Installing Electric Horse Fence
GENERAL INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS For Permanent and Semi-permanent Horse Fences to Be Mounted on Metal T-posts or U-posts These instructions set forth general procedures for installing permanent and semi-permanent electric horse fences on metal T-posts and U-posts. Most such fences will be installed on standard T-posts weighing 1.25 or 1.33 pounds per foot, or on standard U-posts 1.75 to 2.125 inches wide and will have between 1 and 6 runs of polyrope or polytape. BASIC PARTS: The basic parts needed and basic accessories are as follows: a) Electric Fence Charger—AC, battery, or solar-powered. B) Insulated Undergate and Hookup Wire—Get enough to reach from the charger to the fence, to go under all gates, to connect all fence sections, and to connect up all runs of polyrope or polytape on the fence.
The makers of Power Wizard fence chargers offer tips for electric fence install and maintaining an electric fencing for horses. Read more here. More Installing Electric Horse Fence videos.
C) T-Posts or U-posts—These should be spaced 20 to 35 feet apart and should go into the ground 2 feet. D) Polyrope or Polytape—Multiply the runs of polyrope or polytape desired times the length of your fence and add a few extra feet. Polybriad is also good; wide polytape will wear out fast in windy areas; polywire and metal wire aren’t recommended because horses will have a hard time seeing them and metal wire can injure horses. E) Line Insulators and Top’r Insulators—you need enough line insulators to match the number of runs of conductor times the number of line posts; consider using Top’r insulators for the top run on all posts. F) Corner Insulators—Get enough corner knob insuators (for polyrope or braid) or enough corner insulator/tensioners for polytape to provide one insulator for every run of polyconductor on each corner post.
Avoid using polytape with U-posts on the corners, as corner polytape insulators for U-posts are unavailable or very hard to find. G) End Insulators—Get enough to provide one insulator for every run of conductor on each end post; these may or may not be identical to your corner insulators. H) Splicers/Crimps—Be sure to have enough of these for joining separate lengths of the conductor and for terminating the conductor when it comes to an end or gate.
I) Springs and Other Tensioners—Springs are useful for keeping polyrope/polybriad taut. In the case of polytape this tensioning job may be done by corner/end insulators and splicers.
J) Electrical connectors—Get polyrope clamps or polytape connectors for connecting hookup wire to the fence conductor wherever hookup wire is used—for going under gates, connecting separate fence sections, and connecting separate strands of conductor on the fence. K) Gate Gear—Use gate handles and gate anchors for narrow gate openings, bungee or tape gate kits for wide gate openings. For each gate you should have one set of gate gear for each run of conductor on the fence.
Make sure the posts being installed to support the gate are compatible with your gate gear. L) Ground Rods—You only need a little two-footer if the soil is reasonably moist and your fence is short – all of it being within 200 feet of the rod; you need a 6-footer if the soil is reasonably moist and the fence is less than a quarter-mile long; and you need one rod for every quarter-mile of fence if the fence is longer. If the ground will sometimes be bone dry or hard frozen, keep using ground rods, but also plan on doubling up on your runs of conductor on the fence, alternating charged and grounded runs—with the grounded runs being connected to a ground rod or the ground terminal on your charger. M) Accessories: Manual or Mechanical Post Driver—Many fence-builders installing posts will have one of these.
Browse to the Kasperksy key file (with.key extension) and click Next button to activate your Kaspersky product. Kaspersky internet security 2011. Simply click Ok button to see Activate using key file option.
If you don’t, it may be advisable to purchase a manual post driver. N) Accessories: Reels and Storage Spools—If you don’t already have one, get a reel for convenient dispensing of your conductor. If you plan to move the fence or store the conductor, get enough extra spools to accomplish this.
O) Accessories: Warning Signs—As a courtesy, place these at points where people unfamiliar with the fence are likely to contact it. Some states require warning signs. P) Accessories: Fence Tester—This is a basic tool for trouble-shooting problems and confirming that the fence is working all along its length. Q) Accessories: Switches—Single-throw switches will turn the fence on or off at gates far from the charger. Double-throw switches will convert certain conductors from charged to grounded in order to cope with seasonally dry or frozen ground. R) Accessories: Lightning Choke and Diverter—This protects the charger against lightning surges coming in along the fence line.
