For most installations of electric fence chargers, the ground connection is required for the shock to be effective. If the Fence and the Ground terminals of the fence charger are connected to different strands of the fence then, the ground connection would not be required to get the shock. In this case the full shock of the fence charger would be felt between the different strands of the fence but not necessarily from the fence to ground. This method is primarily used when the ground is very dry (desert conditions).

For the more normal electric fence charger installation, the ground terminal is connected to one or more ground rods. The number of ground rods required for the installation is determined by the power of the charger and by the condition of the soil. The pulse from the fence charger goes out onto the fence and must complete the circuit by returning through the animal and into the ground and then traveling in the moisture in the soil and back up the ground rod and to the ground terminal of the fence charger. If this is a poor circuit then the shock will be weak. As a rule of thumb, one ground rod is needed plus one additional ground rod for each 4 joules of output power (ex. for a 8 joule output charger you would want 3 ground rods). These ground rods should be 6 to 8 feet deep. Ground rods are normally galvanized and are sufficient but copper rods are better. They should be spaced at least 10 feet apart and should be connected with a good conductor ( at least 12 ga. copper or 12.5 ga fence wire) with clamped connections to the Ground terminal of the fence charger. It is preferable to use a good antioxidant paste on the connections.

The ground rod connection is not only needed to get a good shock but is also required for lightning protection. If you purchase a fence charger that has good lightning protection circuits inside, then the method of lightning protection used is normally to short the energy from the lightning to the ground rods to protect the rest of the circuitry from damage, bypassing the rest of the circuit boards and sometimes blowing a fuse. If the fuse is available to the customer then often an inexpensive fuse replacement will save damage on more expensive circuit boards and the transformer (the most expensive part and the heart of the fence charger).

I hope this is helpful in explaining the importance of the ground rods and their connection to the fence charger.

An must-see TED talk by Alan Savory, originator of Holistic Planned Grazing



How is it that flocks and herds can grow so fast? Ten ewes turned into 20 and starting with one steer we suddenly find ourselves with 15 head! Well, okay, it wasn’t that sudden, but it didn’t take that long either, with one phenomenal Jersey milker and a supply of dairy bull calves.

Now what? Now we need some permanent fence around our fields to make grazing easier and to keep the animals out of the swampy areas & sugar woods. A visit with Nick Commerci from the St Johnsbury NRCS office assured us that they could help fund some fences so we delved into the first challenge of the project – pouring over maps and areal photos and countless walks around the fields to figure out the best fence layout around buildings, determining exactly where gates and corners would go, counting posts and measuring field edges so we could order the ~12,000′ of fence that NRCS agreed to help with.

 

What kind of fence to choose? That was the easy part! Several years ago I saw an article in David Kline’s Farming Magazine about an electrified, high-tensile woven wire. My parents have used it on their farm with great success so without hesitation, we decided to use that for a large percentage of our farm as well. This wire is really fantastic because it is easier to hang on Vermont topography than regular woven wire but it is much more effective than 5 or 7 strands of HT smooth wire.

The specs on this fence are 7-36-24, so it has seven strands of horizontal wire at a total height of 36” and verticals every 24”. We put a ground wire on the ground and hang the fence up 6”. This amount can vary with the terrain, but we try to keep it less than 9” and more than 4”. We also string a hot wire 8” above the top of the wire. So the total fence height is about 48”. Insulators must be put on each post, however we don’t insulate every strand, just 3-4 per post. On corners we slide a piece of 3/4” pvc down between the post and wire during tensioning or staple a few 3/8” fiber rods around the outside of the post before tensioning.

The fence is wired with maximum flexibility in electrification options. We can just make the top wire hot to keep cows & horses from reaching over and to provide an electricity source for electronet subdivisions. This gives the animals a chance to eat down grass right along/under the fence. Or we can electrify the whole fence whenever needed to keep them from rubbing on it, to train livestock and/or predators. Because it is woven wire it provides a visible physical barrier for the animals.

Because there is so much less wire in this fence than most woven wire, it is less expensive so it fits into an NRCS budget more easily. Given that it holds animals more effectively than smooth wire, is easier to install and less expensive than woven wire, it is a clear choice for a large variety of fence applications. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll tell you that I’m not affiliated with the company in any way. I think that there are folks in the Northeast who could really benefit from knowing about and taking advantage of this fantastic fence. We’re installing over 7,000′ of it this year. My folks have had theirs for almost 5 years and they love it for sheep, goats, cows and horses.

Now we’re on to the biggest challenge of any fencing project – installing it. We’ve got about 1200′ up, only ~6,000′ to go!

A convicted killer who authorities say managed to evade guards and peel through two electrically charged fences to escape a Michigan prison was tripped up by transportation issues once on the outside.

After losing the woman he abducted and ditching her Jeep in an Indiana town, authorities say Michael David Elliot made his way to another Indiana community, where he stole another vehicle. But a sheriff's deputy quickly spotted the stolen Chevrolet Monte Carlo on Monday evening and chased after it, leading to Elliot's capture.

No one was injured in the chase, and the abducted woman also wasn't hurt.

Authorities are now left to sort out exactly how Eliot was able to get out of the Michigan prison. Fences were equipped with motion sensors to alert guards. The fences also carry electric current to shock anyone who touches them.

"It appears that did not happen. ... He was not zapped with electricity, and he was not picked up by the motion sensors," prisons spokesman Russ Marlan said.

