Electric Fencing 0

Electric Fencing Systems Design, Installation

& Maintenance

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Electric Fencing 101

Contents

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy,

neither Gallagher Group Limited or any employee of the company will be

Powering Your Fence

Fence Construction

Permanent Fencing

Offset Fencing

Temporary & Portable Fencing

Fault Finding

Safety

Troubleshooting

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Maximize results potential of feed and

process.

Use a combination of permanent &

portable fencing to maximize grazing

area control.

Pasture Management and Rotational Grazing

Achieving optimum pasture growth is

a delicate balance. When considering

how best to meter out the pasture feed

available look at the following:

1. Number & size of grazing areas -

grazing specific areas, so other pasture

The combination of these factors

determines the rotation length (how many

days before the first area in the rotation

is grazed again). The optimum rotation

length varies significantly depending on

the geographical location and time of

year.

The more regular the shift (preferably

daily or every few days) the more time the

pasture spends growing rather than being

protects the recently-grazed area to allow

it to recover so it can be grazed again

sooner.

Subdivision with high stocking density

ensures grass is harvested down evenly

to the optimum residual length, and that

over time manure is spread more evenly

over the whole grazing area.

Why It Works

There are various grass varieties to suit

different environments. Longer term

options last 10 years or more and shorter

term annuals can give extra yield over a

shorter time-frame.

Forage crops (i.e. turnips, kale, sorghum

etc.) are low cost to establish and can be

used to fill feed deficits during cold and/

or dry months where grass growth slows

want as many as 100 paddocks. This

means the sheep can be moved daily

onto a fresh paddock using a three month

rotation during slow or zero growth

periods. When there are lambs and ewes

during spring, two or more flocks can be

grazed on a faster rotation.

For beef and dairy producers 30–50

paddocks are usually enough. Cattle are

easy to strip graze with only one wire when

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the number of animals (fence pressure).

2) All energizers are fitted with

lightning protection and are fully

modular for rapid servicing and

3) Gallagher’s reputation for

worldwide service and satisfaction

has endured for over 80 years

4) All Energizers purchased after

January 1, 2018 carry a three year

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with exception of a power outage and will

provide you with the most power for the least

about of money. You will need to install them

inside a structure where they are protected

from moisture.

and great for remote areas far from power

outlets especially in cases where they are

periodically moved. These are powered by a

outlets. While they have the highest upfront

cost per joule, the power to operate them is

free as long as they have adequate sunlight.

The solar panel charges the battery by

converting light directly into electricity. The

battery stores this electricity to operate

the energizer. This enables the energizer

to operate at night or during periods of low

Gallagher Recommends – comparing on stored joules only, since these distance/acreage ratings are

always manufacturers estimates because two properties of the same acreage/fence distance may

have dramatically different conditions e.g.: number of wires, vegetation growth, stocking intensity.

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your system at least once a year at the

height of any dry period to ensure the

grounding capacity is sufficient for the

joule rating of the energizer.

Short the fence out at least 330’ away

from the ground system by using several

ground rods between the wires and the

ground. Reduce the fence voltage at this

point to 2000V (2kV) or less.

Using a Volt Meter, measure the voltage

as your Volt Meter cable will reach.

There should be no reading on the Volt

is down to the acceptable level.

Testing on All Live Wire Ground System

Install a 6’ ground rod as close a possible

to the end of the fence. Install a 500

ohm load tester between a hot wire and

ground wire. Choose the location for the

ground rod in a damp area if possible. If

you cannot find a damp area, the ground

test may be unreliable.

Using a Volt Meter, measure the voltage

check the ground return wire for loose

connections.

Finally, connect the independent ground

rod to the ground return wire as a

permanent connection.

Extra ground rods can be added at

various places around the fencing system

and connected to the ground return wire

to improve ground performance.

animal control.

fence hot wire has good connections. If

your energizer is too small for your fence

system. Assess your total length of fence

or property size against the energizer

selection chart on page 11.

Testing a Ground Return Wire System

The current flow on the fence will vary

depending on the size of your Energizer,

building, maintaining or checking an

electric fence. Gallagher has two fence

testers, both available from your local

Gallagher Dealer. The Fault Finder is a

all-in one device, current meter and fault

finder. The Volt Meter measures volts

only.

To obtain the best results from your Fault

Finder, Gallagher recommends that you

check the current while the fence is

the performance of the fence.

1. The Arrow on the LCD will indicate

which direction the current is flowing.

3. A fault is indicated by a drop in current

flow between two checkpoints. The fault

will be somewhere between the two

checkpoints.

4. To narrow down location of the fault,

work back along the fence checking the

current flow at shorter intervals.

5. Correct the fault.

further faults.

See page 50 for more troubleshooting help

using a Fault Finder.

Using a Fault Finder

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Gallagher’s heavy duty plastic

insulators are made from the highest

quality polymers infused with UV

stabilizer for sun resistance, toughness

and durability. Porcelain insulators are

fire-resistant and ideal for high fire risk

areas.

The type of insulators you require will

depend on the type of post and the type

of wire that you have selected for your

made specifically to handle the extra

wire strain. To determine the number of

calculate the number of corner/end

number of corner/end post insulators

needed.

Choosing the right insulator for your fence

Where possible, position gateways on

flat, firm areas, away from steep banks

where erosion could occur. Carry the

power (and ground return if you have

a ground wire return system) across

the gateways preferably underground

using double insulated cable in a pipe

for protection and simple maintenance.

Seal ends or turn ends of pipe down to

keep out moisture. Bury the cable/pipe

at least 12” deep and cover with soil that

cable ends to the fence using join clamps

extremely easy to install. Choose from

bungy gates and single or multi-strand

tape gates.