S) Accessories: Power Drain Limiter—Electrically disengages the lowest run of conductor from the rest of the fence if the weed burden on that run becomes excessive. The metal posts used for electric horse fences are typically standard studded steel T-posts weighing 1.25 to 1.33 pounds per foot.
Installing Electric Horse Fencing
Metal U-posts 1.75 to 2.125 inches across may also be used. These posts should be at least 6 feet long for a 4-foot fence and at least 7 feet long for a 5-foot fence so as to be set two feet deep. The easiest way of installing these posts is with a manual (or mechanical) post driver.
Should you have very few posts to install, an ordinary post-hole digger can also do the job. INSTALLING THE INSULATORS Top’r Insulators: If you are using these, attach one to the top of each post. Corner Knob Insulators for Polyrope and Polybraid: If using corner knob insulators, go up to each corner post and place as many corner knobs as you will have runs of polyrope or braid on the fence at the base of each post, together with an equal number of attachment wires. Do the same thing at each end post (where the fence joins up with a building, wall, or another length of fence) and at each gate post that does not provide the terminal connections needed. Once the polyrope or polybraid has been installed on all the line insulators (see below), insert the polyrope or braid into the inner channel of a corner knob. Then run the metal attachment wire around the knob’s outer channel, twist the attachment wire around itself to secure it in the outer channel, and fasten the wire to the post at an appropriate height.
Do this with all the corner knobs, so that when the polyrope or polybraid is drawn tight all the knobs will stand out from the posts. Polytape Tensioners for Corner and End Posts: These are readily available for standard T-posts but not for U-posts. Attach one of these to each corner T-post at all heights where you want to hang a run of conductor. If you have end posts (places where the fence joins up with a building, wall, or another length of fence) attach these insulators to them as you did with the corner posts; position them so that they point toward the rest of the fence along the fence line. If you have gates along this length of fence, and if those gates do not provide all the terminal connections needed, attach an insulator to each gate post for each run of conductor on the fence.
Insulators for Line Posts: Go up to each line post in turn and attach insulators onto it at all heights where you want a run of conductor to go INSTALLING THE CONDUCTOR Installing Polyrope/Polybraid and Springs If your fence has a gate or comes to an end against a building or other structure, start your polyrope/braid there. Otherwise start it at any corner. If you have springs, prepare to install a spring by cutting a length of polyrope/braid about a foot long, putting it through one end of the spring (and a hole in the gate anchor if there is one), and using a crimp to create a closed circle with the spring attached. Tighten the crimp with a pair of pliers (no crimping tool is needed).
If using corner knobs, slip this circle of polyrope/braid into the inner channel of a corner knob before tightening the corner knob wire and securing the corner knob to the post. Now, whether you are using springs or not, unreel a short length of polyrope/braid from the spool and do one of three things: (a) string it through the free end of the spring (the end with no polyrope/braid in it), and crimp it to itself so that it is attached to the spring; or (b) run it through a hole in a gate anchor and crimp it to itself so that it is attached to the gate anchor; or (c) place it on the inner channel of a corner knob, install the knob at the desired height on the post with attachment wire, and crimp the polyrope/braid to itself so that it is attached to the corner knob. Advance along the fence line, unwinding the polyrope/braid as you go and hanging it from each line (or Top’r) insulator at the same height as the insulator or gate anchor where you started. When you come to another corner knob place the polyrope/braid on that, install the corner knob on the post with attachment wire, and continue as before until you reach a post that is at the end of the fence or at an intervening gate or structure. If you happen to run out of polyrope/braid in the process, start a new spool and splice it to the end of the old one with a crimp. Now pull the polyrope/braid taut all the way from the spring or corner knob where you started. Then take it a short distance (a foot or less) beyond the post where it will terminate; cut it at that point; string a crimp onto it; put it on the appropriate corner knob (after attaching the knob), or gate anchor; bring it back through the crimp; and tighten the crimp with a pair of pliers.
