Electric fencer not working

[Jdunn55]

I see a few problems.

Your ground field is rubbish.
Your hook wires are not adequate.
You have two separate wires connected to the output (fence) side. That does not work. You have a short right there at the lug/terminal. What is the purpose of putting two wires in the red terminal.

Buckets of water will hardy do anything. Put a water hose on them for 5 minutes at least. You really want to get the ground field wet and keep it wet throughout the year.

See the below link from Speedrite. It will tell you all you need to do to get things working.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0892/9182/files/6_J_12_J_Unigizer_EN_ES_PT_FR_DE_1.pdf?v=1620142130

I can offer assistance if you have additional questions. Just ask.

Thanks, a few questions:
what specifically is wrong with the earth rods?

What's wrong with my hook wires? (I'm assuming these are the ones connecting to the terminal on the fencer?)

Why cant you connect 2 wires to the terminal? Surely it's no different to having a single one connected to the fence and then having a fence coming off that? The purpose is one feeds the top half of the farm and the other feeds the other half

If I move my earth rods does it matter how far away from the fencer they are?

 

[Jdunn55]

If you can do that more than once, it can't be that lively. Something like a hotline fence scout is a good investment.

Put it this way, theres no way I'm ever touching that terminal again...
Do it a few times along the fence and you become numb to the shock

I have 2, one is broken and 1 is working, guess which one I cant find...

Ordered a new speedrite remote fault finder to help with the sh!t.. at 150 quid

 

[Jdunn55]

I was told not to use copper wire for electric fencing, that's assuming your earth coloured wire is copper.

I have no idea without looking it just what was already there, the strange part is the earth rods and cables have worked fine for the past 2 years I worked here :/

 

[tepapa]

Thanks, a few questions:
what specifically is wrong with the earth rods?

What's wrong with my hook wires? (I'm assuming these are the ones connecting to the terminal on the fencer?)

Why cant you connect 2 wires to the terminal? Surely it's no different to having a single one connected to the fence and then having a fence coming off that? The purpose is one feeds the top half of the farm and the other feeds the other half

If I move my earth rods does it matter how far away from the fencer they are?

Think of your earth rods like an antenna picking up a signal. A big radar dish looking for life on Mars is going to pick up more signal than your sky dish.
Bigger your earth the greater chance of completing the circuit on long fencers and in poor conditions such as dry weather as more chance of picking up a signal.

 

[tepapa]

I have no idea without looking it just what was already there, the strange part is the earth rods and cables have worked fine for the past 2 years I worked here :/

Dry weather won't help but then it was super dry last spring. Some systems will stop working for no apparent reason. Work fine for years and then nothing. It can be caused by poor connections as rust and corrosion build up causing resistance which disrupt the power. A bad connection in the earth wire is just as problematic as a bad connection in the live wire.

 

[Jdunn55]

I have a site in mind for the earth rods as it's literally always soaking wet, can barely walk across it now and you would be swimming in winter, but its 100-150m away from the fencer is that ok?

Think of your earth rods like an antenna picking up a signal. A big radar dish looking for life on Mars is going to pick up more signal than your sky dish.
Bigger your earth the greater chance of completing the circuit on long fencers and in poor conditions such as dry weather as more chance of picking up a signal.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

If you can't touch the terminal, it sounds like you might have another short on the fence, so start testing that. Bit tricky without a tester though

 

[Jdunn55]

If you can't touch the terminal, it sounds like you might have another short on the fence, so start testing that. Bit tricky without a tester though

How much plant growth touching the fence is too much is the question? In places theres A LOT, I'm going along with the strummer atm to see if anything changes

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

It will pull it down but a mains fencer should keep going within reason.

 

[tepapa]

I have a site in mind for the earth rods as it's literally always soaking wet, can barely walk across it now and you would be swimming in winter, but its 100-150m away from the fencer is that ok?

Yes fine, distance isn't an issue, just remember to check it once in a while as if it a live wire. You want something nice and big and galvanized. Don't just think one earth rod will be enough, go for something big, crash barriers (plural) are good as you can drive them with a post knocker or push them in a soft spot with the loadall, the bigger the fence the more you'll need. If money's tight look in the crap pile, I'm sure you'll have some old cubicles etc. Bury them with a digger. The connection to the lead out wire is a point for corrosion as the system ages so best to keep these visible and covered with something to stop rusting (don't have the answer for best product in on that).
Lead out cable is recommended for earth wire, not sure it's essential but it helps protect the wire from corrosion.