Electric gates should be wired so they

are dead when they are unhooked.

Tape gates provide the most visible gate

solution. Choose spring or bungy gates

where the gate needs to be stretched

across a road to divert animals into the

paddock. Gallagher Electric Gate Kits

come pre-assembled ready to install and

include an insulated gate handle.

Gates and gateways

Gallagher manufactures quality double

pinlock insulators for attaching elec-

tric wires to steel t-posts and y-posts

as well as a topper cap for securing a

Attach wires or tape to Gallagher

Insulated Line Posts using specifically

designed insulator clips.

Do not rely on electric

gates to get power across

Steel Gate example

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or new non-electric fence that you want to protect.

insulators with an electrified wire on one

or both sides of the fence.

Gallagher recommends attaching a single

offset wire at two thirds the height of

the animal to be controlled. If sheep and

cattle are in the same area it is better to

use two offset wires (one for sheep, one

for cows). However a single wire three

quarters the height of the sheep will still

protect the fence from both animal types.

If the old fence is tangled or has broken

maximum flexibility when something

impacts against the fence

offsets, are made from galvanized high

tensile spring wire and are twisted onto

existing chain link wires.

side or top of wood posts and then

stapled in place. The are ideal for horse

fencing due to their high visibility and

ability to mount to post and rail fencing

The most common error is the use of soft

wire for the fence wire and for the offset

bracket. High tensile wire should always

be used for the fence wire, and only

spring steel wire for the offset brackets.

The bracket must be able to spring back

in place after impact or it will become

entangled with the wire of the old fence

The placement/height of the hot wire is

also very important. It should be attached

at two-thirds the height of the animal to

be controlled. Two offset wires, can and

often are placed on the same fence. On

one side a wire is placed at 30” to contain

cattle, on the other side a wire is placed

at 8” to repel predators.

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There are a number of different types of

portable electric fence wires, tapes and

braids - frequently called “conductors”.

Knowing which one to choose can be a

to carry electrical current from a Fence

Charger/Energizer. The individual strands

of plastic and wire are typically twisted

tightly together to form a single wire.

A second option is Poly Tape. Poly Tape

threads individual strands of plastic and

wire together creating what appears to

be a highly visible ribbon. Tape while

prone to wind and ice damage, is the

most visible “conductor” and is best used

A third option is Poly Braid. Poly Braid is

thicker and more visible than Poly Wire,

and is less likely to be damaged by the

wind and ice than Poly Tape.

ness).

Understanding Wire

the best choice for distances

beyond 1/8 mile where

dependable power is

required.

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Reels

Reels are an absolutely essential

component of your portable electric

fencing equipment.

They are designed to hold your wire, braid

or tape and make it extremely quick and

easy to roll up your temporary

cross-fences.

Gallagher’s geared reel comes with a

each turn of the handle.

Geared reels are designed to hook the

spool in place so it does not unravel.

The hook allows you to hang the reel off

of your permanent high-tensile electric

fence.

An alligator clamp (also called a lead con-

nector) is used to create a good electrical

connection between the portable electric

fence and your permanent electric fence.

the Pigtail, has a ring shaped nylon head

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3. Walk back to the reel, placing a post

4. At the end of the fence, engage the

5. Connect to power – either connect to

A quicker and easier all in

one instant fence system, the

Smart Fence System includes

4 wires, 10 posts, 328’ length.

Energizer is sold separately.

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so you can see from a distance

indicate which direction the current is

flowing. The amount of current (Amps)

and voltage (kV) will show on the display.

The higher the current, the bigger the

fault.

back towards your previous reading. The

process is similar to finding water leaks,

connected in parallel at each end of the

fence the total current flow is the sum of

the current on each wire.

When one wire has a much higher current

reading than the others, either this wire

has the fault on it or the wires have not

been connected in parallel at each end

of the fence line and this wire only is

supplying power to the next section of

fence.

“non-live” wires or steel gates, particular

in dry weather, this is likely to be caused

by induction. Neutral wires (neither live

nor ground) can be charged from live wires

(usually leadout or offset wires), running in

parallel. It is not a short and will not reduce

To remove the problem, ground out the

offending wires by pushing a heavy gauge

galvanized wire as far as possible into the

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Don’t touch fences with your head or mouth.

People with pacemakers or other heart

problems also should consult their doctors

before working with or near electric fences.

Always use precautions.

order to create a short, vegetation needs

to be damp or green so therefore the

vegetation will not ignite. Once vegetation

dries out it becomes non-conductive

meaning any short created disappears.

The only conceivable but still very unlikely

scenario where an electric fence could

start a fire is when a wire shorts to an

grounded metal object, such as a steel post

or wire where insulators have broken, in the

are advised to ensure the live wires are

well insulated and the fence is clear of

vegetation. If these factors are of concern

then on days of severe or above fire risk,

consider turning the energizer off.

Ground rods for energizers should be at

least 65’ from utility grounding fields.

and try to install fences so that they cross

power lines, and make sure the top fence

wires are no more than six feet high.

Do not attach fence wires to utility poles.

Electric fences bordering public

thoroughfares are required to have a

warning sign at least every 295’ feet where

the public has access to electric fences,

such as along roads.

audible interference with telephone lines.

the distance that electric fence wires run

parallel to underground telephone cables.

This particularly applies if the electric fence

wire is carrying high current, such as a

‘Telephone Interference’ pg 46)

comply with usual Telecom and International

standards and safety regulations. However,

problems can arise for a number of reasons

and can be difficult to eliminate in areas with

poor radio reception.

To avoid radio interference:

• The energizer ground must be highly

conductive

• The energizer must be well away from

any electrical power supply

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