Electrical fence guys, i need your help. :-)

[pickeringchris]

I am I'm the process of putting posts in around my gardens for a farm style fence. It will have a fencing material to block some wind and probably 4 strands of electrical wire. One strand is about 500'. So I guess I need around 2000'. Oh, btw. This is to keep critters out. Specially coons as they ruined my season last year. I have a good charger. Speedrite 1000. Good for apparently 1 km of wire. On my tester I am getting 9900 volts. Yehaw!!!!!!

So what type of wire should I use? Galvanized or poly rope and what type. ?

Thanks so much.

Chrid

 

[MF1652]

Galvanized is the old stand by that always works. It's cheap and lasts.

Alluminum wire will be lighter to work with but it's expensive and breaks easy.

I have not had good luck with poly rope. It's expensive and because the wires are woven into the rope the animal you are trying to keep in or out will not get the full shock.

My galvanized pastures have held up better. My alluminum wire pastures are always breaking. I gave up on poly rope/tape because it never delivered a strong shock.

 

[arrow]

Galvanized is the old stand by that always works. It's cheap and lasts.

Alluminum wire will be lighter to work with but it's expensive and breaks easy.

I have not had good luck with poly rope. It's expensive and because the wires are woven into the rope the animal you are trying to keep in or out will not get the full shock.

My galvanized pastures have held up better. My alluminum wire pastures are always breaking. I gave up on poly rope/tape because it never delivered a strong shock.

+1 Go with the galvanized. Bets bang for the buck and still easy to work with.

 

[pickeringchris]

Ok thanks guys. Now there is different gauges. Should I use a lighter gauge for better flexibility or will that not deliver as much shock? Keep in mind, 2000' total.

 

[patrick_g]

Aluminum coated steel instead of galvanized is a good choice. Alternate grounded strands with hot strands (bottom strand hot)

If animal starts to climb the strands and doesn't happen to get a pulse while touching a hot wire and ground at same time there is nothing felt if all strands are "hot." By alternating hot and ground the animal will most likely touch hot and ground and have his eyes bug out. You save a little as the ground strands don't need to be on insulators.

Just because the output peak voltage is nearly 10KV doesn't make it a good or powerful charger. It needs to be low impedance and have sufficient joules of energy storage. Pulse rate doesn't want to be less than once a second or so to be sure they get a dose.

The poly tape is fine for horses. It is more expensive but works as good as wire. Can't comment on the rope version.

If you are constantly rearranging your fence then tape on a roller assy is a good idea.

Pat

 

[bullbreaker]

I too would go with galvanized. With all due respest your SPDWT 1000 puts out 1 joule,I like to run more.
Also check your local laws on whether you need electric fence signs posted and if near walkways,byways etc how many feet back.

Heres 2 good sites w/good Q and A's IMO.

Electric Fence Supplies for Fine Electric Fencing

Parmakusa.com

BTW what energy source are you using off your Speedwright some of them you can swith-em to ac/dc/etc ?

Boone

 

[pickeringchris]

Thanks. No problem. You didn't insult me. So I have 1 joule and 9900volts. What is the significants of the joules?
Also, I have been doing testing for the past couple weeks. So far every animal that touched the fence took off like a bat out of ****.
This includes, coons, skunks and squirrels. I have one of my security cameras on the protected area so I have been able to monitor the motion triggers in that area.
After the first couple nights my action almost completely stopped. Could these critters be learning?

Galvanized, love the price but I like the poly wire for flexibility. It needs very little tension. Gotta do more google time.

 

[pickeringchris]

BTW what energy source are you using off your Speedwright some of them you can swith-em to ac/dc/etc ?

Boone

Yes this is a dual voltage model. I am using ac. 115v.

Chris

 

[Ken45101]

I do not like the thin galvanized wire. It rusts pretty quickly and comes down easily. Deer tore down one section and one of our horses got tangled and cut his leg to the bone

We have had electrified rope up for 6-8 years without problems. It does a good job and is easy to install. I have also used the two strand barbless galvanized wire (heavy gage like barb wire) as a hot line. It's a lot stronger and the galvanizing is a lot better than the cheap electric fence wire.

Ken

 

[nybirdman]

I used the polyweave wire for my pheasant pens.Mostly to keep coons out.
I found it works well and has been very effective.Easy to work with.I have a 120v fencer..set-up on a dusk/dawn timer:safer for any kids or visitor's.
I used to lose 30-40 birds a year before putting up the electric fence.

 

[patrick_g]

Thanks. No problem. You didn't insult me. So I have 1 joule and 9900volts. What is the significants of the joules?
Also, I have been doing testing for the past couple weeks. So far every animal that touched the fence took off like a bat out of ****.
This includes, coons, skunks and squirrels. I have one of my security cameras on the protected area so I have been able to monitor the motion triggers in that area.
After the first couple nights my action almost completely stopped. Could these critters be learning?

Galvanized, love the price but I like the poly wire for flexibility. It needs very little tension. Gotta do more google time.

Do not stretch the hot wire like barbed wire. It is better to have it nice and loose. (Some manufacturers explain this) The local critter population will learn the fence. We have deer and they sometimes knock some fence down, less inclined when installed loosely and flagged with strips of white cloth. Once the local population learns the new fence the cloth isn't needed. Folks often put the little fiberglass or rebar posts too close together which when hit by an animal gets knocked down more often. Fewer posts and loose wire works fine and survives better.

Joules are the unit of electrical energy. High voltage is like high RPM, if you loose most of your RPM when you engage the clutch then the high RPM is not useful. Low impedance is a good feature. A low impedance source will be able to supply more energy to the external circuit (your fence) and loose less internally. 10 KV sounds like a potent charger but not if the 10KV goes way down as soon as a blade of grass touches the wire.

