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Step-in-posts
Plastic or metal step-in-posts are the most common line post used with the poly-products. Some
people use metal re-bar or fiberglass rod posts with poly-products but each has their limitations.
The weight of re-bar and the need for insulators limit the efficiency of re-bar posts. The fiberrod
posts are useful as long as soil conditions allow the posts to be easily pushed into the ground by
hand. When the soil is hard, either from freezing or drought, the posts must be hammered. To
prevent the fiberglass from splintering, a driving cap must be used. Beating a post with a driving
cap on it with a hammer does not lend itself to easy fencing.

Numerous models of step-in-posts are available with a wide range in appearances and
characteristics. Over the years we have identified five characteristics that make a step-in post
useful. These are 1) durability and long term flexibility, 2) a smaller diameter spike that will
penetrate hard or frozen ground relatively easily, 3) a big enough step you can actually get your
foot on, 4) enough wire clips to allow some flexibility in wire height or spacing, and 5) easy to
get the conductor on and off without handling the wire.

We have only found one post that meets all these criteria and that is the O’Brien Treadline post.
We have been using this post for over 20 years and have found nothing else that begins to compare
with it. Many post become brittle under either or both intense sunlight or extreme cold conditions.
With year-around use, we lose 3-5% of the posts annually due to breakage at our Idaho location.
This is in high UV conditions due altitude, many days of sub-zero temperatures, rocky soil, and
high wildlife pressure. In the softer Missouri environment, the posts were even more durable.

The 3/16" diameter spike on the O’Brien post is much easier to get into hard ground than the
typical
3/8" spike on most other posts. The spikes are flat tipped as they come form the factory. Running
them by the bench grinder to put a little point on them makes them work even better in challenging
ground conditions. The step will accommodate all but the largest feet for applying firm pressure to
get them in the ground. There are eight polywire/tape clips on one side of the post and four super-
wide tape clips on the opposite side. The bent L-shaped clips make the posts easy to attach and

remove poly-products without having to handle the conductor. This means the post can be used with
the power on saving much time when putting fences up and down.
Using portable fence in winter conditions to graze stockpiled pastures or budget out hay feeding
may require some special considerations in certain environments. If high moisture soil is frozen,
no step-in-post goes easily into the ground. If the step is sufficiently broad and the spike
sufficiently narrow, a gentle rocking motion of the foot applied with downward pressure will
usually get the post into the ground sufficient depth to hold the fence. If the fence makes a
corner, the post may not get deep enough in frozen ground to hold. Post anchors for use on top of
frozen ground can be made from 2-inch thick concrete circles with a tube in the center to hold the
post spike as corner assemblies. The circles are made slicing 5 gallon plastic buckets into 2-inch
wide rings and using these rings as a concrete mini-form. A piece of rubber or plastic tubing with
an inside diameter slightly larger than the post spike is placed in the center while the concrete
is still wet. A handle can be put in the top side using almost anything. Some people have used a 12
inch square piece of 3-inch bridge plank for corner anchors with a center hole drilled to
accommodate the post spike. The imagination is the only limit to using portable
fence in the winter.

The energizer is the heart of any electric-fence
system, so select it carefully. A good unit will provide
years of service if it is properly installed and
maintained. Price should not be the determining
factor.Many operators have started with farmstore
specials that ended up crashing.
The cost to purchase two or three
cheap models is as much or more
than the cost of purchasing
a good one
initially.
Purchase a lowimpedance
energizer
with a minimum 5,000-volt output. It should produce
35-65 pulses per minute with each pulse lasting
not more than 0.0003 seconds. Each pulse also
should have an intensity of less than 300 mAmps.
Seek advice about energizers from experienced
graziers, from sales people and from NRCS personnel.
NRCS employees cannot recommend specific
brands, but they can offer general advice. One
of the best methods is to look at several operations
similar to yours, and find out what those graziers
are using and if they are happy with their units.
Consider the type of livestock to be controlled.
For example, containing sheep, goats or horses may
require special considerations for
charger size and fence construction
to ensure that the animals receive
adequate shocks when they contact
electric fences.
Purchase a larger unit (energizer)
than you think you need
because graziers usually expand
their systems as they realize the benefits of modern
electric fencing. Also increase the size of the
energizer if you anticipate a high weed load near
the fence.
All energizers should come with manuals that
explain installation and operation.

