Coated High Tensile Wire Fencing

[clanter]

How hard is it to replace a non-hot coated wire with a hot one?

Why replace? What about adding a hot wire or wires?.. the labor to remove and the disposal of the wire is a lost item.

The runs for 10 acres would be about 3000 feet each

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or condition the animal to the aspects to the wire by internally placing in an area where all the wires are hot and let it touch those… that is how we we inadvertently taught the miniatures to stay away from the tape fencing we use to divide the pastures… they WILL NOT venture under/around/very near the tapes even it is off…it is assumed by them that it always hot

[Texarkana]

@clanter

Why replace? What about adding a hot wire or wires?.. the labor to remove and the disposal of the wire is a lost item.

The runs for 10 acres would be about 3000 feet each

or condition the animal to the aspects to the wire by internally placing in an area where all the wires are hot and let it touch those… that is how we we inadvertently taught the miniatures to stay away from the tape fencing we use to divide the pastures… they WILL NOT venture under/around/very near the tapes even it is off…it is assumed by them that it always hot

Conditioning is something that I don’t think will be as successful with a donkey. Have you ever watched how the gears in a donkey’s head turn? They are like elephants: they never forget. If they discover a section of the fence is not hot, they will test it forever. I’d rather not chance a loose animal.

I have my reasons for wanting to replace it as opposed to adding one or two hot strands. Aesthetics are high on the list, which I know isn’t a priority for many. But I drive by a lot of coated wire fences and adding a wire, even if it matches, gives the entire fence a piecemeal look worse than other styles of fencing.

But there are practical reasons beyond aesthetics, too. I have a cribber and want the top hot, yet there is not enough room on the posts to add a wire above the current top wire. The fence lines are shared between pastures, so if I use extenders I’ll have to run them on both sides.

These aren’t deal breakers. I’m not completely opposed to adding 1 or 2 strands of hot wire to the fence if it turns out it is the most practical way to keep the fence hot. I have done it countless times, including at every rental farm we have had. But it’s not my first choice, which is why I am asking how hard it is to replace one or two strands.

[clanter]

Conditioning is something that I don’t think will be as successful with a donkey. Have you ever watched how the gears in a donkey’s head turn? They are like elephants: they never forget. If they discover a section of the fence is not hot, they will test it forever. I’d rather not chance a loose animal.

Our real horses would use the pony to test the fence, they would coward the pony into the fence to see if was hot, they themselves would not touch the tape until the pony was pushed through.

Only solution was to separate pony into his own paddock

Big horses today are like the miniatures in that if the tape fence is there it is Hot so will not venture near it

The old wire… can it removed from the posts then add an insulator to reattach to same wire back to the post without taking it down?

[Simkie]

If everything is up with staples, is there really any other option than pulling it all down and reinstalling with actual insulators?

You might be able to sell the old stuff for scrap and make some $$ back.

[Texarkana]

@Simkie

If everything is up with staples, is there really any other option than pulling it all down and reinstalling with actual insulators?

You might be able to sell the old stuff for scrap and make some $$ back.

That’s sort of what I’m asking. Does anyone have experience replacing this stuff?

The whole fence doesn’t need to come down, but how hard and expensive is it to replace one or two strands?

I’m trying to weigh the pros and cons. I have never taken down any portion of a high tensile fence so I have no firsthand experience to aid in the decision making.

[lenapesadie]

@Texarkana

I have my reasons for wanting to replace it as opposed to adding one or two hot strands. Aesthetics are high on the list, which I know isn’t a priority for many. But I drive by a lot of coated wire fences and adding a wire, even if it matches, gives the entire fence a piecemeal look worse than other styles of fencing.

I abhor the look of unevenly spaced wires / boards. So I feel you on the look.

I don’t see why you can’t take down the old wire. It’ll be a PITA like all fencing jobs but you’ll be happier with the results I think.

[Simkie]

Can’t be that hard to pull down. I’d pop the staples, leave the wire on the ground along the fence as you work, and then wind it onto a spool once it’s all off. It can’t be under that much tension if it’s stapled up.

Do confirm your corner posts are set correctly for tensioned fence before you put everything back up, though. Better to reset those NOW if they’re not done right.

[Texarkana]

@lenapesadie

I don’t see why you can’t take down the old wire. It’ll be a PITA like all fencing jobs but you’ll be happier with the results I think.

I agree. My concerns are time, cost, and difficulty. That’s why I’m hoping someone has done this.

Is it a project I can tackle myself or with my husband in a single weekend? Will we want a divorce afterwards? If it should be done by a pro, is the expense high? Having a pro install coated high tensile wire is actually pretty affordable, but removing it may be a different story. I have some calls in but no one has gotten back to me yet and I’m getting antsy, leading to me posting here.

We have a lot of work to do to get the property horse ready again, but not a lot of time. We are hemorrhaging money into the house at the moment, so I’d also like to be pragmatic with our funds.

[lenapesadie]

@Texarkana

Is it a project I can tackle myself or with my husband in a single weekend? Will we want a divorce afterwards? If it should be done by a pro, is the expense high? Having a pro install coated high tensile wire is actually pretty affordable, but removing it may be a different story.

