# Electric fence not working



## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

It isn't the insulators but the tape. I found that wind would wear the tape in making the wires break, instead of three or four metal wires running through the tape there might only be one because the others had broken. Hard to find where! 

I changed from tape to electro rope which lasted forever.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

- Change the tape or replace it with wire/braid. I find tape wears out after a season or two. It's great for visibility, but I usually back it up with wire.
- Yes, some insulators will degrade. Check them carefully or replace them periodically.
- Check your grounding. In the fall/winter when the ground is dry or freezes, you may not be getting a proper ground.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Ditto above. Tape is great for temporary, or for little yards but not hard wearing, doesn't conduct well, doesn't last.

I use plain wire. In a few places I want high vis I run tape along the wire too. I use just tape to make temp yards when we're camping.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I love electrobraid! It never breaks, and is very reliable. But you really should have more than one line. I do three, with the ground in the middle. Driving the ground rod into the ground deep enough is a PITA, but if you do it right, you never have to redo it.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

There are varying grades of tape. Same for everything else fence related. The better the tape the longer it lasts. I've had it last up to 10 years if run properly, stretched correctly, maintained and on a charger rated for tape. The best I have found is the Pel charger. Tape and supplies I have found Premier Carrie's the best product. Short of that adding wirefor heat and leaving tape for visibility works. The tape is for visibility only at that point. I dont particularly care for braid but I know those that use it and love it. There are several configurations but more strands and a grounding strand or two typically work best as it helps ground the horse better. Adding more grounding rods. Keeping the soil wet at the grounding rod. There are several good good links to fence layout.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Foxhunter said:


> It isn't the insulators but the tape. I found that wind would wear the tape in making the wires break, instead of three or four metal wires running through the tape there might only be one because the others had broken. Hard to find where!
> 
> I changed from tape to electro rope which lasted forever.


We still get that problem to an extent with polybraid, even the thicker stuff eventually breaks wires inside. In our case the problem is accentuated by kangaroos clambering into the paddocks and back out again, and they stretch the polybraid as they pass through, and it tends to break wires where stretched. They jump at the fences and through (and sometimes over), so seem to get through quickly without getting shocked, most of the time.

When we have a general short, say after a storm with a fallen tree making our earth lines and live lines touch, the cattle almost invariable notice straight away and start clambering through the polybraid (so stretchy!), causing similar breakage in the little wires at the crossover point.

To fix (laborious, and a pain in the posterior, but can be done), I go along the fence line starting at the energiser, and check the voltage between each pair of posts. When there is a significant drop, I know I've got wire breakage. Then I slide the fence tester until I find the spot; turn off the fence, cut out the broken section, knot in a new section, turn back on, re-check voltage. I knot tightly and several times, and usually that conducts well; if not as good as I want, I use a little flexible craft wire to wrap around the joins; that really helps out too.

If I had a house elf, they could be onto this checking on a weekly basis... Me, I tend to do it when I notice a problem ("What are the cows doing in the shelter belt???!!! &%@@***!!!"). One day, I'm going to be efficient and schedule at least monthly general checks in my diary... :Angel:


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

I have use the tape electric fencing and after so many years it fails. I switched to wire and a good plug in electric fencer that shocks through weeds. Tape fencing doesn't stay tight, wind snow and ice make it sag in no time. Less trouble with wire, not trouble free but easier to keep entire fence HOT..

Also need to make sure fencer is properly grounded, poor grounding can cause issues.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Tape fence (like all fence ) has to be regularly maintained and that includes tightening and checking for breakage but if keep in tension then breakage is minimal. If maintained it works well over the long haul.


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## ridgerider (Jan 31, 2019)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have some extra tape and will try replacing the first section and see if that makes a difference.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

We use tape so the horses can see the fence, but below the tape is wire. That's the one that's charged. We haven't found tape to hold up here-- huge temperature swings between 110 in the summer and windchills of -50 or worse in the winter, and the wind blows constantly. Tape in this area is used to add visibility on wire fences, to cross-fence a pasture temporarily, or for pens while camping.


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## AndyTheCornbread (Feb 3, 2019)

I use wire and hang flagging tape from it between each post so the horses can see it. If your fence isn't shocking well enough a lot of times it has to do with grounding, especially if you run bare wire like I do. I run several miles of electric fence and even at the far end of the pasture if you touch it, it will get you hard enough to buckle your knees. The secret to that is really good grounding, preferably a three rod setup where each rod is 10ft apart and goes 6ft into the ground. It keeps bears out of the pig shed and rabbit barn that way, also all my fences are really straight because the horses only lean on them once usually. I did have one gelding that shocked himself a couple of times before learning but that horse was dumber than a box of rocks. All the other horses I have ever had either knew what an electric fence was and never touched it or only touched it one time. If you live in forest fire country like we do, and you run a strong electric fence with bare wire, you need to knock down the weeds under and around your fence lines with a weed whacker or they can spark on a weed and start a brush fire.


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