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Catalog > High-Tensile Electric Fence Products About High-Tensile Fence About High-Tensile Fence Ranchers have long known that untightened fence wires—whether barbed, smooth, or electrified—tend to sag. That lets animals out and pushes maintenance costs up. One answer, probably the best, is to put the fence wires under tension, typically between 150 and 250 pounds per wire. A fence under such tension is called "high-tensile" fence. In the deer-repelling business, high-tensile fence has several advantages. It can carry many wires, alternately charged and neutral, without much chance of their touching one another. The wires won't sag, so the deer can't get through them easily. And the tension on the wires makes it necessary for would-be interlopers to contact two wires simultaneously, thereby ensuring they get shocked. In exchange for these benefits, the person erecting a high-tensile fence needs to install strong corners, ends, and gates able to withstand the sideways pull. This is a less imposing job if the fence is electrified, because electric high-tensile fences typically employ less tension (150 versus 250 pounds per wire) than those that are not electrified. In both cases, however, one needs to use special wire (high-tensile steel wire) designed for this purpose, and to install various small pieces of gear intended either to establish or cope with tension.
T-posts, Earth Anchors, and H-braces Our high-tensile deer fence kits use studded steel T-posts (product 09-23A) bound to earth anchors (product 16-11) with 12.5 gauge wire (product 02-07HT1) to establish firmly anchored corners, ends, and gates. These posts are set firmly in the ground by means of small cement footings (see How to make a cement footing). High-tensile corner knobs (product 07-13A) are then used to carry the high-tensile wire around the corner. In the case of an end or gate post, the corner knob is combined with a kwik-splice clamp (product 08-36) applied with a special tool (product 08-37) or some other clamp (several oval metal sleeves or a gripple for example) in order to turn the wire back on itself and secure it. Finally, where electrical connections not under stress are needed, these can be provided by means of split-bolt style clamps (product 08-33). Alternatively, one can set up strong corners, ends, and gate approaches by installing wooden "H-braces". These are made of pressure-treated wooden timbers (pressure-treated 4x4s or larger round posts). Two of these posts are set deeply into the ground and are joined together by an equally massive horizontal post in an "H" configuration using brace pins (products 08-34 and 08-35). A heavy wire is then run from the bottom of the corner or end post to the top of the other vertical post, fastened to itself, and tightened in order to prevent the braced posts from moving in response to sideways stress. High-tensile wrap-around insulators (product 07-89) are used to take the high-tensile wire around a corner or (in combination with kwik-splice product 08-36) to terminate the wire at an end or gate post. 
Strainers, Springs, Splicers, and Clamps Specific pieces of gear used to establish the tension include a strainer (product 08-29) to tighten the wire, a handle (product 08-30) to crank the strainer, a spring (product 08-31) to measure the tension (when the spring measures 8.5 inches it is registering 150 pounds of tension, the right amount for a high-tensile electric fence wire; when it measures 7.5 inches it is registering 250 pounds of tension, appropriate for a non-electrified high-tensile fence). Other supplies used to deal with tension include wire splicers (product 08-32) as well as kwik-splices and the kwik-splice tool (products 08-36 and 08-37) for mending breaks and joining wires under tension. 
Battens, More Earth Anchors, Cotter Pins, U-nails, and Another Strainer People who set up high-tensile fences also take account of the tension in selecting fence components. For example, they use battens (lengths of fiberglass or plastic, products 09-15 and 09-15A) to maintain the spacing between the wires. One typically places these battens about 20 feet apart and puts three or so between each pair of posts. The battens don't need to be strong and don't need to touch the ground. They are kept in the air by the tension in the wires, and so they can effectively stand in for the more costly and robust posts. One can conveniently use batten clips (product 09-86) to attach the fence wires to the battens, and economical cotter pins (product 09-85) to secure the wire to drilled fiberglass and other posts. It is also a good idea to use small duck-bill style earth anchors (product 09-62) and shafts for driving them down (product 09-63), because these anchors (which come with their own attachment cables) can be attached to battens and used at points where the ground dips in order to maintain even spacing between the fence's lowest wire and the ground. Other products offered here include barbed U-nails for attaching non-electrified high-tensile wire to trees or wooden posts (product 17-01) and a circular wire strainer (product 08-14) and handle (product 08-15) for tightening high-tensile wire without cutting the wire. |
