Electric Fencing Help
It can be daunting knowing where to start when looking into what sort of electric fencing you require. In this section we aim to explain some of your questions about an electric fence, it's applications, materials, installation, etc.
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Please Note - Feel
free to contact us on the numbers above for no obligation help
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Insulators
Good quality and correct selection is essential to ensure the efficiency of the fence. The choice depends on the type of posts & conductor being used. Because of the different make up of polyrope, polytape, steel wire and twine most will have insulators which are made solely for them and some ifence insulators can be used for several types of conductor.
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Careful attention must be paid to which insulators are chosen for your electric fence and how they might affect it's performance. Obviously you'll look to get the right ones to go with the conductor you want but it's advisable to take into consideration whether they are to be used permanently or temporarily and the speed and hassle of instalation & removal. For instance puting up an electric fence with ring instulators for 20mm tape is quick and painless when using a drill chuck but if it were done using clamping fence insulators then it would take considerably longer.
For a temporary electric fence, the ring insulators would be fine but for a permanent barrier, the rubber cushioned or clamping insulators would hold the tape more securely. Using these would eliminate any 'wind-rub' and should there be a break on the line at any time, the tape would be held in postion and not run through the insulators and flap in the wind.
If you are in any way confused about which insulators would be suitable for your short or long term requirements please don't hesitate to get in touch.
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Plastic Posts / Polyposts
If a permanent fence is planned, chemically treated softwood posts with insulators, or non-conductive hardwood posts are ideal. Steel, Fibreglass or plastic posts (polyposts) can be a viable alternative.
If it is a temporary fence for strip grazing, plastic posts offer portability and ease of construction. These come in two specifications. The economy post is an excellent temporary polypost but the superior electric fencing posts come with a 3 year manufacturers warrenty and have a nigh unbreakable footplate.
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When choosing your posts the first thing to consider is the animal you are fencing in (or out) and what height will you be needing to string lines over. If you are using the posts to strip graze cows or sheep in a field than the regular 105cm posts are fine but for horse paddocks it is different.
For ponies and smaller more placid horse the visual effect of a shorter post wit htape on it is enought to keep them at bay. If the field is ever to have larger horses then tha'll call for our taller horse plastic posts. We have 2 varieties of these .Our basic posts are infact a very good quality fencepost
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Electric Fencing Polywire
Poly wire is a good fencing choice for temporary electric fences as it's more visible than steel wire. It is lightweight thus easy to handle, install and rewind when used as a portable fence. It is less durable than steel but well suited to strip grazing and is easily tensioned.
Poly wire is ideal for temporary grazing, strip or rotational grazing, pet control and pond protection.
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Electric polywire should only be used to fence slow moving animals such as dairy cows and is not advised for horses as they need either tape or rope as it's more visible.
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Electric Fence Polytape
Electric polytape provides greater visibility than poly wire and is therefore more suitable for fast moving animals like horses. While the reinforced edges help protect the electric tape from wear and tear it is subject to increased wear in windy conditions. Becasuse of this, it's best to select the narrowest tape appropriate to your fence. 20mm electric tape is adequate for most situations but 40mm wide tape is not recommended if your field or paddock is in a windy area unless it's well secured using tape insulators that clamp the tape tightly. When connecting two lines of fencing tape together it is imperative to a good connection between the conductors so it's best to use tape connectors.
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Electric Fence Polyrope
Electric fencing rope, or polyrope as it's often called, is the perfect electric fencing conductor for horses. It's visible, it's very strong and it isn't affected by the wind unlike electric tape. The fencing rope comes in a variety of specifications and strengths. The polyropes with stainless steel conductors are for shorter fencelines than those contain the superior tinned copper. Mostly they are insulated by ring insulators screwed into a fencepost but the distance insulators keep the fencing polyrope about 10" out from the fence.
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Electric Netting
Electric netting can be the ideal way to keep foxes out and your animals in. It is used extensively for poultry, sheep and rabbits and occasionally goats. All but the bottom horizontal polywires are electrifiable and both the poultry and rabbit electric nets start off with small spacings at the bottom and increase as the net height increases. The sheep electric net has a larger bottom spacing to make allowances for the grass height in the field. Both the sheep electric net and the rabbit electric netting come in orange but the electric chicken netting comes in an olive green which is more pleasing on the eye.
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While the netting is an excellent way of keeping your animals in and foxes & rabbits out, it does tend to be prone to earth leakages than other methods of electric fencing so please consider this when making your choice of energiser.
All the electric nets for sheep, chickens and rabbits have clips at the top where the horizontal polywires converge and can be easily joined to other nets.
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