Just as the energizer should be matched to the size of the
fencing job, the solar panel must match the energy draw
of the energizer. For each 1 joule energizer output, allow
seven watts of solar panel capacity in high sunlight areas
and ten watts in low sunshine areas. In Missouri the
seven watt capacity has proven adequate in most
conditions, but in wet cloudy springs seven watts has
proven inadequate for keeping batteries fully charged.
Solar panels should be oriented from due south to no
more than 20 degrees to the southwest. The logic for
orienting the panel slightly to the southwest is because
mornings are often cloudy with clearing in later
afternoon, particularly in the spring and fall when day
length is shorter, thus more hours of intense radiation
occur when the sun has already progressed to the western
portion of the sky. The panel should be oriented so many
degrees off horizontal based on your latitude. Because
the angle of the sun's rays striking the earth differs
through the seasons, the efficiency of a fixed orientation
varies seasonally. For panels used only during the spring
to fall grazing season, 25-30 degrees off horizontal may be appropriate. Winter grazing requires a
panel more steeply inclined, up to 60 degrees off horizontal with a south to southwest orientation.

The University of Maine - Cooperative Extension: Livestock - Northeast Grazing Guide

 

we sell poultry netting!

Reels
To use the poly-products effectively a retrieval-dispersal system is a must. Many types of
commercial reels are available and many producers make their own. Features to look for in a
commercial reel are a positive locking system, a good warranty, the capacity to hold the amount of
product typically used, and for most applications hi-speed gearing.

Two basic types of locking systems are used. The first is a cog and lock lever system. This is a
truly positive lock that prevents the accidental payout of fence. This system is advantageous for
keeping the fence taut, particularly in rough, rolling terrain. The other system is a rubberized
friction washer that is tightened with a knob to keep the spool from turning. The washer systems
work well until the washers become polished and no longer hold the spool in place. When this
occurs, the fence will sag and an animal stepping across the sagging fence may pull several hundred
feet of tape or polywire across the field. With a positive lock the fence is less likely to sag and
encourage animals to try to cross it but if the animal does cross the fence, the animal may drag
the reel across the field (hence, the need for a good warranty!).

Reels may have from no warranty up to 5-year warranty on the plastic components of the reel. If a
person is inclined to toss the reel in the back of the pickup and then throw a load of firewood in
on top, no reel is going to last and the warranty will be void. Most reels are fairly durable but
do need a little common sense in handling, as they are largely plastic. We have been using some
reels for more than 15 years and find they are holding up well. Others have worn out or fallen
apart in 2 to
3 years. This is an area where you definitely get what you pay for. A bargain reel is usually no
bargain.

Reel capacities vary from as little a 300 ft of tape up to 1320 ft. Polywire capacities may range
from
660 feet to 2640 feet or even greater. The reel capacity should be sized to the situation. If a
20-acre field that is 660 feet wide is to be strip grazed, there is no need to purchase a reel
containing 2000 feet of polywire. If stretches of 1000 feet are typically used, one reel with at
least that much capacity will be more cost effective than using two reels of lesser capacity. With
a little forward thinking, having an excessive amount of reserve capacity or coming up short can be
easily avoided. Just size
the equipment to the job to be done.
If fences are put up and taken down with regularity or if numerous portable fences are used, a
geared
reel is helpful. While most reels work with a 1:1 retrieval ratio, a geared reel can retrieve tape
or polywire at a much more rapid rate. The usual ratio is 3:1. A geared reel will cost more than a
1:1 reel of comparable quality, thus there should be valid justification for the time saving
investment in the geared reel.

We have found the O’Brien 3:1 geared reels to be most satisfactory and have been using them for
15-20 years

Many other options in reels are possible. Many producers use extension cord reels as polywire or
polytape reels. These reels are much cheaper than designed fencing reels but may not be as
convenient to use. Welding wire and electrical wire spools can be converted to fence reels very
easily. In our experience with different types of reel, we believe in the principle of use a hammer
for
a hammer and screwdriver for a screwdriver.

