Thread: Electric fence question...No gate tapes

i still cant see it only using the red lines if your talking about using the black lines as well then that would make sense but using the red lines no I cant see it becasue paddock 1 is disconnected to from all other pqaddocks the large black square where the house is (house is small black square) has gates...so unless I actually tape the entire boundary fence I still dont see how its possible even with your drawing to explain sorry

ah, black lines not included? Then yes, you're going to have to go under a few gates to complete the circuit. To make it easier on yourself, it's probably more straightforward to run a length of tape down between the house and paddock 3 in order to make it all one circuit.

Oh good now I understand and it appears I do have to go under a few gates.

but thats OK at least I now know I don't have to go under all of them.

another question should I consider getting one of these? we do get a few storms out are way..

Is it worth it or just a gimmick I don't really know how it works which is why I'm asking if I'm getting sucked in by marketing.

Lightning Diverter - Lightening Diverters and Switches - Gallagher Electric Fence Management Tools

I've never used lightning arrestors on our fences, and have never had the need for them, so you'll have to make that call for yourself. Easiest measure to work off is - do other people in the area use them? If they don't, I wouldn't worry too much....

How they work is pretty simple. Very high voltage, such as that found in lightning, can arc between conductors. A lightning arrestor is basically a choke made of silicon carbide discs - one side connected to the fence, the other side connected to ground. The charge put out by the electric fence isn't enough to arc the silicon carbide discs, so it continues along on it's merry way around the fence. However, the voltage in a lightning strike IS enough to arc the silicon carbide discs, and the energy in the fence from the lightning runs into the ground.

no one else in my street is running electric fences maybe I dont need them...

FWIW we lost a few energisers to lightening when on the farm, but it was usually a cheap fix by Daken, often only a blown capacitor. (mostly solar energisers, about 10, with a couple of mains ones for the stables and yards near the house and shearing shed)

If you read the warranty on your fence energiser you will find ( fine print) that they don't cover lightning strikes. I live in the Adelaide Hills and I have a little farm with multi-strand electric fences. I run a few temporary tape fences for stock control from time to time.

In the last 8 years I have had one energiser explode from a presumed lightning strike on the fence somewhere. It seems to be an uncommon event.

A few points of caution. Make sure you don't have electric fence near barbed wire (or worse electrified barb wire). The involuntary muscle contraction from the shock can cause severe barb wire lacerations. Imagine an ignorant person climbing over your fence..... Imagine a lawyer representing that person.... And put up plenty of signs to warn people that your fences are electrified. Don't expect people to recognise an electric fence.

Don't run two systems (separate energisers) close together. If your neighbour has electrified a fence your wires need to be 2m away so that you can't touch two independent hot wires at once

Don't sweat this going-under-the-gate business. It ain't that hard to do.... Use proper joiners to connect wires. Your TV, Radio etc will be less likely to have that annoying "tick tick tick etc" Consider running an earth wire if the distance back to your energiser earth stake is great. Dry soil is not a great conductor and the fence may not work as well as you would like.

Get a tester and use it regularly. If you get behind with maintenance multiple faults are much harder to track down than one at a time and your animals don't take long to work out the fence is no longer hot. Cows seem to sense it....

Above all have fun. Electric fences are like toy physics sets for grown-ups.

unfortunately I will be putting it on a barb wire fence to keep the horse off a bar wire fence but it will be stood off not literally on it. I would rather change the fence but its not an option.

I will put up lots of signs....but really no one should be climbing my fences!!! I get on well with my neighbours and they will know.

I will def get a tester.

when you say proper joins I'm assuming you mean the steel plates that are wing nutted together?