Follow this same procedure to install each run of polyrope on all sections of your fence. Installing Polytape If your fence has a gate or comes to an end at a building or other structure, start your run of polytape there. Otherwise start it at any corner. Unreel a short length of polytape from the spool and terminate it using the splicing buckle of an insulator on the relevant corner/end/gate post. Advance along the fence line, unwinding the polytape as you go and hanging it from each line (or Top’r) insulator at the same height as the insulator or gate anchor where you started. When you come to a corner, end, or gate terminate the polytape at the appropriate insulator; cut the polytape; and continue as before until you reach a post that is at the end of the fence. If you happen to run out of polytape in the process, start a new spool and attach it to the end of the old one with a splicing buckle.
If the polytape is sagging anywhere, correct this by pulling it tight using the splicing buckle on an insulator at an appropriate corner, end, or gate. Follow this same procedure to install each run of polytape on all sections of your fence.
Brown Electric Horse Fence
INSTALLING THE ELECTRIC FENCE CHARGER Regardless of the kind of charger being used, be sure to read the instructions that come with it – keeping in mind that the makers were typically thinking of long cattle fences in dry areas, and so things said about ground rods and such may not fit your needs. AC-powered chargers: Plug the charger into a nearby AC outlet and (after unplugging it) connect its positive terminal to the fence with hookup wire and a polyrope or polytape clamp. Battery-powered chargers: Put your charger and its batteries close to the fence but outside the enclosure, so that a horse cannot harm them, and connect the charger to the fence with a short length of hookup wire and a polyrope or poklytape clamp. Some of the weaker chargers can run off four flashlight batteries set right into the charger’s case as well as off 12-volt lead-acid batteries, while most of the stronger battery-powered chargers need 12-volt lead-acid batteries. If using lead-acid batteries, get two batteries so that one can be running the fence during the hours or days that the other is recharging, and also get a good quality battery recharger. Be sure to get deep cycle batteries (boat or golf cart batteries rather than car batteries).
Also, know your charger’s joule rating and figure that a 60 amp-hour battery will be able to power a pulsed charger with a 1 joule output for about a month before it needs to be recharged. Solar-powered chargers: If you have a strong solar-powered system—in which the solar panel, the panel’s controller, the battery, the battery case, and the electric fence charger all come as separate components—plan on placing the system in a sunny place outside the enclosure and follow the assembly instructions that come with the system. If you have a weak system, in which all the components come as a single self-enclosed unit, place the unit similarly and follow the instructions for charging up the unit. Then, once the system is ready, connect the charger’s positive terminal to the fence with a short length of hookup wire and a polyrope or polytape clamp.
INSTALLING THE GROUNDING SYSTEM If the fence is short (none of it is over 200 feet from the ground rod) and the ground in the area usually contains some moisture, then you probably need nothing more than a little 2-foot ground rod. If the fence is longer, between 200 and 1,320 feet, then a single 6-foot ground rod installed near the fence and charger should do the job unless the ground is very dry or frozen. If the fence is over 1,320 feet (a quarter-mile) long, plan on installing one 6-foot ground rod near the charger and others at quarter-mile intervals along the fence line, connecting these with a special run of polyrope that is connected to these ground rods rather than to the charger’s positive terminal and that is kept out of contact with any of the charged runs of polyconductor on the fence.
Should the ground typically be bone dry or hard-frozen when the fence needs to operate, go ahead and install one or more ground rods as above, but then alternate the polyconductors on the fence so that every other run of conductor is charged while the remaining runs are tied into the grounding system. Put each pair of charged and grounded runs fairly close together (within 6 or 8 inches) but not touching. Then connect all the runs being charged to one another and all the runs being grounded to one another as described in “Connecting the Runs” below.