 

[betweenthelines]

I have a site in mind for the earth rods as it's literally always soaking wet, can barely walk across it now and you would be swimming in winter, but its 100-150m away from the fencer is that ok?

Move the fencer closer to the wet spot!

You don't need an expensive tester, just use a bit of grass.

 

[Dead Rabbits]

How much plant growth touching the fence is too much is the question? In places theres A LOT, I'm going along with the strummer atm to see if anything changes

Your fence should kill any weeds or small trees that touch it. If I hook up a poly wire reel to the fence and leave the wire on the ground it kills the grass.

 

[Bald n Grumpy]

Who new electric fencing could be so high tech
Bet its something a lot simpler like a piece of crap fence wire

 

[sheepdogtrail]

Thanks, a few questions:
what specifically is wrong with the earth rods?

What's wrong with my hook wires? (I'm assuming these are the ones connecting to the terminal on the fencer?)

Why cant you connect 2 wires to the terminal? Surely it's no different to having a single one connected to the fence and then having a fence coming off that? The purpose is one feeds the top half of the farm and the other feeds the other half

If I move my earth rods does it matter how far away from the fencer they are?

Earth Rods - They are rusty. They are not the right size. You will need something twice that diameter at least. 1/2" galvanized water pipe works great. The stainless clamp does not create tight enough connection to ground properly. You should get something like this. The galvanized version. Not the copper.

https://www.grainger.com/product/2CNJ3. They should not be more than a couple of quid.

Hook up wires - You are using single insulated lead out wire. In the picture on the red terminal you can see rust/oxidation on the wire. Not good. The 2 wires will create a arc between each other as they live the terminal. To generate a arc you need electricity. That electricity is coming from your fencing unit. So essentially you are reducing the voltage to the fence as a good bit of the fencers output is being vaporized before it even gets to the fence.

Double insulated aluminum wire is probably a better fit your local. When installing leave a extra foot or so as you should redo those connections once per year by snipping off the old end and stripping the insulation about 1.5 inches from the new end. You will now have a new shinny connection that will last about a year before it becomes oxidized.

The ground wire (green/yellow) connected to the green terminal is unfamiliar to me. It could be ok. Just don't know what the construction is and its rating. I use the same type of double insulated wire that goes to my fence.

I think 300 meters is about the limit to get a working fence with double insulated wire. The only downside is cost of the wire. It might be better to move the fencer and the ground field to place near a building with mains power and then use a longer lead out wire to the fence.

Did your 6000i come with a remote/fault finder? They do here in the USA. That is a very handy piece of kit to have. It works very well. Alternatively a volt meter would give you the same information except it will not point you in the direction of the fault(s).

 

[sheepdogtrail]

I have no idea without looking it just what was already there, the strange part is the earth rods and cables have worked fine for the past 2 years I worked here :/

That is a indication of two things that have happened.

1. The wire has failed because it did not have a high enough rating to accept the voltage. This is a very common problem. It will work for sometime, until it burns out.

2. The earth rods become corroded/rusted/oxidized and can no longer function properly.

 

[sheepdogtrail]

How much plant growth touching the fence is too much is the question? In places theres A LOT, I'm going along with the strummer atm to see if anything changes

That depends on the output of the fencer and if the ground field is proper. If there is moisture in the air your fencer will be less effective if not sized for the conditions. If there is wet plants touching the fence, then even more loss occurs.

For best results put in the fence energizer in a weather tight box.

 

[sheepdogtrail]

Move the fencer closer to the wet spot!

You don't need an expensive tester, just use a bit of grass.

With a single long blade (at least 8 inches) of grass you can hold one end of the blade of grass and place the other end on the fence. If your fence is working correctly you will be able to feel a very slight tingle. Grass is a poor conductor. However, a single blade of wet grass is a great conductor. Use green, but dry grass.

 

[Dog Bowl]

I installed a new, all singing all dancing fencer this spring onto a new grazing block. I bashed in a couple of earth stakes, hooked it up and.... it disappointed massively. Only now, after burying a load of crash barriers am I now getting this fencer to work properly. Now pumping out 8kv and the cows dare not go near it

 

[sheepdogtrail]

I installed a new, all singing all dancing fencer this spring onto a new grazing block. I bashed in a couple of earth stakes, hooked it up and.... it disappointed massively. Only now, after burying a load of crash barriers am I now getting this fencer to work properly. Now pumping out 8kv and the cows dare not go near it

how did the crash barriers fix the problem? are you electrifying them?

 

[Dog Bowl]

how did the crash barriers fix the problem? are you electrifying them?

Think I had not put in an adequate enough earth for the size of fencer