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Electric Fencing Explained
There are many things that look complicated, not too sure about them but will not ask as you feel you should know about it - Electric fencing is one of them. It has been around for sometime now and everyone should know about it, but doesn't.
An adequately designed and constructed electric fence works by the combination of a weak physical barrier (the fence) and a strong psychological imprint (the 6000v sting) created in the mind of the animal. An energizer attached to the fence wires produces a short but painful sting, similar to a sharp thwack from a riding crop, when touched by the animal. The low amperage (15-100mA) and short duration (about 1/300th. of a second) results in a sharp but safe sting that then creates a psychological barrier that the animal associates with the fence and discourages it from touching it again. Fortunately it only takes one or two in the group to be affected and the rest will copy these, called "Socially Conditioned Avoidance"
The strength of the shock depends on several variables, but two basic terms in combination will determine the strength of a fence:
" Voltage," measured in volts (V) is the force or pressure with which a current flows through the circuit. The higher the voltage, the further the current can travel through the wire before resistance slows it down; higher voltage also causes a stronger "startle" from the sting.
" Amperage" (amps) measures the magnitude or strength of the current. The higher the amperage, the greater the sensation the current will cause when it enters a body.
The level of unpleasantness produced by a shock depends more on the amperage -- or size -- than on the voltage -- or pressure -- of a current. A household 220V, 13 Amp mains circuit will give you a far more dangerous shock than a 6000v, .0025 Amp Electric fence energizer circuit.
Electric fencing is extremely portable and versatile; it may be used on its own for both permanent and temporary fencing and has been used around the world to control every mammal in some guise or other. It may be used to prevent damage to a larger fence such as horses pushing down a post-and-rail fence. It is cheaper, easier to erect, more effective and far safer than a barbed wire and is a fraction of the cost of a post and rail fence.
If a good fence is installed and a few criteria are adhered to, the maintenance on an electric fence may be LESS than other fences. A "wimpy" fence energizer gives you a wimpy fence. Animals will think a single strand fence is a joke without a strong bite and they'll walk right through it. Your energizer should come from a dependable supplier, have a warranty and replaceable components. Please buy one that puts out lots of power and buy a tester at the same time. During a wet year, you may have plant growth touching the wires. That's when you will need extra oomph to power through the heavy, wet vegetation. Better quality energizers will burn off a fair amount of casual vegetation and assist in maintaining a good fence, but this should not be counted on to maintain your fence. Many animals keep a fence line remarkably clean by grazing beneath the wire.
It is important to know the quality of the conductor that is being used in the fence. The quality of the Electric "sting" delivered to the target is directly dependant on the quality of the conducting material. This is the "barb" that will keep your target animal where you want him. The conductivity of the material is usually quoted as "Ohms per metre" (this is a measure of the inline resistance). The higher this figure is - the less of the current that is delivered to that important sting and the less wire an energizer will be able to energize. The lower the Ohms/metre is the more electricity it will carry and deliver an effective sting and do what it is required to do.
An energizer capable of energizing 9 km with a 0.05 Ohms/m. conductor will be reduced to just 1.3km if you use a conductor of over 10 Ohms/m. Conversely, when an energizer is used to charge 1.3 km of fence using a good conductor it will use far less energy than using a poor conductor; - your batteries will last far longer. Consideration should be given to not use anything higher than 10 Ohms per metre and if your supplier won't tell you what he supplies, then ignore it. "Superior" what does that mean?
Many people feel that earthing (grounding) is of little importance yet 80% of problems may be attributed to poor earthing as poor ground contact gives a weak sting. The biggest culprit is the earth-rod itself and a rusty piece of metal is not a good conductor. The contact from the animal through the soil to the energizer is half of the loop taken by the electric current and is as vital as the visible portion of the fence. Rather use galvanized rods embedded into moist soil and securely connected to the energizers' earth return. Stream beds, ditches or near a water tap are ideal sites as long as it is not near a household earthing system.
Animal training is an ignored aspect of electric fencing. When animals not accustomed to the fence are introduced, attach some strips of kitchen foil to the fence. These will wave in the wind and attract their attention so that they investigate it gently instead of blundering into the fence. The nose is the target for any animal as it is wet, bare of hair and very sensitive. This may be boosted by baiting the line or foil with some peanut butter or molasses and is highly effective. Studies with wild animals have shown that pressure on the fence occurs only in the first week and then tails off to zero.
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