CONNECTING THE RUNS Connect all the runs of conductor to be charged at the place where the hookup wire from the charger’s positive terminal contacts the fence. Start by taking a short length of hookup wire and connecting it to the top two runs to be charged with two polyconductor clamps. Then connect the second run of charged polyconductor to the third with another short run of hookup wire and two more clamps, continuing this process until all the runs being charged have been connected. In the event you plan to have two or more grounded runs of conductor on the fence (see “Installing the Grounding System” above), connect these grounded runs together in the manner described in the preceding paragraph.
Then use hookup wire, or any other metal wire you like, to connect one of these grounded runs to the charger’s negative (ground) terminal or to a ground rod that in turn is connected to the charger’s ground terminal. Should you have isolated fence sections, connect these by going under intervening gates or around intervening structures with undergate and hookup wire. This hookup wire can be placed a few inches underground with a trowel; or, if there is to be horse or vehicle traffic over it, it can be placed in a pipe or other conduit to keep its insulation from getting cracked. In any case, connect the hookup wire to a run of the conductor being charged on both sides of the fence with polyconductor clamps. If the fence is to carry runs of grounded conductor, follow the same procedure—going under or around the gate or structure with a length of undergate and hookup wire or other wire, connecting this to a grounded run of conductor on both sides of the fence, and connecting all the grounded runs in the isolated section with short lengths of hookup wire and polyconductor clamps. ELECTRIFYING GATES If you get a gate off our website, there’s no need to electrify it.
That’s because the gate anchors will carry the charge to the polyconductor crossing the gate. If you have made your own electric fence gates with gate handles and runs of polyconductor, you probably know what to do. Should any connecting up be needed, simply use two polyconductor clamps and a longish length of hookup wire to connect a run of polyconductor on the hinge side of the gate to a run of polyconductor on the gate. Should the fence have both charged and grounded runs of polyconductor, carry both of these onto the gate, using the methods described in “Connecting the Runs” above. Should you wish to electrify a farm gate along this fence that is made of wood or metal piping, find insulators on our website or elsewhere that can be nailed to the wood or clamped onto the metal piping.
Mount a pair of these insulators at the left and right sides of the gate door and use these with two crimps to string a run of polyconductor across the gate. Repeat this for each run of polyconductor that you want placed on the gate. Then use the method described above to connect the charged (or charged and grounded) polyconductors on the gate door to each other and also to a charged polyconductor or to charged and grounded polyconductors on the hinge side of the fence. This completes installation of your fence. ADDENDUM: INSTALLING ACCESSORIES Installation or operation of most electric fence accessories (reels, testers, warning signs, etc.) are pretty self-explanatory. However, protectors against lightning and protectors against weeds are tricky enough to deserve some attention here.
Lightning Choke and Diverter This device, which helps protect your electric fence charger from lightning striking the fence, should be connected to its own ground rods. Those ground rods should be at least 50 feet away from any ground rod serving the charger, and they should be more numerous that the charger’s ground rods – so that if the charger has one ground rod the lightning choke and diverter should have two, and so forth. Install the choke and diverter on a short post where it can receive the hookup wire coming out of the charger’s positive terminal and pass that charge onto the fence via another short length of hookup wire. Both of these hookup wires are attached to the top of the diverter where the loops of wire (the “choke” part) are located.
The “diverter” (the lower part of the device) is attached with metal wire or hookup wire to the diverter’s ground rods. With things so arranged, if a lightning surge comes along and is strong enough to jump the gap between the device’s two “rabbit ears,” then it can get to the ground via the device’s ground rods without passing through and damaging the charger. Protector against Weeds (Power Drain Limiter) The bane of electric horse fence owners is weeds that lean against the fence, drain power off the fence, and discourage or prevent the fence from shocking horses. This “weed burden protector” (also known as a power drain limiter) delays arrival of the fence charger’s pulsed charge at the bottom run of polyconductor, the run most prone to contacting weeds. Then, if the weed burden on this lowest run is large, the charge on the lowest run (arriving late) will be neutralized, but the charge on the upper runs (where the charge arrives earlier) will continue working and shocking horses. Install this device (using two polyconductor clamps) at every place along your fence where the charge is passed onto the lowest run of polyconductor, so that the charge cannot reach this lowest run without passing through a power drain limiter.