How to Install Electric Fence Insulators

Electric fence insulators are a key part of your electric fence system--they allow you to attach the fence to your posts without grounding the wires out. Choose electric fence insulators based on the type of post and wire you're using for the fence. If you use steel T-posts with 12-1/2 gauge smooth wire, simple snap-on plastic insulators should suffice. However, wood posts will require you to use a hammer to attach nail-on plastic insulators. Polytape wire calls for insulators that have an opening wide enough to accommodate the width of your tape. Regardless of what type of wire you choose for your electric fence, terminal insulators (insulators at a corner) require special wiring during installation so they can move with your fence in either direction.

Things You'll Need

• Spray paint
• Line post insulators
• Nails
• Hammer
• Terminal insulators
• Extra fencing wire
• Wire cutters

Instructions

1. Install line post insulators. Use spray paint to mark the locations on your wood and steel line posts where you want to locate the insulators and wire. Wire heights vary depending upon the type of animal you plan to contain, but a permanent, interspecies (sheep and cattle) electric fence requires seven or eight wires at distances of 5 to 10 inches, according to Gerald Fitch, extension sheep specialist at Oklahoma State University.

2. Install line post insulators on your steel T-posts. Clasp the snap on the back of the insulator around the circumference of the pole at the correct height. Firmly push the clasp against the pole until it clicks into place. Repeat this process for all the insulators on each steel T-post.

3. Install line post insulators on your wooden posts. Position the plastic insulator at the correct height on the post, insert a nail into the nail hole on the top of the insulator and hammer it completely into the post. (Nails typically come with the insulators.) Insert another nail into the nail hole on the bottom of the insulator and hammer it in. Repeat this process for each insulator on each wooden post.

4. Install terminal insulators on your corner posts and gate posts. Cut a section of wire that is long enough to wrap 3-1/2 times around your first corner post. Thread the wire through the hole in the center of the terminal insulator then wrap it around the corner post at the desired height, leaving approximately six inches of space between the terminal insulator and the post; when you install the electric fence, this allows the terminal insulator to move slightly with the wire fence in either direction, which reduces the pressure on the corner posts). Rethread the wire and wrap it around the corner post two more times, then wrap the two ends back over the wire to secure it. Repeat this process for each terminal insulator on each corner post.

5. Check your insulators to ensure they are all installed at the correct heights before installing the rest of your electric fence.

References

• Oklahoma State University: Electric Fencing for Sheep