Electric Fence - not working.

[49tandc]

Gentlemen,
Please enlighten me to where I went wrong. I purchased a (110v) electric fence-charger from TSC. Rated for 5-miles of fence - my little pasture is less than 1/2 mile around. Aluminum wire, insulators on all wood posts, Ground-rod is 6' galvanized with clamp to ground wire (not just looped to it tightly). Nothing is touching (grounding out) the wire. The box is close to a powerpole, but not THAT close. I'm using 10ga wire from the charger to the fence. I understand its rated for only 600v, but I should get SOMETHING to the fence wire. I get nothing. what am I doing wrong?

Please help be before this percheron/thoroughbred cross tears up the fence.

Thanks,
49T&C

 

[shvl73]

You may not have a good enough ground. Sometimes you need multiple ground rods spaced apart. The wire to the fence is more than adequate. Dry ground makes grounding more difficult. You can buy a tester or use the old "touch and get zapped method". If you are getting plenty of strength across the charger terminals, but not from fence to ground, you need different ground rod placement or additional rods. This assumes all wiring is correctly done and no breaks. You may not feel much charge from the fence when touched in dry conditions while wearing shoes but, touch the fence and the ground rod at same time and it should make you jump.

 

[49tandc]

I thought there might be a problem with the unit (open package) so I swapped it out. Same results - Little green blinking light indicating Fence OK, but no charge. I tried the back of my hand, nothing. I picked up a fi-shock fence tester & it doesn't register anything. I suspect ground issue too, and the ground IS very dry. I thought with 6' sunk in the ground it would be enough. I'll pickup another grounding rod.

 

[Spiveyman]

I thought with 6' sunk in the ground it would be enough. I'll pickup another grounding rod.

Did I read that right? 6 feet in the ground? I'm thinking about adding some electric to some paddocks and thought I'd start reading up, so 6 feet may be right, but that sure seems like you'd get a decent ground that deep.

 

[SnowRidge]

Trying to get a decent ground in Florida's sandy soil is quite difficult. You may need a chemical ground kit to go with a decent ground rod, which would be a 5/8" diameter 8' copper clad rod. Home Depot or Lowes should have them.

You can also try multiple ground rods. Connect them together with buried bare #6 copper.

 

[pinemountainman]

If the ground around the rod is real dry it is hard to get a good ground, Try pouring water around the ground rod and see if it helps, Then you will know if that is the problem. Our fence did the same at first so I added 2 more ground rods 10' apart. Now you don't want to touch it.

 

[podagrower]

If you need to add more ground rods, use a triangle pattern. Three rods, 8 to 10 feet apart in a triangle makes a better ground than three rods in a straight line.

 

[drssg]

I'm guessing your fence tester is the same design as mine. You stick one end in the dirt and the other end on the fence.

Maybe you've already done this, but I would start with the simplest possible case and work your way up until you find the problem.

Step 1. Disconnect the positive wire from the charger, and use your fence tester directly from the positive to negative terminals. This *really* should work.

Step 2. Put the negative end of the fence tester in the dirt, and the positive end directly on the positive terminal. If this doesn't work, then it's a problem with the ground.

Step 3. If the previous test worked, then reconnect the positive line, and start going down the fence line until you find the failure point.

Good luck.

 

[SnowRidge]

Step 3. If the previous test worked, then reconnect the positive line, and start going down the fence line until you find the failure point.

Good luck.

Or you could just pee on the fence, and see if it really isn't working.

 

[gator]

In addition to what the others said about rock salting and wetting your ground rod, make sure your hot wire does not make a closed loop. The far end from the charger should end to an open. Do not connect it back to the feed. Had a person at the stables I used to board at make a closed loop, took me a few miles of tracing before I found it.