Building an electric fence

Charlie M · Jun 19, 2009

I've got a question concerning building an electric fence. I'm going to run a fence around my garden as I am tired of the deer eating it up every year. Its a big garden so I'm going to run an electric fence that I can take down at the end of year so I can get to it with the tractor and plow next year. I've seen the diagrams about how the fence should run but don't quite understand them. When I hook the fencer to a stand of wire, does that strand end with a ground or a return to the fencer which is grounded. I tried last year with a battery powered fencer and couldn't get it to work but I never could tell for sure the fencer was working.

IH2444 · Jun 19, 2009

The hot lead from the charger just goes around the fence on insulators and just flops in the breeze at the end.

The ground rod in the ground at and connected to the ground terminal on the charger provides the return for the fence when something gets into the fence.

You can get cheap electric fence testers to see if the charger is working.

JMOR · Jun 19, 2009

Or you can just walk up and touch it. Deer easily clear my 5 foot high electric fence. If any lower they would walk under it. Maybe 2 or 3 strands?

Bill of TN · Jun 19, 2009

The hot wire floats, looking for a ground. When it finds a ground, something learned a lesson.

Burnie · Jun 19, 2009

A fence tester is the way to go but if you havn't got one you can use a piece of green grass about 4 inches long. Hold one end and place the other end on the wire. If it's working, you will feel the pulses.

ScottyHOMeY · Jun 19, 2009

Don't ground it. YOu want it to ground through the critters that touch it. Run it out and the end can be either left dangling or can be hooked back up to the beginning so that you have a complete loop. The latter is often done when used to contain animals, so that if it does get broken the fence stays charged on both sides of the break.

WhiskyDog · Jun 19, 2009

I have heard if ya put peanut butter on the fence just in a few spots the deer will lick it only once. I guess it works for other critters as well.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 19, 2009

Battery powered fencers may keep your cat from peeing on the flowers but thats all.

Hobo,NC · Jun 19, 2009

I am have good luck with Deer-X fence,,,, i use a 6-1/2 ft T post every 30/40 ft and run a wire across the top them lay the fence over the wire and tie it every 5 ft are so to the wire with bread tie raps

A bud of mine that has a nursury/farm told me about it,,, he has not had a deer problem seince he started useing it

6 100' rolls come in a box so I got the box

http://www.garden.com/item/deer-x-fence-7-foot-x-100-foot/

TomTex · Jun 19, 2009

First, the hot wire is not grounded; when animal touches it the circuit is completed to ground through the animal. Second, the device is grounded real good, go on line to get exact help, but you will see that the ground at the fence charger is very critical. Mine recommends 3 six foot rods driven in the ground, spaced 10 feet apart in a row, with the ground wire connecting all three of them to the charger.
As for the deer, here is what is fool proof and will absoultley work - been doing it this way for years. Use steel single strand 14 guage wires spaced about 20 inches high and one about 30 to 36 inches high. DO NOT tighten the wires, just loosely drape them enough to stay up. DO NOT make the fence any taller than 3 feet max. Deer will not jump such a fence, they will try to just walk through it by stepping over the bottom wire, and they will get trained very quickly. If you use more wires, if you make the fence taller, if you tighten the wires real tight, then they will jump it. Tom

Jerry/MT · Jun 19, 2009

You don't ground the hot wire. It gets grounded through the person or animal that touches it. The charger itself needs to have a good ground and that's the single most important factor for good performance. read the owners manual and hook it up the way it tells you.

hayray · Jun 19, 2009

I have a Stafix battery powered energizer that runs over 8 kV on a 20 acre multi wire fence. Your battery unit is not hooked up correctly or is cheap, we use alot of them in remote areas.

Gerry....WI · Jun 19, 2009

I knew a guy hope peed on one ONCE on a dare.

Not me

Anonymous-0 · Jun 19, 2009

You will have best luck using the ribbon wire as the deer can see it an will learn that its charged. Plain wire is hard for them to see and they will run into it and tear it up. They use it lots around here and does work sweet corn ,grapes, pit silos and general use. Brother used it for temp fence for stock cows in cornstalk for pasture.

teddy52food · Jun 19, 2009

Without one the coon get my sweet corn. So don't say they don't work.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 19, 2009

I have seen whitetails clear a 6' fence, with ease. So we build garden fences 8 or 10' tall. The top strands of barbed wire don't need to be really close together, but I prefer to use mesh for the lowest 4 to 6', since deer are pretty good at crawling through fences too.

