Options for elect fence insulators?

I just finished reading the post about what guage wire to use on elect fence, and didn't want to hijack the post to get a question answered.I want to devide my pasture this spring, to better manage the grass, and will be using 12.5 guage barb, and steel T posts. What is the best insulators. I have used some black poly stand off insulators back when I had hogs, but they are all gone now, and broke up back then, and I want it to keep the cows in, no matter which side of the fence they are on.

Get the yellow ones that snap on to the T posts. It might just be me, but I don't think those yellow ones bake out and become as brittle as the black ones. They are all cheapo now, but I have a bunch of those yellow ones that have been in the hog lot for a few years and still look good.

These folks have everything you need, but they dont recomend making barbed wire "hot."
Fence Supplies

I agree, don't use Barb wire for electric fencing. You can be held liable for any animal or human injuries caused be an electrified barb wire.

Dad just uses laundry soap jugs for insulators. Cut an Xin the bottom and shove them down over the post.

(quoted from post at 14:08:26 03/22/13) I agree, don't use Barb wire for electric fencing. You can be held liable for any animal or human injuries caused be an electrified barb wire.

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If any human got injured because he didn't realize the barbed wire was electrified, then that person surely was guilty of trespassing in the first place.

I am sorry but when I start worring about some one getting hurt on barb wire and electric fence of mine is the day that I will revolte. As far as I am concerened you have no buiness on my land and if you get caught in my fence you are in the wrong place. The goverment put up consintina wire and thought nothing of it. Now my blood pressure is up.

Bob

I agree with S710. If they are foolish enough to trespass, the hot barbed will be the least of their problems if I catch them!!!!!!

WHAT? I never heard of such nonsense. I would not pretend to keep stock in with smooth wire.

On the barbed wire and the moron that gets injured, tough luck. If he knows nothing about that part of the country, he has no business being there.

I have used it in high stress areas where you can't tolerate a broken wire.

Course there is always the moron and the whining mamma behind him just not understanding why you jerked her little angel (Juvenile delinquent) off his 4 wheeler (by the throat no less.....yes) doing wheelies in your freshly prepared wheat patch.

I guess you could add to your No Trespassing signs the comments that violators will be in for a big surprise, the likes of which they may not survive.

On insulators, PVC pipe is cheap and easy to install: Cut to the desired length, drill 2 holes in it, one for the hot wire attachment and the other for a wire to tie around the T post. Wrap and twist with a 17 or 14 gauge tie wire on each end and you're ready for the next post.

My 2c,
Mark

The Red Snapper is the ones you want (they are yellow now) I'd put the posts 12 - 15 steps apart for summer or the weight of the wire will bend the insulators down
red snapper

I like the black pin lock, but as mentioned they are kinda all a heap disposable item these days.

Paul

I wouldn't give a fiddling rip if some fool hit the barb wire, he's still going to hit the smooth wire and be hurt almost as bad. It should be easier to see the barb wire. The reason for not using barb wire is that the twists and the barbs all carry current, and when current passes through a wire it creates a magnetic field, that creates a current going in the opposite direction in the wire beside it, creating more resistance in the other wire. It's been almost 40 years since electric class, so my explanation is likely poor, an electrician can explain it better. Long story short, a barbed wire is a much poorer conductor than a single wire, and it is more likely to short or break and not work. Once your cattle have had a good taste of a good electric fence, barbs are a waste of time and hydro.

I agree, I bought the yellow ones from tsc years ago and they have held up fine. They have those bags of them there, s27 or what ever the model number is.

Thanks a lot guys, after looking at the link provided, I belive i'll be going with the yellow clip on insulators. They look a lot easier to use, and should hold snugly. The price seems reasonable, and should be reuseable. I may be removing the fence perodically, to drag down mole hills, and I overseed some in the last of the winter. I experpented with sprinkler irrigation some last summer, and it really helped, but I waited too long to move the cows, and the grass had a hard time comeing back. Clover and orchard grass, look good now.I am not going to give any thought to someone getting shocked, or ripped by my wire. Rather pay any fine, if they can get it! I saw a wire spinner mentioned. What is that, and will it help to rewind wire being took off? I already have a 3pt unit to unroll woven wire, or barbed wire. Would like to have something to help roll up barbed wire.

Rolling up barb wire by hand is pretty easy. You make a roll about 4 ft diameter. But you'd need an old timer to show you the tricks to keeping it tight and intertwined. I doubt you'd find anyone east of the 100th meridian that knows how.

It is the voltage that triggers the atoms in alignment to produce a magnetic field, not the current. Very little current in a charged fence wire anyway.

Oh, I might take you up on that. Tho I wouldn't win any speed records, I've rolled a few bits by hand now and then. Just have to get the back and forth weave going, catch the edges.

Paul

I have always done it by hand, that's why I asked if there was a powered spinner. I asked google, and found two or more 3 pt powered wire winders, one used a hydraulic motor, and one was pto powered.I don't think I would like to be useing either, without someone on the tractor to kill the motor, if and when, the wire grabbed me while guiding the wire on the spool. Hopefully it would just jerk your leather glove off,but it it looped a loop around you ,a guy might end up in the spool.

Take a look at rotational grazing supplies at Kencove. Here is what I do.

I have a 6 wire 12.5ga high tensile perimeter fence. For internal fencing, I use some white 1/8in plastic rope wire that has stainless wires embedded. I put a step-in pigtail that has a white plastic insulator on top. Spaced 20 paces apart. I hook them to the perimeter fence on both sides with an insulator hook on one side and a gate hook that passes the electric on the other. Stays just as hot as the permanent fence and can be moved or removed in minutes. I use a orange electrical cord roll-up (cost about 7 bucks in any home center) to roll up the wire when not in use. I use these all summer and have never had a adult cow go thru it. The calves will sometimes go under it but they tend to stay pretty close to mama so not a problem. As the get older they respect it more. My fencer puts out 18K volts on the meter in the barn (Parmak SE4) and my portable meter usually shows about 8-9Kvolts at any point on the fence. The rolls of rope wire are made by many companies. The Gallager brand seems to hold up the best. I replace it every 3-4 years as it can age in the sun. A new roll of a couple thousand feet costs about 30 bucks.

No way I would be pounding in t-Posts...or removing them, on a temporary internal fence. A single really hot wire will keep them in...

Makes it really easy to remove it all if I have to cut hay or reseed. I also remove it all when in winter and the cows are in the dry lot.

John

I prefer the pin-lock insulators that snap over the face of the T-post. The plastic covers a couple inches of the metal, so you won't get a short, and the wire is held close to the post, so it won't peel over.

Oh, and smooth wire. There's a reason God made us smart enough to figure out how to build an electric fencer.

If your cattle have any respect for an electric fence at all, you can use rods and a single smooth wire. Ours go out on stalks all winter with a single smooth wire hung on rods and powered by solar chargers.

I'm no expert, but I've been keeping livestock behind electric fences for over 25 years now. I would never try to use barb wire. I've had neighbors try and do that and it was a disaster. I do combine barb, woven and smooth electric though. That seems to work pretty good. I think Premier 1 has a pretty good handle on this stuff and makes good products. I prefer their stuff to Kencove myself.

Our wire winder is hydraulic and we have a ball valve plumbed in to adjust the speed and shut it off. But it's backwards, if you push forward (which is more likely if you're caught) you'll just hasten the impending doom.

You are supposed to be able to put the spool back on and unwind it, but it doesn't work too well. Our machine-spooled wire goes on the scrap heap.