# Hot wire around fence Confused, help!



## rosebayridgefarm (Jan 18, 2014)

I want to run a top wire around my wood & woven wire fence against coyotes. I've bought wire, insulators, ground rod and solar fence charger. I DO have more woven wire buried 16" out & inside. No chance to dig. Just need the top fixed. Here's the deal: 
We have a 120 ft fence around our doe pen, to house 4 ND does. The fence is wood with of groundhogts and no climb woven wire. It's 6 ft high. I added wooden extensions above the posts, and it has a wooden top rail. I screwed in insulators to all posts, and I have a gate handle insulated grip. I'll put the solar energizer on the south side of the pen, but I've watched some Youtube videos to get clearer on how to complete the circuit & ground it. Now I'm more confused. Based on what different vodeosnand fence diagrams said,
I'm not sure
(A) I need to run a second ground wire parallel to the top wire the whole perimeter? and buried underground? or insulated in a plastic pipe ?
(B) I need a lighning diverter, as I only have the top wire.

My fenced forested ridge is in Western PA and gets lots of rain, but it's rocky, has little top soil, and is often dry. The top 6" of ground gets frozen for months in the winter. It's rocky & full of tree roots. How does his affct my grounding? In the videos and diagrams, people are burying a naked aluminum ground wire, running a parallell ground down low, burying a ground wire the full length of the fence. This is all for 5 wire fences Which one should make my fence work best?.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I've never found a need for a lightening diverter. 

Okay, run a single strand around the pen and hook it to hot. Do it without spicing if you can. 
Tamp the ground rod into the ground and run a solid core coated wire from it to the ground on your charger. 
Should work just fine.


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## nannysrus (Jun 21, 2014)

I second goat hiker. I have almost 15 acres with multiple paddocks that are 5 strand hot wire. I don't rotate groun and hot wires. I make everything hot. I don't use a solar charger because of down time. I have a horse that will smell the fence and if it's off then she's out. 


Samantha

"5 minutes of fresh air is equivalent to 5 mg Valium"


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I agree. The one thing most people don't do is put the ground rod deep enough and make sure it is not coated.


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## rosebayridgefarm (Jan 18, 2014)

Okay, I'll do as Goathiker said. I have a 6 ft galvanized ground rod. Is this overkill? Or is it better to have it longer? 
I have less then 2 feet of soil before I hit the hill rock. I can only go so far down. So I'll have 4 ft sticking up. Or I can cut it and have (2) 3 foot rods, 3 feet apart, each sunk 2 ft. Is that better as a ground bed? 
Where to get the insulated ground wire? Is coated copper from an older house electric setup okay, as long as it's solid copper? 

I also have a maple sapling 2" from the fence that I'm unwillibg to cut down. Attach insulators to the sapling and run the wire out around it for now?

There will be leaves and twigs occasionally falling onto the hot wire. Will this short it out? It's in a woods of hemlock, maple & witch hazel saplings. 

Finally, I just got a 2 mile solar charger nearly new for cheap. It's 04 joules output.
Not worth the bother to install? or might do the trick with good grounding?


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I'll come back and help you as soon we're done with our waffle feast. I've built many different kinds of electric fencing over the years.


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## nannysrus (Jun 21, 2014)

I can only go about a foot to foot an a half in the ground before hitting solid rock. I don't have any problems with my ground and I only have one ground rod.


Samantha

"5 minutes of fresh air is equivalent to 5 mg Valium"


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