Friday, August 30, 2013

Electric fence school

How to ground electric fences

Your fence shock is only as good as its ground. Over 90 percent of reported shock problems with electric fences are caused by poor grounds.

Follow these guidelines when grounding an electric fence.

Use galvanized steel or copper rods; 3/4-inch galvanized water pipe works well. Drive them at least 8 feet into the ground.
NEVER use any area within a barn foundation; stay at least two feet outside all footings.
Use #12 copper electrical wire to connect the fence charger to the ground rod(s).
Do NOT use discarded telephone wire for connecting ground rods; it is much too light to deliver the proper current.
In very dry, frozen, or rocky soil, use more than one rod—preferably three or four, spaced at least three feet apart. Connect all the rods together electrically using #12 copper electrical wire. Be sure to clean the tops of the rods before making connections and use proper clamps to connect each wire to its rod.
If you are installing a multiple strand fence that has one or more grounded wires, use a three or four-foot ground rod every quarter or half mile along the fence. Connect the lowest grounded fence wire to this rod using #12 copper electrical wire

Do not use animal stanchions as ground rods. They usually work well for a few years, then suddenly fail. This is due to the earth and gravel under the concrete barn floor receding, leaving the bottom end of the stanchion pipe 'floating' in mid air.
Do not use regular steel fence wire to make ground connections; use #12 copper electrical wire.
Do not connect to a ground rod by winding the wire around the top of the rod. Use an approved grounding strap or grounding clamp.
When converting from an older battery or AC-powered high-impedance fence charger to a newer, low-impedance type, the original grounding is often inadequate. When upgrading, rework all grounds.