Charged up for the best in electric

Effective livestock control at a reasonable cost are key reasons behind more landholders considering electric fencing, says Mike Thomas, the northern NSW area manager with one of the nation’s biggest names in fencing, Gallagher.

With more than 30 years’ experience as Gallagher territory manager he has seen and experienced just about every electric fencing challenge likely to be encountered by large and small property owners.

“Electric fencing works out about half the cost of a normal fence and it’s something most people can do themselves,” Mr Thomas said.

The number of wires used and the design chosen depended on what the fences were being used to control, he said.

Gallagher’s northern area manager, Mike Thomas, Tamworth, explains electric fencing tips during a demonstration at the Tocal Field Days in the Hunter Valley.

For people with existing conventional fences, Mr Thomas said electrified offset wires helped “beefup” and extend the life of the older structure, as well as providing a psychological barrier for stock getting too close.

Various power options now existed including battery and solar, but Mr Thomas said using mains power was the best option if available.

People needed to ensure they were comparing joules with joules when comparing costs and choosing an electric fence energizer.

It was also better to look at systems that were bigger rather than smaller. “It means that if or when you want to add to the system you’ll have the capacity,” Mr Thomas said.

“Solar energizers run off battery backup power at night, but I like mains power because in the long run it’s still cheaper to run.”

Maintenance can be the biggest frustration for electric fence operators, but Mr Thomas said doing things right from the start would help minimise this.

“Don’t take shortcuts,” he said. “Things like using poly-pipe for insulators don’t work.” Porcelain insulators were better than moulded poly products. “But if you’re going to buy poly, buy something with a bit of guts to it,” Mr Thomas said.

Porcelain was more expensive, but worth the investment.

“The people who use porcelain are people who have used poly insulators and had problems.”

He said that was also the case for offsets, as wire chatter would wear through poly offsets.

Mr Thomas said people also needed to remember rust was a natural insulator, so using galvanised clamps and posts was essential to ensure their fence wires did not lose power.

Electric fence builders have the option of using an earth-return system or an all-live system, but Mr Thomas said earth-return was a better option for most as it would continue to work, even if the earth dried out.

In designing a system, Mr Thomas said people needed a minimum of three earthstakes for a small energizer, set as deeply as possible and a reasonable distance apart, at least 10 metres from power supply stakes.

He said galvanised clamps should be used to attach wires to the earthstakes.

With lightning and surges able to destroy an energiser, Mr Thomas suggested installing a lightning diverter and surge protector.

For people in particularly lightning-prone areas, he suggested installing an earth wire at the top of the fence also.

Other tips included using an offset wire along an existing fence as a means of getting energy down to a new fence; remembering the legal requirement for warning signs and using reef knots when fencing – they have more strength than loopto- loop alternatives.