"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.