The most commonly used materials for portable fencing are polywire and polytape. Both of these
materials are combinations of plastic strands and metal filaments. Usually the plastic component is
polyethylene and the metal is stainless steel. Other products are available that use fiberglass
strands for structure and aluminum or tin-copper alloy for the conductors. The main feature of
these products is that they are lightweight and require no tools for setup. Virtually no bracing is
needed to hold the fence and very light duty line posts may be used. The main limitation of the
poly products is the distance that they can be energized before the internal resistance of the fine
wire filaments used as conductors becomes restrictive.

Most polywire contains either 6 or 9 strands of conducting wires. The wires may either be stainless
steel or some alloy with higher electrical conductivity, such as tin-copper. The 9-strand stainless
steel can be effectively energized for distances up to ½ mile or 2640 feet. Beyond this distance,
voltage may begin to drop off. A 6-strand tin-copper product is usually more conductive than
9-strand stainless steel and may be energized for greater distances. The downside of tin-copper
filaments is they are not as durable as stainless steel. More strands of plastic in 9-strand
products also serve to increase the breaking strength and visibility of the product. Both 6 or
9-strand products may contain two or three color filaments, which greatly adds to the visibility
and longevity of the material.

Polywire is available in two different basic forms: twisted or braided. Braided polywire offers
several advantages over twisted products. Conductivity of any braided cable is greater than a solid
wire of similar gauge. This is because electricity moves along the wire surface, not through its
core. Braiding increases the effective surface area of wire. Braiding also increases strength
whether we’re talking about plastic string or wire. Braided polywire has significantly higher
breaking strength compared to twisted polywire. Added strength means greater longevity for the
product. Cheaper polywires end up being much more expensive than buying top quality polybraid due
to their much shorter life expectancy.

We now use gallaher Polybraid exclusively in our temporary fence situations.
Polytape comes in a similar array of options. Generally the cheaper the price, the fewer wires and
less durable the plastic. Polytape should be purchased on the basis of number of filaments and
quality of the plastic weave in the tape. A good polytape will have the visible appearance of good
stout strapping tape and contain at least 6 wire filaments.

Tape has the advantage of greater visibility when compared to polywire. The tape tends to flutter
in the breeze and attract animal attention and inspection. This generally leads to quicker animal
recognition and training to the fence. However, the same fluttering may cause greater wear of the
tape on metal post clips or insulators that will reduce the useful life of the fence. A good
quality tape should have a useful life of 5 to 7 years unless it is handles abusively. Polywire may
last up to 10-15
years with proper use. Each new generation of products has a longer useful life.

A lightning diverter should be installed where the
lead-out wire attaches to the fence. A lightning diverter at this location serves the double
purpose of diverting some of the initial energy surge to ground and serving as a route of exit from
the fence of the energy flow reversed by the induction coil. This device has two terminals for
attaching wires and leads from each terminal that are set with a wide enough gap to prevent the
normal energizer voltage flow from arcing across, but close enough to allow a lightning voltage
spike to jump easily across and pass to ground. The top terminal is attached to the uppermost
electrified wire and the lower terminal to a ground rod. The lightning diverter ground must be
separate from the energizer ground. If a common ground rod is used, the lightning spike can pass
through the common ground system and return to the energizer potentially damaging the circuitry. It
is relatively cheap insurance to install several lightning diverters through the fence system at
lightning prone locations and where fences network together.
Ideally, more total ground rod capacity should be installed under the lightning diverter system
than under the energizer itself. Several types of lightning diverters are available, but all work
on the same
principle.

Selecting the right fence materials for the job is the first step in successfully using electric
fence for
grazing management. Properly sizing the energizer and grounding system to the task is critical for
ensuring reliability of the fence to contain livestock. Building a framework of permanent fences
and working with portable fences to fine tune management is often the most cost effective strategy
for small and medium sized grazing operations.