Marlan said late Monday that Michigan would immediately begin the extradition process. The LaPorte County Sheriff's Department said he's being charged there with motor vehicle theft and resisting law enforcement, but authorities didn't say if he would stay in Indiana to face those allegations.

Officials were stunned by the brazen escape Sunday night. Elliot, who had a record of good behavior during his 20 years in custody, wore a white kitchen uniform to evade security and blend in with snow at the Ionia Correctional Facility in western Michigan, authorities said.

"We had dog teams. We had a helicopter from the state police," said Michigan Corrections Department Director Dan Heyns. "The response was good, but he'd left the area by the time we were mobilized totally 100 percent. It didn't take him long to get down to Indiana."

Nothing in Elliot's record suggested he might escape, said Heyns, who added, "This is entirely a one-man operation."

Once outside the prison, Elliot, 40, abducted a woman and stole her Jeep, authorities said. The woman escaped late Sunday when Elliot stopped for gas in Middlebury, Ind., some 100 miles south. The red Jeep was found abandoned nearby in Shipshewana on Monday.

The discovery prompted officers to go door-to-door in the area. Residents were warned to stay inside and at least one school as locked down.

An alert was issued to law enforcement nationwide. The woman told police that Elliot was armed with a box cutter and a hammer, and had said he wanted to get as far from the Michigan prison as possible.

Authorities tracked him down after the LaPorte County Sheriff's Department got a report of a car stolen from a factory in the city of LaPorte, said sheriff's Maj. John Boyd. A deputy who happened to be nearby spotted the stolen Chevrolet Monte Carlo "within a few seconds," Boyd said.

Once the car was stopped, Elliot tried to unsuccessfully to run, Boyd said. But he was arrested and taken to the LaPorte County Jail, where he was being held without bond.

Elliot was discovered missing from the Michigan prison about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, probably 2 ½ hours after he escaped by using his hands to create a hole in two fences, Marlan said.

"There was a perimeter vehicle with an armed officer who was circling the facility during this time period. (Elliot) was able to evade or avoid detection," Marlan said.

He said it wasn't immediately known if electronic security measures at the fence were not working or if Elliot somehow avoided them.

The woman who was abducted was able to call 911 from a concealed cellphone while Elliott was pumping gas at the store near Middlebury in Elkhart County, Ind., authorities said. She ran to a restroom and locked herself inside. Elliot knocked on the door, but she stayed inside until police arrived.

Elliot was serving life in prison without parole for fatally shooting four people and burning down their Gladwin County house in 1993 when he was 20 years old, according to court records. Elliot and his accomplices were trying to steal money from a drug dealer, police said.

Before we get on to how an electric fence works it is important to know what the main components of an electric fence are.  An electric fence can be powered from mains, battery or battery & solar panel.  So in very general terms the components below are what you would need for each system:

Battery System

• battery (preferably 12v leisure battery)
• energiser
• an earth stake or spike
• polywire, galvanised wire, rope, tape or netting
• posts and/or insulators

Mains System

• energiser
• an earth stake or spike
• length of lead out cable (to run from energiser to fence)
• crocodile clips
• cut out switch (optional, useful if your energiser is a long way from your fence and you want to be able to turn your fence off at the fence)
• polywire, galvanised wire, rope, tape or netting
• posts and/or insulators

Battery & Solar System

• solar energiser or battery operated energiser and solar panel and stand (ie solar assist system)
• an earth stake or spike
• battery (preferably 12v leisure battery)
• polywire, galvanised wire, rope, tape or netting
• posts and/or insulators

The energiser converts either mains or battery power to create a high voltage pulse.  The pulse is very short and is then repeated about 1 every second.  This pulse is commonly referred to as a shock and is felt by the animal as it touches the fence.  The pulse having travelled through the animal then flows back through the earth to the earth stake hence creating a circuit.  The shock is unpleasant so that it provides an effective deterrent when the animal next comes into contact with the fence.  The animal remembers the unpleasant experience and avoids touching the fence again.

Below is a diagram showing in basic terms how items of an electric fencing system form a pulsed high voltage open loop with the animals being the completing link.

An electric fence will work better if: 

• a bit of thought is put in when choosing your energiser - this will save time and money in the long term.  Consideration needs to be taken of the length of the fence, the type of animal to be contained and the type of fencing being used.
• a good earth stake is used.  An earth stake must be pushed as far into the ground as it will go.  It should be away from tree roots and building foundations.  T section earth stakes have a larger surface area and so provide a better earthing system.
• there is no shorting on the fence – ie the live wire conductor must be insulated properly against wood, metal, foliage etc.
• the better quality tape, rope, polywire, galvanised wire used the less resistance to the pulse therefore the better zap down the line.

Lets dispel an electric fencing myth!

An electric fence does not have to be set up as a circuit.  In theory it could run for hundreds of miles in one direction.  The only circuit that is created by electric fencing is when the animal touches the fence and hence creates a loop or circuit by facilitating the pulse to pass through it and into the ground!

If you have any questions please ask… we’d be happy to help

An intoxicated woman was reportedly shocked by an electric fence after wandering into the elephant enclosure at the Denver Zoo, officials said.

The Denver Post reports that the incident happened around 9 p.m. Monday during the zoo’s annual holiday Zoo Lights festival. Security guards were alerted that a woman was inside the animal yard in the zoo’s Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit, according to a statement from Denver Zoo.

The unidentified woman was shocked by an electric fence, Denver Fire Department officials confirmed to the newspaper.  She sustained minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

It’s unclear if the woman broke any laws