Frequently Asked Quesons

6. Must an electrician install the system?

No. You do not need an electrician to install the system. By following the simple installation instructions included with the Pet Kit you will have no problem installing it yourself.

7. How far apart can I space my supports?

Being a phycological fear barrier, the fence is light and not physically strong so you can space your supports between 4 and 8 meters apart, just as long as the wires are kept parallel to the ground.

8. How many strands should I install?

A simple rule of thumb is nose height to the animal you intend to control. When training animals start with three strands, and once they are trained you can often get away with a single strand. If there are a variety of pets, you will obviously need more strands.

9. Can I control my other pets and animals?

Yes – all pets, from cats and guinea pigs to gerbils and geese; problem animals such as buck, porcupine and rabbits have all been controlled successfully with a Pet Kit. It even keeps snakes out of aviaries.

10. Do I have to return the fence to the energizer to complete the circuit?

No. The circuit is between the live wire and the ground. It is closed when an animal touches the live wire. In other words, you can run a wire in one direction and simply stop when you reach the point where you want to stop. You do not have to return to the energizer.

11. Can you give me a simple explanation as to how the system works?

This is best done by means of a diagram (See Basic Circuits of an Electric Fence page 3)

Basic Circuits of an Electric Fence System

An electric fence system comprises of three components: the energizer, the fence line, and the earthing system. When the three are connected together, a circuit is created and the electrons can now flow. If any one of these components is faulty, the whole system will be faulty. When an animal touches the live wire, it closes the circuit, providing a path through which electrons can flow from the red, posive terminal of the energizer, through the animal, to the green, negave terminal of the energizer. It is this flow of electrons through the animal which gives the shock that the animal experiences. There are two types of electric fence circuits: one is for moist ground condions and one is for dry ground condions. The reason for this is that moist ground is a good conductor of electrons, while dry ground is not. So, dry ground cannot be relied upon to close the circuit sasfactorily. Concrete driveways and paving will all have the same effect on the electric fence circuit as dry ground and a live earth wire configuraon will be needed in these circumstances.

Circuit for Moist Ground Condions – All-Live-Wire

Configuraon

Earth System

Circuit for Dry Ground condions Alternate

– good conductor –

The dog closes the circuit between the live wire and the moist ground, thereby enabling the electrons to flow back to the energizer, via the dog and the moist ground.

Live / Earth Wire Configuraon

Earth System

The dog closes the circuit between the live wire and the earth return wire, thereby enabling the electrons to flow back to the energizer, via the dog and earth return wire.