grounding

[Dixieangus]

my electric fence just isnt shocking it's not grounded anywhere and i dont have a proper grounding system. so is that why it isnt shocking and what should i ground it with? thanks

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

my electric fence just isnt shocking it's not grounded anywhere and i dont have a proper grounding system. so is that why it isnt shocking and what should i ground it with? thanks

The answer "should" be obvious... Any electric system (low or high voltage) requires a minimum of 2 wires: One Hot wire and One Ground (or neutral). This is why birds can sit on a high voltage power line and not get shocked...no ground. You could probably do the same thing if there was no path (of least resistance) to the earth.

The fence must have both a hot wire and a ground wire. If the ground is "shorted out" by weeds or something, it will also be useless...

 

[Dixieangus]

ok so what you are saying is i just need to ground it better?? and with exactly what??

 

[msscamp]

Dixie, use rods driven into the ground at least 4' deep - electric fence rods work pretty good, so does rebar rods - and then connected to the fence via wire. I am no electric fence expert(I'm still trying to figure out the finer points), but I think you need a rod at the point where the charger is, and at least one more a few hundred feet further down the line. How many more you need is going to depend on how big your pasture is, how strong your charger is, moisture level in the ground, and whether you have a 2nd charger to help it out - at least that is my take on it.

 

[6M Ranch]

We use three ground rods, each ten feet apart to ground the charger. If your system was working previously, you have a short on one of your hot wires. It could be one big short, or lots of little shorts. Hard to trouble shoot without some additional information. Tell us how your fence is configured.

 

[snickers]

we use 10' copper rod's and if you haven't got rain in awhile that will cause the electric fence to not work properly too.

 

[agmantoo]

This statement copied from above is incorrect. "If the ground is "shorted out" by weeds or something, it will also be useless..."

In dry areas it is common to ground one of the fence wires to compensate for the inability of the earth ground to conduct properly. Yes you do need an earth ground and the 3 ground rods spaced at 10 ft intervals is typical. Using non corroding materials is preferred. I like to use all galvanized components because dissimilar metals corrode when electricity passes through them. A corroded ground connection can be compared to having no ground. I think you possibly have a short to ground that you have not located. You need a meter that can detect your problem. A Stafix Fence Compass is very much worth the price. When you learn to use it it will indicate the voltage and the direction where the fault lies in a poorly performing electrical fence. I belive at this time Kencove has the best price on the Stafix.

 

[dun]

Go to the link and click dwonload power fence manual
http://www.gallagherusa.com/electric-fe ... loads.aspx

 

[jkwilson]

Life is too short to chase fence problems without one of these

 

[angus9259]

Life is too short to chase fence problems without one of these

Just bought one. Thanks.

 

[Angus Cowman]

powerflex also has them has the stafix and their own brand also I have thier brand and it works fine and is cheaper than the sta-fix
www.powerflexfence.com

 

[agmantoo]

The fence tester with the direction of the fault is a great feature. Whatever brand you get is not important but the direction feature is.

 

[Angus Cowman]

The fence tester with the direction of the fault is a great feature. Whatever brand you get is not important but the direction feature is.

:nod: :nod:

I also like the sta-fix charger with the remote just touch the fence and hit the button and it turns your fence on or off from anywhere
I don't have one but that would be a nice feature neighbor has one his words of advice are " be sure and check the fence with a tester to make sure you turned it off and not on before grabbing it " :mrgreen:

 

[Dixieangus]

ok so it has ot be the ground rod because it doesnt shock but it isnt shorted out anywhere...I thought that was it because i only had a 3 feet ground rod

 

[Dixieangus]

can two boxes share the same grounding rods

 

[agmantoo]

Yes, two chargers can share the ground. Two chargers can NOT share the same hot wire.

 

[Dixieangus]

ok thanks...................me and my looney self was touching the hot wire with rubber soles on so when i took them off i got woke up. :cowboy: -

 

[Suzie Q]

Bahahahahahaha!!!

 

[msscamp]

Ok, now I'm confused. Early last spring, one of the tank heaters shorted out and electrified the water in the waterer. I was pretty sure that was what was going on, but not certain so I stuck my finger in the waterer. I was wearing a pair of tennis shoes with rubber soles, standing on the dirt floor of the pen, and got the 2nd strongest jolt of my life (first one being when the chain of a gate swung up against the hot wire powered by a gallagher charger - again, I was wearing a pair of tennis shoes and standing on dirt.) Why did I get zapped, but Dixie didn't? :?

 

[Dixieangus]

ok here is the story............i had touched it about a week ago and no shock. so tampered with the ground wire and then got my cousin to touch it no shock so i said let me make sure and i touched it and whooooo hot wire hot wire. so i said touch it again and he did and no shock.so i said one more time and he did and no shock so i touched him and i got the shock through him but he wasnt feeling s**** so i wondered hhhhhmmmm what could it be then i said take your boots off and he did and feeling erregant he grabbed the fence and well no words can explain how funny :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: it was....so looked at mine looked at hes mine had 3 nails that stuck out where my dog chewed some of the heel off but hes was solid rubber so that is the only thing that i figured out but idk whoever might have a theory i would love to hear it