions to answer include:
Why does the voltage increase as I move down the fenceline?
The voltage on your fence is greater closer to the end due to what is called the “bounce effect.“ This means that the pulse the energizer has sent down the fence reached the end and is returning back up the fence. It then meets the next pulse coming from the energizer creating a voltage spike or “bounce.“ This really means that your energizer joule rating is more than adequate for your fence load and has a surplus of energy, which is exactly what you want in your system.
Why do some small energizers show higher voltage readings directly out of the energizer than some larger ones?
Voltage merely represents a difference of potential between two electrical points and is only one aspect of overall power. The Joule rating is a true measure of an energizers stored energy or true power.
Is it OK to hook two energizers to the same line to increase power?
No. The components in our energizers are designed for specific voltage and current requirements. Hooking up two or more energizers to the same line will eventually destroy the energizers.
Why is it best to run multiple hot wires instead of just one?
With more wire there is less resistance to current flow in the wires and less of the voltage is dropped in the line itself, which leaves more to shock the animal.
Why is it best to use galvanized grounding rods instead of just driving a large copper pole into the ground since copper is a good conductor?
Bare metals driven into the ground, regardless of their conductivity, are susceptible to oxidation and/or rust. Because power fence energizers emit only a brief, powerful jolt, it is very important that the conductivity of ground rods be maximized to insure that the animal receives a good shock.
Is it OK to hook up a power fence energizer to barbed wire?
No. Animals can become entangled and trapped in the barbed wire, and while the shock emitted by our energizers is not sufficient to kill or seriously wound a farm animal, the stress of being trapped and repeatedly shocked can.
Please order online 24/7 or call VALLEY FARM SUPPLY at 717-786-0368
November 10, 2013
“Why are my animals pushing my electric fence? It was working fine in the spring, and the energizer is still clicking.”
Morgan Renner, Wyoming and Montana Territory Manager for Gallagher, one of the largest electric fencing companies in the world, says this may be the most common question he hears. The problem can usually be solved by checking the most overlooked component of electric fencing: how the system is grounded.
He tells his students at the many hands-on clinics he conducts throughout the west, “There are three things to remember about your electric fence: (1) Grounding, (2) Grounding and (3) Grounding!”
Morgan Explains
All energizers provide a pulse of energy that originates from their ‘hot’ terminal then travels down the fence line on a charged or ‘hot’ wire. Most users understand this aspect of electric fencing. It’s fairly obvious that the hot wires can’t be touching a steel post or laying on the soil surface. What’s not so obvious is that in the instant when an animal comes into contact with that charged wire, its body contains that energy but is not shocked… yet!
In order to provide a shock and thus the respect for the fence, the energy must travel out of the animal’s feet, through the soil, into the energizer’s ground rods, then into the energizer’s ground terminal. At that point, the circuit has been completed, and the animal receives the shock. What I have described is an “all-hot” electric fence, shown below:
What might be wrong with using this type of system in most of west, let’s say in July and August? You guessed it. THE SOIL IS TO DRY! An all-hot electric fence relies totally on adequate soil moisture to complete the circuit between the animal and the energizer’s ground system.
Designing a hot/ground fence
What can we do? Fortunately, there is an alternative design to use here in the arid west. Take the ground system right out to the animal. Connect the energizer’s ground terminal to the ground rods, and then connect the ground rods to a second wire in the fence line, making it a ground wire. We call this a “hot/ground” electric fence and the electron flow in this type of circuit is shown below:
As the animal attempts to penetrate the fence, it bridges the gap between the ‘hot’ and ‘ground’ wires and receives a shock. The electron flow is routed back to the energizer via a conductive wire, not blocked by dry soil. I can tell you from personal experience, this shock is about a hundred times more effective than one from a poorly grounded all-hot system!
Note that we usually recommend at least three, six–foot long galvanized steel ground rods, spaced at least ten feet apart, for these permanent electric fence systems. Think of the ground rods as an “antenna” that collects the energy to form the shock: The bigger the antenna, the greater the shock.
Steel posts or rebar are NEVER adequate grounds! They are either painted or rusted, both of which are very poor conductors. Also, don’t use anything other than galvanized steel in the ground system. Copper components, for example, can cause electrolysis and eventually corrode the system’s connections. Always use a quality galvanized clamp for ground rod AND fence wire connections.
There are a few more design considerations to think about when constructing this type of fence. Let’s go through them. The spacing of the fence wires becomes more important now, because we are trying to deliver the shock to the face of the animal. What happens when the shock is behind the brain of an animal? That’s right, they generally move forward through the fence. Not good!
Research and practical experience has shown the optimal hot/ground wire spacing for horses, cattle, calves, and bison to be ten inches maximum. For smaller species such as goats, sheep and hogs, six inch spacing or less works the best.
Another design consideration is what to do for gateways. Don’t forget to carry the ground across all your gates! You should use the same insulated cable buried in the same trench as you use to carry the hot to the other side. To be effective, the ground system must be connected throughout your fence, all the way to the end. This is illustrated here:
Photo of a 5-wire High-Tensile permanent electric fence used for bull control. The wire polarity from the top wire down is as follows: Hot / Ground / Hot / Ground / Hot.
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November 10, 2013
November 09, 2013
I'm using copper for grounding rods and now I've got a problem with oxidation. How do I solve it? The oxidation is caused by mixing metals - copper with galvanized fencing in this case. When those two metals meet, oxidation will occur. Replace your copper rods with galvanized metal rods. You'll insure good conductivity and maximize the power delivered by your fence's energizer.
Please order online 24/7 or callVALLEY FARM SUPPLYat 717-786-0368
November 09, 2013
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