"Positive and Negative" Fence Wiring

One of the biggest issues with electric fencing is the conductivity of the earth. When it’s soaked and full of minerals, electicity will flow quite easily. When it’s dry, it loses conductivity.


There are a number of other insulators that impede the flow of the pulse such as the animal hooves being insulators.



You can encourage most people to touch an electric fence. However you will find it difficult to get even the craziest of husbands to hold both terminals of an energiser while you turn it on!!! Why?? You get the full pulse of the energiser.


When you run a multi wire fence, you run your positive tape just as normal. Then below it you run another wire which is connected to the earth (let’s call it the negative) terminal of the energiser and the earth stake.


When an animal touches the positive wire, they get the normal shock where the pulse flows from the tape, through the animal, along the ground, back up the earth stake and to the energiser.


But when they really lean on the fence, they end up touching both wires simultaneously which is the same as touching the two terminals on the energiser together. The earth, the stake, the water in the ground, the hooves are all taken out of consideration and you get the maximum output of the energiser applied at that moment to the animal.


Multi wire taping overcomes a number of issues with earthing and extends the capabilities of your fence significantly.

AgriPik Plastic Posts

AgriPiks are a rather clever invention. Australian made from Australian recycled PET, some clever guys in Sydney are turning rubbish into a safe alternative to steel posts and pickets.

They're new but becoming widely used in mining (no sparks), electricity substations (no conductivity), fisheries (no rust), surveying (show up well in photos) and electric fencing (no insulators required.)

Last but not least, they are starting to be used in areas where saftey is a concern. Unlike steel posts, these will break on an impact. So if you fall off a horse onto them, they're designed to break instead of spear you. VIC Roads has advocated their use for similar reasons on road worksites.

One of the downsides of breaking is exactly that. They will break. I'm 80 kg and can stand on one and it will support me, but if I jump, it will most certainly break. That's about the most science there is out there on them breaking.

For the benefit of other users, tell us about your experience with AgriPiks. It will certainly help others considering their use and you never know, it might lead to the 4th generation in their design.

How to install a simple electric fence

There's a whole lot you can do to set up electric fencing. If all you want is a simple fence, or you want to get a hold of the basics before you move on to bigger challenges, this is the simplest install that will work.

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How does an electric fence work?

The positive terminal in the energiser sends out a charge. It is normally connected to the electric fence tape.

The negative terminal on the energiser is generally connected to the ground via a metal rod (called an earth stake) driven into the ground at least 900mm.

For as long as the electric fence wire and the earth don’t touch, electricity won’t flow as there is nothing joining them. But once something that is standing on the ground also touches the wire, then the circuit is complete and electricity can now flow from one terminal to the other. The animal touching the wire is the conductor between the fence and the earth.

Energisers send out pulses of electricity - generally about one every one to two seconds. The fence is not permanently live like your power sockets in the house. This enables the shock sensation to occur and then stop – allowing for the animal to step back.

For a shock to be useful, it needs to cause a muscle in the animal to contract which means the shock needs to be across the entire muscle, not just part of it.

Testing your electric fence

So you suspect your electric fence isn't working? Below is a generally accepted method for finding and then eliminating the fault.

1. Test the fence – what voltage have you got
•7,500 volts or more – full operating voltage
•6,000 Volts - good
•4,500 Volts – still ok
•3,000 volts – bit suspect
•1,500 volts or less – inadequate

2. Test the energiser
•Disconnect the fence wire from the positive terminal. Test the voltage from the positive terminal to the earth stake. Not enough volts – it’s the energiser.

3. Test the earth
•Check the voltage of the earth rod. If the earth is showing more than 300 volts, then the earth system is inadequate and needs upgrading

4. Check first point of contact
•Go to the first point of contact with the fence wire. Disconnect from the fence. Take a reading before the fence wire. Not enough volts – problem is with the insulated cable.

5. Walk the fence line
•Looking for visible signs of deterioration
•Looking for vegetation touching the wires
•Listening for pulse shorting out

6. Still struggling?
•You might try an fence fault finder