# Electric fencing problem.... help!!!!



## merlinsquest (27 July 2007)

Right, my friend and I set up two fields with leccy fencing today with very different results.

1. My field was fenced with tape which was not new but was in fairly good condition... a good few joins (knots) but not earthing or in any way interrupted.

2. Friends field fenced with new fencing kit, no joins etc.

Used friends new electric unit to test both fences.

Hers was brilliant, nearly took your hand off.  Mine was crap, didnt electrify much at all.  It zapped you right the way down the middle of the field and half way back on the second line, but wouldnt go round the other half (outside fenceline) even though the unit was placed on that side of the gateway (so know the gate is ok).

So would you......... Hope the horses touch the zappy bit and be wary of the rest, or re-tape the whole lot at vast expense, or run a line of good zappy new tape round the top line of the fence and leave the unzappy stuff for the lower lines for effect.

Any other ideas as to why mine doesnt work.... I always thought it was ok to join the tape by knotting it, but does this reduce the zapp quality at all??

Please help me, I am soooooo jealous of her zappy field


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## clipertyplop (27 July 2007)

The more knots you have the less effective it becomes. You can join fencing by knotting as long as you join the wires that go though it, knotting alone is less effective, also make sure you have a good earthing post at least a foot into the ground, walk the perimiter of the fence if you hear any ticking noise this means the power is going to earth, hope this helps


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## lilym (27 July 2007)

knots  weaken the zap as they ruin the conductors in the tape, TBH i would retape, i had to do this with bosses leccy fence as he had knots and joins all over the shop and it wasn't working properly, you can buy tape buckles for a proper conductive join.


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## Stinkbomb (27 July 2007)

not sure if you have thought of this but have you got an energiser that is powerful enough for the overall length of your tape? Although my field is relatively small i have 5 strands of electric fencing thus i need the highest CP500 energiser!!! You could have the best fence in the world but if your energiser isnt powerful enough its a waste of time! 
Sorry if you have thought of this already. Failing that i would invest in new tape, you can get it cheaper on ebay.


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## merlinsquest (27 July 2007)

Thanks guys.... I think the retape of the top line will be in order..... the field is about 10 acres and i have put a dividing fence down the middle and along one half side of the field.... not sure how long that is but the energiser is man enough for 4km  its a fenceman 250... so with only two tapes i think thats enough???? but stand to be corrected 
	
	
		
		
	


	





The cheapest i can find 20mm tape is 18.99 for 400m..... is that the best it will get???

Or could i go down to the 12mm tape???  I did read tonight that the 40mm tape is not recommeded for plastic posts as the wind resistance loosens them!!  Now i never knew that... there is me trying to put all the thick tape along the top line so that it was more visible...... Doh!! its prob all on the floor now as its really windy in his field


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## Toby_Zaphod (28 July 2007)

To be honest the worse thing you can do is join electric tape or rope by knotting. In the tape there can be anything from 3 to 6 wires. When you knot there is no guarantee that you have connected all of the wires together, some may not have made contact. Then the next knot you again have the same problem &amp; the wires you may have connected may be dead from no power getting to them from the previous not. As result after a couple of knots your fence will probably have no power running through it. If you do use second hand electriv rope ot tape you really need to invest in some good connectors or you will probably be wasting your time like you appear to have.  
	
	
		
		
	


	





This link may help:
http://www.electricfence-online.co.uk/ishop/1047/shopscr20.html#7


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## __Annie__ (28 July 2007)

QR
also check no vegetation is touching the tape , this also drains your zap!


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## mrhsaddler (28 July 2007)

I gave up using tape as the powered wire, I now use cattle wire as the powered line and have tape a few inches below the top wire but above the bottem wire, so the horses can see the fence, I also have 3 earthing stakes in a triangle set about 6 feet apart to make the fence more effective. I have tapped into the neighbours electric supply (yes they do know)and now have a mains fencer after our battery one was nicked. Mains fencers dont cost much more but give out far more power.


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## Perissa (28 July 2007)

When I bought my new energiser they guy told me that a lot of people don 't realise (I didn't until he said) that you must take into account how many strands of wire is in your tape.  You may have 1km of tape but it takes 4km of power if it has 4 strands of wire running through it.


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## merlinsquest (28 July 2007)

Hi,

Went out an bought a roll of wire/rope stuff and put two strands on the fence.... left the tape on and made sure none was touching so that it didnt earth.  Got friend to test it and POW it nearly took her arm off.... hope to god that the horses dont touch it.......

So thats one half done, just got to do the other side of the gateway now!!!

Thanks to you all for your suggestions 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 silly me didnt realise it was bad to knot the tape/wire....... still you learn something new everyday...... head explodes with new information!!!!!!!!!!


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## Enfys (30 July 2007)

Mananzwa,      "I seen some rubbish printed here"  That comment was a little confusing, is that in the posts above yours or in the content of yours? Do you use the agrisellex products then?


Personally I don't think it matters what colour or width your wire is when it comes to visibility. 

Horses are not thick, as we all know, they know what fence posts are for and expect a wire to be there. For horses that have not experienced electric fencing then I show them the wire and let them get on with it.

 I have mains powered hot wire which is metal, not coloured at all, the horses can see it (all 5 strands of it) and only try to go through it once if at all. I also have 2" yellow electric tape and white rope style wire, it makes no difference to their reaction to it.

Then again, you will get horses that will run through anything, my arab mare takes absolutely no notice of any electric tape/wire, single or multiple wire, if it is on movable poles. She just steps back, picks her spot and gallops through it. I can't decided whether she is plain daft or simply determined to go where she wants to regardless of what is in the way. She is a bulldozer.


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## merlinsquest (31 July 2007)

Thanks guys... I wondered about the visibility thing, and for this reason left the two useless lengths of tape on the lower part of the fence so they could see it....

A couple of years ago merlin was in a field where there was just a single strand of wire.... not rope just plain metal wire and he managed to run straight through it.  Nothing scary going on, just the last one out at night and he had a hissy fit.  So not sure if he didnt see it or didnt respect it but he ran through it going away from the gate.  Usually he stays miles away from it, so concluded that he didnt see it.

He would need to be blind not to see/hear this fence though!!  Got a zap like a bolt of lightening... you ask my friend!!!


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## merlinsquest (31 July 2007)

One last dimbo question..... do I need to run a pair of wires to complete a circuit or can i run one top wire and not have a second one underneath.... how does the circuit get completed if there is not a second wire???


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