Unplugged: Six Reasons for Electric Fence Failures

Do you have an electric fence, but it seems to not be working right or keeps having issues? If you have an electric fence on your property and it’s not operating how you would like, you may have fallen victim to one of the most common electric fence failures. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the biggest issues and how they could be impacting your fence.

Electric FenceYour Fence is Too Weak

Although electric fences aren’t meant to hurt your animals, having the shock setting too low could prove counter-productive. If your pet or livestock is interested in what is on the other side of your fence and the only thing stopping them is a light shock, they will probably take his chances. Bumping up the fence to a higher setting will deliver a stronger shock, but will also help improve the deterrent nature of the fence. If your animal receives a more impactful zap, they will remember it and learn their boundaries.

No Surge Protection

An electric fence uses electricity just like many of your household appliances. You protect your home from electrical surges with surge protectors and your circuit breakers, and it’s just as important to provide that protection at your fence. Power surges and lightning strikes can overload your fence and blow out the connections, so keep your fence working in all conditions by installing a surge protector at the power source to prevent this common fence failure.

Not Keeping Your Fence Clear

If your electric fence is not as strong as you would like, it may not be the power source at fault. Instead, weeds, trees or even snow may be the culprit. Any plants or snow that’s in contact with the fence can diminish the fence’s power, so it’s important to keep plant life trimmed back and snow shoveled away from the fence. Make sure you’re cutting grass along the fence line regularly, be mindful of drifts and snowbanks in the winter months, and add pruning to your spring maintenance routine to ensure that your fence isn’t affected by any of these issues.

Your Insulators are of Poor Quality

You don’t want your dog to run away or your livestock to leave their designated area, so keep your fence secure for the long haul by using quality parts, including insulators. As Living the Country Life notes, when buying new or replacement insulators, you should look to make sure that they are UV-rated to offer long-lasting protection from the damaging rays of the sun. This will help keep connections stable and reliable and ensure that your fence stays charged.

Avoid Kinks

To retain a productive fence, you want to make sure that all of your wires are straight and free of kinks. Kinks may not diminish the fence’s power, but they can allow wiring in that area to wear more quickly, almost certainly leading breakages in your fence. Check your fence regularly for any kinked spots and straighten out any problem spots. Just don’t forget to turn the fence off first!

Wire Size is Not Consistent

Always keep in mind that the size of the wire impacts the strength of the electricity. That means that the bigger the wire you use, the bigger the shock it can deliver. If you’re expanding your fenced-in area or making repairs, it’s important to keep using the same size wire consistently. If you change sizes, some areas of the fence may receive less electricity, resulting in a lower charge and less effective fence.

Not Getting a Quality Fence

Of course, you can troubleshoot your electric fence all day long, but if you don’t have a quality fence to start with, then you have other issues to think about. All Around Fence is proud to present some of the best electric fences in the industry from Gallagher. These fences are built to last, and we carry all the parts you’ll need to install a system that will work for your farm or home. Learn more by stopping in to see us today in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, or give us a call at 724-439-0331.