Installing Electric Fence Insulators and Tensioners
Plastic step-in posts come with their own insulators, and there’s no trick to installing insulators and tensioners on wood posts, T-posts, U-posts, small round posts, or even chain link fence–because there are lots of insulators specifically designed to attach to those materials. In contrast, the list of insulators designed specifically for 2-inch round fiberglass posts, vinyl posts, or vinyl sleeves over metal T-posts is very short. However, one can adapt insulators to these posts and sleeves with an electric drill and a small collection of wood screws, nuts, and bolts (products 10-03 thru 10-08). In all cases one should choose an insulator with two attachment points (two holes for screws or bolts). To get a really strong attachment to a 2-inch round fiberglass post, use nuts and bolts (product 10-08) instead of one of the wood screws. Wood screws or even nails work fine for attaching insulators to vinyl sleeves fitted over wood posts. However, pure vinyl posts or vinyl sleeves over T-posts require short screws (product 10-03, do not use nails). Even these screw attachments to vinyl posts and sleeves are a little marginal, but since one is using them only to attach insulators to line posts (the corner, end, and gate posts being made of wood) this attachment is generally sufficient to do the job. In case it is not sufficient (for example, where one is using wide tape in a windy area), short wall anchors of the sort with collapsible metal shafts should provide very strong connections.
Installing Electric Fence Conductors
Just as the spinning jenny is a fundamental tool for installing fence wire, so the winding reel (see products 01-38 thru 01-41) is a basic tool for installing polyconductors. The winders on this website are a small one for installing polywire and a large one for installing all the other polyconductors. One thing to note is that polyrope, polybraid, and wide polytape are bulky; even the large winder will hold only about 500 feet of quarter-inch polyrope or 1.5-inch polytape. That means that if this winding reel is used, extra spools will commonly be needed to manage, store and transport these materials.
One should also be prepared to connect things up properly as the conductors are being installed. This includes: 1) connecting the electric fence charger to the conductor (in the case of a battery-powered or solar-powered electric fence charger located next to the fence) or to undergate and hookup wire (in the case of an electric fence charger placed away from the fence); 2) connecting the undergate and hookup wire to the polyconductor (in the case of a charger placed away from the fence); 3) connecting successive runs of polyconducter to one another; and 4) establishing gate connections and connecting any undergate and hookup wire that is running under these gates to the conductor. Products suited to making these various connections are shown in the Other Electric Fence Components portion of the products section. In making all these connections there is no need go in a circle or to complete any circuit unless the fence is very long, and it is VERY IMPORTANT to make NO connection between any of these actively charged elements and the ground rod(s), ground terminal on the charger, or any other part of the grounding system–because the target animal will complete the circuit containing these two (charged and grounded) elements, and if the circuit is effectively completed some other way the animal will not receive a shock.
If the fence is very long and it seems likely that insufficient current will reach the far end because of resistance inherent in the conductors, various possible solutions are available. One can select a polyconductor with highly conductive copper wires (such as products 02-34, 02-35, or 02-64); or one may consider installing the very conductive hot polycoated wire (product 02-66); or one may separate the fence into two or more sections and install a separate fence charger for each section.
