Monday, November 22, 2010

Electric Fencing


  This was from day one of electric fence shopping.  I had started at Southern States as I needed hay and theirs is the best for small quantities.  The sales man, after listening to me tell him what I was trying to accomplish thought a solar unit would fit the bill with 3 8' ground rods and lots of various insulators.  He thought the poly twine rather than wire would be a good choice.  I bought it all.
Next I went to Tractor Supply because I needed to get sweet feed for the goats and pig food and I usually get it there. A sales guy came over as I was looking over their electric fence supplies and as we talked he suggested I get the thin poly tape because it would be more visible.  I, being totally befuddled by all of it at that point, agreed and bought 2 rolls of tape.   I then bought 20 black poly step in posts to use as line posts between t posts.  And I bought a tester,  more insulators, splicing and coupling pieces, parts to make a gate and a spool of wire.

I read the literature that came with th fence charger that night and then got online and talked to more knowledgeable pig people than myself about the charger I had chosen.  I was concerned there would be too much juice for the pigs and not enough for the goats and since I wanted to be able to use the same charger for both I wanted to make sure I had made a good choice.  Mostly the consensus was that solar wasn't reliable enough for what I wanted.  I would lose a lot of charge with tape and poly twine and it may not be strong enough. Evidently solar loses juice fast and would really be better for a simple short fence

The next day I had to go to Richmond so I stopped at Tractor Supply again bought a plug in 6 joule 100 mile model.... for my little 3 acres...Yikes!  

It really sounds like a lot and maybe it is but the more I learn about electric fences the more I think I will like this charger and that it's the right model for what I want.  I learned you can make many small area's of fencing plus do an entire perimeter and also run just one wire or two low wires like at nose level for the pigs or high like at nose level for a goat in hard fenced pens and do it all with one charger if you get the right one and plan it out.   And it's pretty portable compared to woven wire with it's many deeply driven wooden posts. 

I also stopped at Southern States again while in Richmond to get some white step in posts.  I had  looked through the Premier 1 fencing catalog and decided to get some for area's close to the house because I liked the aesthetics's of the white posts with the white tape and white poly twine.   Premier catalog is great with all the pictures in it for helping with design and to see how all the various parts should come together.



This is the charger I'm keeping.  I am going to build it a little box to hang it in made from exterior grade plywood.  I'll then hang the box in the greenhouse which will be right in the area where the fence will start. 

So, since I wanted the charger in the greenhouse I decided I needed  to get the bracing up and the ends on it first.  It was dusk by this time so the pictures aren't great but I got 2  - 2 x 4's screwed together and placed above the door in the front and the back running the whole length of it to brace the top to handle a good snow load in the winter.  It made it very tight and solid.   There is very little shake in it. 


Tomorrow I'll get the rest of the framing on it and then I can cover the ends, make doors and hang my charger.


Elizabeth

7 comments:

  1. Hello. I am your newest follower. Can't wait to read more! We are planning on moving out of the suburbs in a few years and buying a larger plot of land to homestead on. In the meantime, I'm writing about the things we can do on .3 acres. http://bigdreamsforasimplelife.blogspot.com

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  2. We have Premier electric fencing and love it. I wish I had gotten the solar recharger to go with the battery powered energizer.

    I can't wait to see how the greenhouse finishes up.

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  3. You can still add the solar panels can't you? Which charger did you get? I can see it now... a third charger. I'll have a whole day of returns to do before it's all said and done.

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  4. Here is the link to the one we got. The Commander forgot to order the batteries the first time, lol.

    http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=377&cat_id=43

    We didn't get the solar energizer, but here it the link.

    http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=51617&cat_id=43

    We love the fencing.

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  5. Thanks much for all the good info! Ive been thinking about getting a wireless dog fence but I'm not sure which one…I've heard some good things about Havahart Wireless and it seems like they have the best features…anybody ever tried that one?

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  6. One thing I can say for Wal-Mart -- they'll take most anything back! Hopefully you were able to take back some of your spare parts. It always seems like no matter how much reading you do on a new topic, the first run to the store is destined to be all the wrong things!

    Good luck, looking forward to reading how it came out.

    Joseph
    City Roots, Country Life

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  7. We use a local electric fence supplier and I must say they're service trumps Wal-Mart's any day. I even had a member of staff out in the field changing insulators once whilst my hubby was away. lol

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