hot wire on a wavy fence (PIC)

[patandchickens]

There are standoffs made to fit onto chainlink fencing but they do not work well on regular mesh and also are VERY "standoff" and not necessarily appropriate for predatorproofing.

It is certainly feasible to use regular insulators as spacers to keep your hotwire away from the fence mesh at a few strategic spots, I've done this myself. I don't recommend using PVC though as it is not as nonconductive as actual electric fence insulators are, and you will be losing charge that way. All you need to do is get the regular nail-on or t-post snap-on insulators (the LONG standoff ones, what are they, maybe 4-5"?) and drill a couple small holes in the base. Use a piece of wire threaded thru those holes to wire the insulator onto wherever you need it on your fence mesh. And there ya go.

It is all very well to use PVC as insulators and not formally test yer fence voltage and all that, and if it works for an individual that is great, but it does not work well IN GENERAL because it depends on having a very strong fence charger in proportion to the fence being charged and having a good idea of exactly what 4,000 volts feels like (which is about what you need to reliably repel dogs/coyotes/foxes) as opposed to, say, 2,000v which is enough to be jarring and upsetting to a person or horse but will not really impress many predators. So, with all due respect to the previous poster, I would still recommend that the o.p. use REAL insulators and a REAL fence tester if they want to be getting their money's worth out of their electric fence, so to speak.

(e.t.a. -- thick wet snow and ice *do* ground out fences, in many circumstances.)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[jmc]

thanks pat and rich! again.

so hot wires wouldn't do much here in MA if they had snow on them or ice? of course, that wouldn't be a perpetual problem in winter--just an occasional one. But it is too bad if that is the case that they will hinder the charge.

also, does a 'standard' charger provide 2000 or 4000, in your experience?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
No, it's only a problem if they are buried in ice or wet snow. Ice storms can be a real problem for electric fences, and if you have a solar or battery-powered charger they can kill yer battery; but if you have a plug-in charger the worst that happens is the zap isn't so good til the ice melts. Your hotwire sounds like it will be high enough that being buried by consolidating drifts of snow is not going to be an issue.

You do wanna test your fence in the winter though, and if you get a good snowpack on top of deeply-frozen ground you should expect to see some drop in fence charge. This is another good reason why you want to make sure your setup is really amply adequate for predatorproofing -- if it is borderline in a wet June, it will probably be useless in January.

also, does a 'standard' charger provide 2000 or 4000, in your experience?

It isn't an attribute of the charger. It is an attribute of the fence AND charger, the fence itself being a HUGE part of the equation. If you are only going to be running a hotwire around your coop and nothing else, then pretty much any charger that does not use flashlight batteries is likely to be adequate, assuming the fence is set up correctly (correctly grounded, proper electrical connections, good insulators, no shorts, etc). But if it is going to be a longer fence, e.g. in combination with livestock fencing being run off the same charger, then it gets to be this whole big complicated science of how to choose the right charger for your intended fence.

Fence chargers are usually labelled "charges X miles of fence"... IGNORE THIS COMPLETELY as (insofar as it has any grounding at all in reality, which it barely does) it pertains only to a very particular idealized set of circumstances that I can pretty much guarantee your actual fence won't even come CLOSE to.

But, as I say, if ALL you wanna do is a hotwire on your coop, just get an inexpensive (but not flashlight-battery-powered) charger and you should be good. Also buy a fence tester, ideally a good digital one ($50 and up) rather than the $12 five-neon-lights jobbies which are ok for telling you if the fence is 'on' but are notoriously inaccurate as far as measuring actual voltage goes. You really do want to have 4-5,000v on your fence if you are aiming to keep predators out. Best to test it daily, or at least a few times a week.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[jmc]

Pat, you dear.............

I would actually prefer an electric charger rather than a battery or solar one. this charger was recommended to me, but i have doubts that it would be adequate for deterring black bear, coyote and on down to weasel.

eta: it looks like it can only give "1200 =/- 200 volts of shock". but i may be misreading the info. on the ad there.

http://www.pasturefence.com/saco1.html

also, i would like to have--i guess--2 strands attached to the fence you see in the first pic (NOTHING AROUND THE 'COOP').

here is the =/- 70 ft. x 100' perimeter fence to which i would plan to attach it. IF i could afford it.

hmmm..........maybe i should start a thread asking for charger suggestions.....but i think i'll wait for now

 

[jmc]

thank you rich, if you are still out there.

so what kind of charger do you have. it obviously is delivering enough sting to keep your 'troubles' at bay. it seems your 'troubles' are about the same as mine here in MA--according to what you mentioned

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I am not familiar with the brand, and am a little concerned that it seems to come from a company that mainly does pet fencing... but, if you will only have about 700 linear feet of fence wire to charge, and install things REALLY CORRECTLY (although honestly few people do

) I would bet it would be reasonably adequate.

Personally I'd be more inclined to go with a charger from a brand name I recognized more, like Zareba/RedSnap'R or something like that; or if reliability is important and cost is not so much an issue, something from the lines that Premier carries (www.premier1supplies.com). But, as I say, probably what you list would work, at least til it broke.

The big thing is to not screw up the installation and maintenance... most people find it hard to resist the temptation LOL. Use a good deep galvanized-pipe ground rod (one should be enough for such a short fence), use a real ground-rod clamp, make your connections solid and tight and CORRECT (now is the time to learn to make an underwriters knot if you don't know how already), don't use cheesy insulators, keep the wire at least a couple inches from the fence mesh, and TEST TEST TEST, always always always.

(e.t.a. - bears may require more than 4,000v; I would not *count* on keeping weasels out with any kind of electric fence, as they are small and inclined to slip thru holes rather than climb up and over.)

Pat

 

[jmc]

i hear ya on the bears and weasels.............

here is what zareba recommended when i filled out there questionnaire for new fence choosers:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCsQ8wIwAg#

 

[patandchickens]

That seems quite reasonable, as long as you're not likely to ever want to run a lot more fence off it. 0.5 released joules is fine for a short fence of actual wire (as opposed to tape or rope or whatnot).

Bear in mind you will need a weatherproof electrical outlet to plug it into at the site -- don't use extension cords, and I would recommend the charger be OUTDOORS not inside a building (in case of lightning and fires).

Actually one of the things I *really* need to do in the next few days is install a new charger for my sheep, the main thing I'm dragging my feet on is finding the right size hole-saw bit to cut a hole thru the barn wall so's I can plug it in

(Its predecessor was my old solar unit whose battery has once again given up the ghost)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[NellaBean]

I used a 20 mile charger (electric, not battery) on my 5 strand electric tape 650' long fence. As you can imagine, it packed a punch. I have one of the digital testers and it would regularly max it out (max is 10K). I hit it myself and holy cow it hurt. My fence climber dog hit the part I used as a top line around 4 foot mesh. He hid at the top of the yard for 10 minutes after. I would regularly hear animals SCREECHING in the middle of the night that apparently tried to sneak through. As weeds took over the bottom strand, it wouuld go down to about 6500 to 8K. Still hurt. I have a 5 mile charger I plan on eventually adding to my current single strand fence topper. It should do just fine, since nothing will touch it. The 20 mile charger is off as the fence was replaced with 4 foot goat fencing.....electric around the top, but currently turned off.

I would recommend getting a bigger than needed electric charger.

 

[patandchickens]

While I agree it is better to over- rather than under-size a charger, bear in mind that electric fences *can* cause animal and even (rarely) human casualties and it is not wise to go berzerkly overboard. I would not personally want a fence that was over 10kV on my property, as being needlessly dangerous...

Just a thought,

Pat