Electric Fence Advice

[Atimm693]

I have yet to see any kind of plastic fencing product that stands up to UV indefinitely. About 5 years before it crumbles is what I've seen.

Out of all that we've built, the cross fences we made out of fiberglass sucker rod required the least maintenance. Cutting, drilling, and handling those fiberglass posts was pretty crappy, though. It's been up since 2011 and I haven't seen them shed any fibers, but you certainly don't want to handle them with bare hands.

These are the best standoffs I have ever used for running a hot wire on an existing barbed wire fence. I always had trouble with the wire getting knocked loose from the standard 6" standoffs, the claw ones would stretch out, pin locks would just break. Once the wire is loose, it's sure to get tangled up in the barbed and short out the whole thing.

Strainrite Outrigger with Black Pinlock Insulator, Box of 50

Strainrite Outrigger with Black Pinlock Insulator, Box of 50 - Offsets - Insulators

kencove.com

 

[Travlr]

I have yet to see any kind of plastic fencing product that stands up to UV indefinitely. About 5 years before it crumbles is what I've seen.

With all the noise about plastic waste I've often wondered why there are no plastic posts made from recycled garbage. Something with enough structural integrity that it would be as solid as a treated wood post, and soft enough to pound a staple in to hold wire.

 

[chaded]

I agree. The Timeless posts that just arrived the other day look to have an outter coating, almost similar to gel coat on a boat. I'd think that'd stand up but that sun can be a sum bitch. Time will tell.

Like I mentioned I have some close to 10 years old and we just pulled some of them up and reused them, so they weren't brittle.

 

[cowman82]

I've got thousands of Tposts in the ground. I can't imagine having to go thru and paint them all.

well.. you can throw away 3-5 of those t-posts and replace them with a fiberglass. I have fiberglass posts throughout my entire 650 acres and I can mow underneath every fence, they are all painted, and you can hit them with a tractor and they'll be fine. I've setup every type of fence you can imagine on many farms and this is the best fence you can put up hands down. not even a competition.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

How can I throw away 3-5 t-posts?

I have wire setup on t-posts and I can also mow under it. I've also had t-posts in the ground over 20 years and never had to paint then.

Also the fiberglass ones on the farm I bought had a tendency to break when bent over under 6+ feet of snow for a good majority of the year.

 

[WAnabee]

The timeless ones are PVC not fiberglass. Curious how they hold up overtime. PVC pipe tends to gets brittle in the UV light and extreme cold.

I know what you mean but the timeless posts are not like PVC pipe in this regard, they feel to be a little softer material. I think that they are made of recycled window vinyl and that is what they feel like. I haven't experienced vinyl windows get brittle from the UV and Im hoping the same holds true for these.

 

[WAnabee]

With all the noise about plastic waste I've often wondered why there are no plastic posts made from recycled garbage. Something with enough structural integrity that it would be as solid as a treated wood post, and soft enough to pound a staple in to hold wire.

My dream is for someone to take all of my haylage wrap and give me back fenceposts...

 

[Travlr]

My dream is for someone to take all of my haylage wrap and give me back fenceposts...

I wish there was a way to know what kinds of things are in development... but of course people developing ideas want them to be secret. I think the wrap (and used bale twine) would be a great thing to recycle into posts... IF it could be done.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I know what you mean but the timeless posts are not like PVC pipe in this regard, they feel to be a little softer material. I think that they are made of recycled window vinyl and that is what they feel like. I haven't experienced vinyl windows get brittle from the UV and Im hoping the same holds true for these.

Funny you mention vinyl windows. I just replaced 2 windows in one of my rental houses last fall because the outer vinyl had gotten brittle after about 16 years of south facing sun and last winter at -30 degrees both window frames shrunk and cracked.

I may try a couple of the timeless posts to see how they hold up. Trouble is a guy won't know for a good long time if they last as good as a steel post around here.

 

[WAnabee]

Yeah i mean steel has been around a long time so you pretty much know what you are getting with that, it lasts a long time. I live in a very temperate environment so extreme freeze and thaw cycles is something i generally don't deal with. Most of my perimeter fence is steel t-post with barbed wire and a 12" offset insulator with a high tensile electric. On some adjacent leased land i use single wire steel electric that is fed from my perimeter fence.

