Sagging Posts Suggestions?

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I installed 8' by 4" round wood posts 2' into the ground on the corners of my electric fence last spring. They are pushing in and as a result the wire has a lot of sag. See pictures below.

Any suggestions on how to support the posts to put more tension on the wire?

I found this product has anyone used it?

New Page 1 cost about $53 for the parts plus the T-Posts. I will need 10 more Tposts, plus an Tpost to connect to as the closes t-post is 13' away.

Kencove Farm Fence Ships Improved Electric, Portable, and Non-Electric High Tensile Fence Supplies for Cattle, Horse, Sheep, Goat, Deer, Elk, Poultry, and Garden this web site towards the bottom has a Box Assembly set up. More holes to dig, maybe a lot of work to set up, but if it works, I am for it.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[deereguy]

Looks like you need to install a few more 4" posts or about 7 1/2' away from the current corner post and make an "H" with another wood post and brace wire from the bottom of your current 4" to the tops of the new posts. That should tighten up your corner and tighten your electric wires.

 

[BTDT]

If the land outside the fenced area is also your property, you could set an anchor (like on an electric pole guy wire) back from the post, attatch turnbuckle, then wire up to top of post that is being pulled in. Tighten turnbuckle, and that should pull on post and tighten your electric fence back up.

 

[RFB]

Out west we run (literally) miles of barbed wire. Fences must be stretched and re-stretched due to wire expansion and snow driving the post in to the ground. Corners use "corner jacks" and straight runs have "line jacks" as well to use as anchors to pull tension.

We use railroad ties for jack posts, and split ties for the rail in between. When looking at the jack horizontally it is essentially an "H" configuration. For a corner, you have three posts forming two "H"s at a right angle; the middle or actual corner post is shared by the other two.

From overhead it looks like an L

The posts have squarish notches cut (for the crossbar of the H) to provide a ledge for the rail sections to wedge into, and then non-barbed utility wire is crossed from post-to-post in "X" fashion to draw tension upon the entire set-up. We use a stick in the middle of the X to wind the wire tight. (1 inch deep chainsaw kerf cuts are made at the top and bottom of the posts to keep the tension wire from slipping up or down)

You could do the same with your round posts and it provides substantial support. (If you do not want to cut notches, you can nail a ledger for the H bar to rest on until tension is pulled.)

If you need it, I can try to get a photo of one that is not covered in snow.

 

[tallyho8]

Guywires are always in the way when you are trying to cut the grass around them so I would reccomend that you put H braces on all 4 corners. This is 8 H braces because you have to put 2 on each corner, one in each direction. This means you need to add 8 wood posts in the ground plus your 8 top posts and 8 diagonals. I always set my 4 corner posts 3 feet in the ground, the others don't need to be quite as deep.

 

[BillyP]

I installed 8' by 4" round wood posts 2' into the ground on the corners of my electric fence last spring. They are pushing in and as a result the wire has a lot of sag. See pictures below.

Any suggestions on how to support the posts to put more tension on the wire?

I found this product has anyone used it?

New Page 1 cost about $53 for the parts plus the T-Posts. I will need 10 more Tposts, plus an Tpost to connect to as the closes t-post is 13' away.

Kencove Farm Fence Ships Improved Electric, Portable, and Non-Electric High Tensile Fence Supplies for Cattle, Horse, Sheep, Goat, Deer, Elk, Poultry, and Garden this web site towards the bottom has a Box Assembly set up. More holes to dig, maybe a lot of work to set up, but if it works, I am for it.

Thanks for your suggestions.

You need to brace your corner post in both directions. Some people use a slanted post type brace and some use an H post type. The H post works good but you need to install a tourniquet type X made of two loops of barbed wire. You can use something like a stick in between the loop to tighten. Then tuck the stick in against the fence wire so it won't unwind.

The H should be in both direction of the wire. The one corner post will the the center. Something like this l-l-l only at a 90 degree angle. If the fence is a long run, the you need to install and H post system between the corner posts.

Not sure I gave a very good description but hopefully it helps.

By the way, You need to install your corner posts with the H with tourniquet before the wire and stretching.

 

[BillyP]

NY Y Fan, sorry but I just noticed you were talking about an electric fence

I might as well not waste my post so I'm attaching some configurations of corner and gate posts.

Maybe you can incorporate some of the info into your fence.

 

[RFB]

good job Billy, that's zactly what I was trying to splain.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Billy,

Thanks for taking the pictures. It is best to put the brace at the top or middle? I have scene it both ways, which is better?

The T Post is 13' away, do u think just a 2x4 across the top with X wire will work? Trying to make this cheap and easy. , but work. I could move the T post closer to the wood post and use a 2x4 by 8'.

The garden is not very large, 50' 75'.

 

[weldingisfun]

Billy,

Thanks for taking the pictures. It is best to put the brace at the top or middle? I have scene it both ways, which is better?

The T Post is 13' away, do u think just a 2x4 across the top with X wire will work? Trying to make this cheap and easy. , but work. I could move the T post closer to the wood post and use a 2x4 by 8'.

The garden is not very large, 50' 75'.

Don't use 2x4, they will bend on you. Use landsacpe timbers, they don't cost much more than a 2x4. That is what was used in the pictures in Billy's post. Also, go to Tractor Supply, you can pick up a free video that shows how to build a good solid fence. The videos are kept where they have their electric fence materials. You won'r have to go with as stout a fence as they show, but at least you can see how it is done and do the same but with the materials you want to use.

 

[BillyP]

Billy,

Thanks for taking the pictures. It is best to put the brace at the top or middle? I have scene it both ways, which is better?

The T Post is 13' away, do u think just a 2x4 across the top with X wire will work? Trying to make this cheap and easy. , but work. I could move the T post closer to the wood post and use a 2x4 by 8'.

The garden is not very large, 50' 75'.

The brace at the top is better, to me anyway. And as Weldingisfun said, don't use a 2x4 for bracing. Set another post 8' from the corner post and use an 8' landscape timber for the brace.

But since you've already got your fence built, I'd try running a 45 degree brace from the upper part of the corner post to the ground on both sides. It would cost very little and just might work. Since it's just an electric fence, it wouldn't take much to keep the corner posts from being pulled in.

Something like this

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Billy,

Interesting idea, the end that is on the ground, is it in the ground or on a block? If in the ground how deep? What size lumber, 4"x4?

 

[BillyP]

I'd use either 4x4 treated or landscape timbers, whichever figures out to be the cheapest. I'd drive a sharpened block in the ground to hold this brace in place. I guess you could even drive some type of metal rod in to hold it. That might be easier.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Billy,

Thanks, I have a lot of re bar around, that will work!