An analogy: what good is a high pressure water line if the flow resistance is so high that if you open the tap the water just trickles out and pressure drops dramatically. Think trying to plumb your house with 1/16 inch diameter pipes. With no flow the water pressure might be 50-75 lbs but when you open a faucet the moving water is so restricted by the itsy bitsy pipes the pressure goes so low in use you can't get a decent shower. That is the equivalent of high impedance.

Consider your typical toilet with a water tank in back. It is filled through a small tube but dumps out its contents in a hurry through a large opening. Your fence charger is like that. It charges up a storage unit inside (inductor or capacitor depending on design) and dumps the energy (Joules) all at once to make a pulse of power. It then charges again and dumps again. You can probably hear your unit "ticking" one tick per pulse. If the amount of energy stored is small (few joules) the pulse may have a peak voltage of 10KV biut not transfer many joules. When everything is optimal like damp conductive ground, nice ground rod on the charger, no weeds touching hot wire etc. it may work OK. If it is not low impedance and sufficient joules then in dry weather with some weeds touching the wire the effectiveness of your unit will plummet.

Do not measure the units output at the unit. Measure at the farthest away part of the hot wire. Do not put the ground lead of your meter to a metal post but instead just stick it into the ground a little ways and then you will get a REAL reading.

If you don't have horses the regular wire will be fine and last longer.

I too have been entertained watching animals LEARN about the hot wire. I put white strips of cloth on new wire. Calves explore their world through smell then taste and tend to investigate the cloth strips to evaluate the food possibilities. I have seen them sniff a second time but never a third.

Note: the above topic may be on the midterm or final.

Pat

 

[mjw357]

Tape is crap,the wind whips it around and it breaks constantly.

There are different grades of 'rope' type fencing. We have Electrobraid for our horses, works great and very durable. It is safer than plain wire for the horses, and trust me it does work, seen the horses get 'bit' plenty of times. You can hear it pop when they get too close. Running it off a solar fence charger.

 

[Ken45101]

Interesting, I've never seen our horses get bit by the electrical rope, although they probably have done so. But last year, they were in the pasture for two months without the line being hot before one of them got out (it's only two strands) and they can walk through it if they want when it's not hot.)

Ken

 

[cmyoung2]

Sounds like the fence will be permanant. I would go with the heavy hi tensile 12ga wire.As long as you don't have horses, it will last longer than you.Horses tend to get cut on hi tensile. I like the idea of alternating hot and ground wires. Also, put the wires where the critters will touch them, low for coons, dogs, and the under the fence types, nose high for deer, cows. Baiting the deer with bottle caps filled with apple or peanutbutter will help them learn the no-go zone. You mentioned feild fence. It that is woven wire, just off set the electric, the woven wire will help with the ground. Make sure you use enough ground rods at the charger. lack of a good ground is usually the problem with poor results.

 

[patrick_g]

I do not like the thin galvanized wire. It rusts pretty quickly and comes down easily.

Ken

Not sure what single strand wire it is to which you refer. I have had several rolls in use for various periods of time out to about 8 years with no signs of rust. The single strand wire comes in different gauges. 12 1/2 I think is one of the popular ones.

Some good electric fence suggestions:

17 Mistakes To Avoid With Electric Fencing

14 ga wire is cheaper and works OK but not nearly as good as the 12 1/2, especially in long runs where resistance losses add up and reduce the delivered power.

I prefer aluminum coated over galvanized but the galvanized works OK.

Pat

 

[Ken45101]

I guess it's 17 ga galvanized electric fence wire that we used and didn't hold up well. It's what TSC sold as "electric fence wire".

Ken

 

[patrick_g]

I guess it's 17 ga galvanized electric fence wire that we used and didn't hold up well. It's what TSC sold as "electric fence wire".

Ken

I don't like to use that thin stuff but know folks who do. The difference in price isn't worth the difference in performance/life time so far as I know. There are undoubtedly good uses for it but not for what I do.

The ag stores typically have to stock some cheap stuff as there are always folks looking for lowest price rather than most function for the buck. The best bargain is not always the cheapest price. The highest price is not necessarily the best cost benefit ratio. If I had horses I'd be using poly rope or tape, probably rope due to wind.

Pat

 

[pickeringchris]

Thanks so much guys. It seems like there is pros and cons for both galvanized and rope and people that swear by one or the other.
I don't have any animals. The only problem is coons although there is many skunks and rabbits here. The only concern I have about galvanized is that it requires much more tension.
Just in case you guys didn't know, I grow giant pumpkins. So the way the patch is set up (a big rectangle) come harvest time I have to take down the fence on one side to back my trailer in to get my half ton out. With a bit of much this year I'll have a 3/4 ton.
I only grow 5 plants. 5 fruit. Last year 3 were destroyed by coons. I spend up to 10 hours a week per plant caring for these.

Chris

 

[bullbreaker]

Chris hope you have better results fighting the coons in future.
Besides E-fence idea have you tried this ?
Homemade Raccoon Repellent | eHow.com

BTW when you start "frying' the coons make sure you make a coon skin hat atta him/her and post us a pic ! :thumbsup:

Boone

 

[pickeringchris]

Ive seen that recipe but their is now way I would apply that to my competition plants. Us pumpkin guys are funny that way.
The e fence is the way to go for sure.
I wish I could kill them. It is legal to do so here and it would solve my problem. Problem is, I can't kill things as much as I hate them. I have no problem killing mice though. 13 last year and 5 so far this year.