One thing i did NOT like about the steel t posts is when an insulator breaks (prior to switching from clip on plastic to 12" offsets), often from UV exposure, I will get a dead short and good chance cattle will get into the "wrong" pasture or worst case if they are on adjacent leased land they could get out altogether. With the timeless posts, the post is the insulator so nothing to go wrong there. But you are correct time will tell on those. I hope that you are correct that "it will be a good long time" before I know if they are as good as a steel post.

I guess i should admit that i have not used the timeless posts as a perimeter fence yet just internal fence to keep cattle out of creek. Seeing how they have done so far though, I wouldn't be afraid to try it at this point.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

So with the timeless posts it appears you have to thread the wire thru the posts as you go?

That would add considerable time to my fence construction. Currently I terminate 3 strands of high tensile wire at a corner and then drive all 3 strands out at one time with the tractor to the other corner, cut wire, and terminate.

If I had to thread the wire thru holes on each post I would have to string all the wire out by hand threading thru the posts as I go.

I use pin lock insulators on the tposts and 99% of the time what breaks is the pin that sets the height on the post. So the wire is still insulated just pushed down to the ground by the snow.

Likewise the fiberglass posts with wire thru a drilled hole on the farm I bought instead of the snow breaking the insulator and it sliding down the post the wire gets kinked by the sharp edge of the drilled hole, and the first deer or moose to walk into the wire it snaps at the kink.

 

[chaded]

You don't have to string the wire through the holes although I do. You can use something like post clips with drill chuck to attach to the posts.

Electric and steel posts would be (is) a constant battle with insulators here with the amount of deer that run through the fence. With the timeless post they hit the fence and it flexes a little and settles back like new.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Deer don't seem to bother the pin lock insulators for me. Moose on the other hand walk thru the fence like a bulldozer and break insulators and break off steel posts.

I'm using a 50' post spacing on high tensile. So there's a lot of spring for when deer run into it.

 

[sstterry]

I have yet to see any kind of plastic fencing product that stands up to UV indefinitely. About 5 years before it crumbles is what I've seen.

Timeless Fence is headquartered just about 15 miles from me. I assume they are manufactured there too. They say that they use a special UV coating that comes with a 20-year UV protection warranty.

Full Disclosure: I do not own any of their posts because I have been concerned about driving them in since they are PVC.

 

[Dave]

Three pages of electric fence advise and no one advised him not to pee on the fence. That is very important advise.

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

Timeless Fence is headquartered just about 15 miles from me. I assume they are manufactured there too. They say that they use a special UV coating that comes with a 20-year UV protection warranty.

Full Disclosure: I do not own any of their posts because I have been concerned about driving them in since they are PVC.

Well, I'll be your guinea pig. I have 20 posts that just arrived. They will go in this April. I will give you a full report in 20 years ..... Sometimes ya just gotta believe.

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

Deer don't seem to bother the pin lock insulators for me. Moose on the other hand walk thru the fence like a bulldozer and break insulators and break off steel posts.

I'm using a 50' post spacing on high tensile. So there's a lot of spring for when deer run into it.

50 foot? You must have some serious tension on that...

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

50 foot? You must have some serious tension on that...

I have some on 75' spacing. Tension the wire up until the spring compresses a little and call it a day. Give the wire plenty of room to sag with the snow and flex with the wildlife.

 

[GoWyo]

I use some 3-wire hi tensile fences for interior pasture division fences. Fiberglass 7/8" posts with a wood boss post on high and low points. With ratchet strainers and spring tensioners and 60' post spacing they work really well. The wire is attached to the fiberglass post with a wire shaped like a cotter pin through a hole in the post then the tails are wrapped around the post.

 

[sstterry]

Well, I'll be your guinea pig. I have 20 posts that just arrived. They will go in this April. I will give you a full report in 20 years ..... Sometimes ya just gotta believe.

I will be happy just to know how they hold up to a post driver.