“Putting a steel post anywhere into an electric fence is a big mistake, because you are then relying on the insulator to keep your cattle fence from shorting out,” Gerrish says.
HOW TO FIX IT:
Gerrish prefers highly flexible plastic or wood-plastic composite posts, “No matter how good an insulator you get, eventually something’s going to break or pop off, and you have the potential for dead-shorting.”
So in a nutshell, it breaks down to these seven tips if you want a reliable electric fence – and that’s everyone’s goal, right?
1. Corner posts are the correct placement and size. 2. Fence posts need to spaced 50-100 feet apart. 3. Using the right energizer. They suggest 1 joule of output per mile of fence. 4. Space your ground rounds far enough apart. 5. Make scattle fence flexible to be wildlife friendly. 6. Creating a gate system that conducts current is a challenge, instead trench the fence underground. 7. Don’t use steel posts, instead use flexible plastic or composite posts to prevent shorts.
Photo credits Main cover: Jacqueline Nix/Getty Images Plus 1: Jacqueline Nix/Getty Images Plus 2: Ethan R./Getty Images Plus 3: Robert Winkler/Getty Images Plus 4: Leo Malsam/Getty Images Plus 5: JMrocek/Getty Images Plus 6: galinast/Getty Images Plus 7: Jim Still-Pepper/Getty Images Plus