All About Grounding...email us: safeelectrical2013@gmail.com

All About Grounding If the ground system is insufficient, electricity cannot find a path back to the fencer and little or no shock is given. An animal provides this path when it touches the fence wire and the earth simultaneously. The electricity then passes through the animal into the soil and back to the ground rods, which are connected to the ground terminal of the fence charger. Only then is the circuit completed and the animal receives an electrical shock. More Sharing ServicesShare|Share on print Share on favorites Share on twitter Share on facebook Share on email  Proper Grounding One or Two Wires Expert Tips FAQs  Grounding FAQs How does a ground system work? What type of hook-up wire should I use? Besides the charger, posts and fence wire, what else do I need for properly grounding my fence? How do you check your grounding system? Why don't birds get shocked when they're on electric wires? Is it true that most times when an electric fence won't work, it's because of grounding issues? Answers to the FAQs Q:   How does a ground system work? A:  An animal touching the fence wire and the earth simultaneously provides a path for electricity to follow. The electricity passes through the animal into the soil and back to the ground rods, which are connected to the ground terminal of the fence charger. Only then is the circuit complete and the animal receives an electrical shock. [back to top] Q:   What type of hook-up wire should I use? A:  We recommend an 8-foot ground rod/clamp/20,000 volt insulated hook-up wire in most cases. [back to top] Q:   Besides the charger, posts and fence wire, what else do I need        for properly grounding my fence? A:  You’ll need several other items to properly ground your electric fence.  Here's what we recommend: (Three) 6-foot or 8-foot copper or galvanized 5/8" ground rods (A-7, A-21 or A-22) (One) insulated hookup wire, 12 ½ or 14 gauge (Three) Heavy Duty galvanized ground rod clamps Line clamps to connect insulated hookup wire to the fence line. The type of clamp used will vary with the type of fence line you are using. [back to top] Q:   How do you check your grounding system? A:  Check your ground system by placing a metal rod (12-18 inches) into the ground at a distance of about 3 feet from the ground rod(s). Attach one voltmeter lead to the metal rod and connect the other lead to the ground rod.  If the voltmeter shows more than 500 volts (0.5 kilovolts), it will be necessary to replace the existing ground rod by a longer one, or to add more ground rods.  The distance between any two ground rods should be at least 10 feet. [back to top] Q:   Why don't birds get shocked when they're on electric wires? A:  Since the birds are not touching the ground, the electricity cannot complete its path to the charger, and as a result, the birds do not get an electric shock. [back to top] Q:   Is it true that most times when an electric fence won't        work, it's because of grounding issues? A:  Yes, we at Zareba®, along with everyone else in the electric fence controller business, believe that improper grounding is the cause for 90% of the problems found in an electric fence system. HERE’S WHY---- Most electric fence systems are “earth ground” systems.  This means that the electricity produced by an electric fence charger must travel from the charger’s output terminal, through the fence wire.  When the animal touches the fence, a specific amount of the electricity goes through the animal’s body and into the earth.  This electricity then travels through the soil, back to the ground rods of the electric fence system. The electricity travels through the ground rods, through the ground wire, back up to the fence charger’s ground terminal.  At this point, the electrical circuit has been completed; the electricity produced by the charger has made its way back to the charger, and the animal touching the fence should feel a shock.  The intensity of the shock the animal feels is dependent on many variables.  One of the most important variables is the integrity of the ground system. Think of the ground system as an underground antenna.  In the same way a very tall TV antenna allows you to pull in TV stations from far away and gives better reception, a charger’s ground system tries to pick up all of the electricity moving through the soil.  The bigger and better your underground antenna, the more electricity it will be capable of collecting.  So when we specify three 6’ ground rods spaced 10’ apart, we are suggesting that you build a bigger antenna. The electricity transmitted through the soil is moving in the most direct path of least resistance back to the charger.  Electricity doesn’t travel through certain soils very well.  Moist soil with concentrations of conductive minerals is the most suitable transmitter of electricity.  By driving a ground rod 6’ into the earth, the chances of reaching subsoil moisture are very good. By the way, electricity travels at speeds approaching the speed of light...186,000 miles per second in a vacuum.  So, when the animal touches the fence of an earth ground system, the shock it feels is almost instantaneous. If you use ground rods that aren’t galvanized or copper coated, you will have rust covering the rods in a few weeks.  Remember that rust impedes the flow of electricity and a rusty ground rod will not allow all of the electricity to travel back to the charger.  A ground rod that is painted will also impede the flow of electricity, since many paint compositions are non-conductive.