The voltage required to maintain control of livestock varies with the type of livestock in the
pasture. Commonly reported figures for adequate livestock control are: cattle - 1600v; sheep and
hair goats -
2000v; hogs, horses, and meat goats - 1200v. Our experience has been that these values are lower
than what is reliably effective. Maintaining fence line voltage of at least 3000 v will help ensure
animal control in almost all situations.

We have tried numerous materials for electric gates over the past 25 years and have identified
several products that have worked well for us and numerous other that did not. Gates have three
primary components: the conductive gate material itself, the gate handle, and the gate hookup.

Using hi-tensile wire for your gates maintains continuity of conductivity, but is otherwise mostly
a nuisance. It has no give so if livestock or wildlife hit the gate it usually results in either a
broken gate handle or hookup. It is prone to twisting and kinking unless it is carefully opened and
either laid to the side or hung out of the way. There is no such thing as tossing a hi-tensile gate
hurriedly to the side and then putting back in place without untangling the wire.

Spring gates have similar characteristics. Great conductivity, but a mess if it ever gets away from
you.

We went through a period of using 11 or 12 ½ ga. aluminum hi-tensile wire for gates but had similar
problems. Great conductivity, but prone to breakage and kinking.

We began using all-steel brake cable and found, while it could be tossed aside and kinking was no
longer a problem, handle and hookup breakage was still a problem.
Polyrope is another portable fence material that is used more for specialty applications such a
horse fencing. We found it to be an excellent gate material. This is basically a very heavy-duty
polywire that may be 3/16 to 1/4 inch diameter. It has excellent conductivity, high visibility, and
good breaking strength. Polyrope is available with either polyethylene or polyester base. The
polyester products tend to be more durable and easier to work with. Polyrope has enough give to
eliminate most of the handle and hookup failures we had experienced with all of the wire or cable
used for gates.
Another useful material for gates is electrified bungee rope. This is exactly what the name
implies: stretchable bungee with electrical conductors. It provides resiliency in gates that has
not been available with either wire, cable, or polyrope. Conductivity is similar to polyrope.
Bungee is usually cut to about 60% the width of the opening and stretched to close the gateway. It
has a lot of give so rather than breaking upon animal impact, it can stretch with the animal and
continue to shock it.
18
Usually the animal will move backwards from a bungee gate
a ft e r r e c e ivi ng mul tip le sh oc ks be c a us e they soon realize the pain is
ahead of them not behind them. Bungee is also useful for the longer gates we commonly use around
water blocks. When we used cable or polyrope, precise placement of the four posts forming the water
block was critical so that any gate would fit any opening in the block. The additional stretch in
the bungee eliminates the need for such careful post placement.
Gate handles can be divided into two basic types: stretch springs or compression springs. The
usefulness of stretch spring handles is easily destroyed by animals running into the gates. As the
name implies, the springs stretch. The problem is they do not return to their original length and
have lost all their springiness. The majority of electric gate handles are this type.

The spring inside the handle cannot be stretched out of shape as it can only be compressed. Animals
running into the gate rarely ever damage the handle itself. Compression springs do not have near as
much give to them as do stretch handles. The one advantage stretch spring handles have is you do
not have to be quite so careful have just the right length of gate to fit the opening.

If using these products for gates, it is advisable to move them out of the way rather than just
dropping it and driving over it. We have found both the polyrope and bungee products break down
much more quickly where they have been driven on. It is still very easy to just toss the gate aside
without worries about it becoming twisted or kinked as is common with wire gates.

You can spend anywhere from $1 to $2.50 for a pre-made gate hookup. These are typically a metal
plate with one or more slots or holes for hooking in gates that are mounted on a pin-lock
insulator. We prefer to make the simple hookup shown in the picture to the right. Simply leave a
long tail on the hot wire after tying it off
at the terminal insulator and bring it around to the gate side of the end post. Slip on a short
piece of insultube and then crimp a loop in the end of the wire. Staple the tube to the end post
and there you have it. This costs about 20¢ rather than $1.50.
Do not confuse this blue compression spring handle with blue stretch spring handles often found in
farm
& home stores. There is no c o m p a r i s o n i n q u a l ity
between the two!