To make a fence that is fairly easy to remove and easy to build, I use steel pipe that is pounded into the ground and then extend the pipe height with metal T posts stuck in the top of the pipe.

If I was going to try to use an electric fence, I think I would alternate charged wires with grounded wires, and I also would have a charged wire about 2 or 3' outside of the main fence and about 3' off the ground. That way the deer would not be able to get close to the fence to jump over it without getting shocked. Electric fences don't work very well here in the late Summer. The ground is too dry to be a good enough ground unless you sprinkle it.

I didn't garden for a number of years, since the deer completely took my last several gardens when it got dry in August. This year I am gardening again in a new spot with a newly constructed 10' fence. I hate the deer--they take anything I plant that isn't fenced well enough. Hope my new garden area is successful. Good luck!

GeneMO · Jun 19, 2009

Electric tape ( white) so they can see it. Otherwise you will be doing a lot of repair work.

Might as well run two hot wires real close to the ground. If you do it right it will keep coons out of the sweet corn.

Done it for years. But you have to use two strands. One about 3" off the ground, the second about 8" off the ground.

Conservation agent around here gives me a "destroy permit" to kill 10-20 deer, anytime, anyway. I killed 4 anterless deer in 5 minutes with a .22mag. a few years ago. Not supposed to use the meat. Drag to the woods edge. not real crazy about that, but they got too thick.

Gene

Gene

LEH · Jun 19, 2009

My son had a "mother in law" problem awhile back. She had a key to the back door. Kept getting in the house and rearranging everything. He hooked up a fence charger on that door and she dropped like a rock when it got her. She called the Cops, tried to get him arrested for attempted murder. The Deputy was laughing so hard he could hardly stand up. Son had put one of those little yellow stickers that said " Danger electric fence in use" in the window of the door. She didn't read it. No charges filled. She was mad for a long time, didn't come back though!!

Oldmax · Jun 19, 2009

We have started using Monifliment fishing line around gardens one about 6" off ground another about 18" above with a third 18" . Just drive T post and attach to them. Has worked last two years. They run into line and can't figure out what it is.

kyhayman · Jun 19, 2009

Hot wire begins at the charger and ends in a porcelen insulator. If it touches ground it dicharges. Personally, I like the 2 wire fences, with aluminum foil smeared with peanut butter then folded so the p.b. is on the inside and stapled over the wire. Makes it easy to see and for the deer to smell. One sniff and they dont like the garden. Ground wire runs from the charger to ground. Generally fence problems are not enough ground. Most of mine I use 8 feet of 1/2 inch copper clad steel rod.

Crem · Jun 19, 2009

I use the 1/2" wide white ribbon wire. It has a number of thin stainless wires running through the length of it. I believe that a roll cost $20 for over 400'. Use the T post insulator that is made to clamp and hold the ribbon in place. You don't need that many posts and the fence is easy to build. I have my ribbon about 3 1/2' high and also run one at about 6" to hopefully ward off the shorter creatures. If you use a good low impedance charger either battery or plug in, the deer will learn fast to stay away.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 20, 2009

Ive repaired fence chargers since the early 50s.I know chargers.Use battery power only when you dont have AC power.Just fixed an old Wizard charger that has a high and low power output post.Theres a piece of solid wire between the 2 posts.Battery costs are very high on these chargers.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 20, 2009

Ribbon wire has a big fault.The stainless wire breaks from swaying in the wind.You can lose power on most of the fence.When ribbon wire is used on the old chopper type chargers it can start fires.I wont use or sell it.

Crem · Jun 20, 2009

36 coupe, You may be right about the older chargers starting fires with the ribbon wire. I noticed that on some chargers it says for use with the ribbon wire. I am still going to stick with the ribbon wire that I have to keep the deer out of my 50' X 100' garden.

Building an electric fence

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