Take down in a single weekend for 10 acres might be doable. My limited experience with coated wire leads me to believe the difficulty in take down will be keeping the old wire tidy/contained after detaching from posts. It doesn’t appear to be as easy to roll up as smooth wire, but for sure easier than barb wire.

Divorce over fencing projects is always a risk lol.

I’d think a pro would be most likely to give the best deal on take down and replace with new hot coated wire as part of same job.

I boarded at a place that had some hot coated wire. The BO, a middle aged woman, installed it with the dubious help of her staff.

If your posts are rock solid, I think you are ok.

[lenapesadie]

@Texarkana

We are hemorrhaging money into the house at the moment,

Also. I can heartily relate to the above. I was convinced I would bleed out getting our place horse ready.

[Ponycatraz]

@Texarkana

That’s sort of what I’m asking. Does anyone have experience replacing this stuff?

It isn’t hard to take down other than the awkwardness of dealing with the coated wire. Once it’s been stretched it doesn’t wind as nicely as new. If all goes well really shouldn’t take more than a weekend.

My concern would be any rotted posts or weak corner posts that are being held up by the fence that you may not notice until you pop a few strands off or start to tighten.

[Texarkana]

@Ponycatraz

It isn’t hard to take down other than the awkwardness of dealing with the coated wire. Once it’s been stretched it doesn’t wind as nicely as new. If all goes well really shouldn’t take more than a weekend.

My concern would be any rotted posts or weak corner posts that are being held up by the fence that you may not notice until you pop a few strands off or start to tighten.

I think the posts are in good shape, but I won’t know for sure until we finish getting the weeds mowed down and I can access the entire fence line. The weeds are currently as tall as the fence. Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me with how she can reclaim land so quickly.

[B-burg_Dressage]

We haven’t taken the fence down, but we built all of our fencing ourselves. Putting up the wire is insanely easy. Setting the posts (and clearing the old fence) was the only hard part. The coated part can be a pill to take off for tying but if you beat the end with a hammer it slides off ok.

Pulling out the old wires probably won’t be fun, but I think if you release the tensioner first, it would be pretty doable. DH and I would certainly tackle it, but he’s a saint.

Do you plan on saving the old wire? I would think if you didn’t want to that would make things easier–just cut it into smaller sections and make it more manageable versus really having to roll it up nicely.

[Texarkana]

@B-burg_Dressage

We haven’t taken the fence down, but we built all of our fencing ourselves. Putting up the wire is insanely easy. Setting the posts (and clearing the old fence) was the only hard part. The coated part can be a pill to take off for tying but if you beat the end with a hammer it slides off ok.

Pulling out the old wires probably won’t be fun, but I think if you release the tensioner first, it would be pretty doable. DH and I would certainly tackle it, but he’s a saint.

Do you plan on saving the old wire? I would think if you didn’t want to that would make things easier–just cut it into smaller sections and make it more manageable versus really having to roll it up nicely.

This is very helpful because I was thinking I would have to remove every nail and replace with an insulator. It just occurred to me that if I release the tensioner, I can just pull the wire out. Then I can run the new wire through the existing nails with a little insulator sleeve, like how they did the top hot coated strand. Anything that gets stuck can be cut, because no, I don’t think I need to save the wire for any reason.

Thanks!

[clanter]

Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me with how she can reclaim land so quickly.

where I am the city has what is called Bulk Pickup trash four times a year… if one would just look at huge piles of tree trimming you would think the city was becoming an open pasture… but no one can even tell where all this brush/trees has come from …usually takes them two to three weeks to haul all of it off,

[clanter]

Once it’s been stretched it doesn’t wind as nicely as new. If all goes well really shouldn’t take more than a weekend.

get a large wooden spool that was used for electrical wire, you should be able to re-spool the wire onto one of those without much problem… we have them for the goats in their playground of mountain climbing stuff a few are at least five feet in diameter … some are free other cost $10 to $20

[EssexFells]

OK, so I have high tensile and the top wire is coated, and they’re all staped into wooden posts. We have done several projects that involved removing one or more wires from a section of the property. All told I’ve taken down probably 5-6000 LF of wire.

First take the tension off the fence by backing off the tensioning ratchets several clicks.
It’s not at all difficult to pop the staples with a good pair of fencing pliers.

As others have mentioned, dealing with the wire is going to be the biggest hassle. We have not bothered trying to wind it back onto a spool. For sections where you’re getting rid of the old wire, it’s easier to just wind it into loops on the ground like a garden hose – stand on the coil on the ground with your foot as you make the next loop. Every 50-100ft or so, cut the wire and secure your loops with a zip tie or two. Leave the coils on the ground then drive the fenceline with the ATV trailer to pick them all up. If I’m going to be re-using that wire, we’ve done this same “coil it into loops” method for much longer lengths. You can still apply a zip tie for every 100ft or so of wire to manage the coil, then keep coiling. And if it’s too unwieldy, just cut the wire and deal with the fact that you’ll have to do some splicing when you reinstall. Splices are not that big a deal. (though stripping the coating in order to get to bare wire is a PITA.

IMPORTANT SAFETY RULE: wear good gloves and safety glasses or even a face shield. The wire can and will whip around towards your face, much faster than you can react. Only thing predictable about stretched, old wire is that it will behave unpredictably. I can’t stress this enough.

I’ve actually done most of this work myself-- it’s not particularly grueling work. More tedious than anything. And when Mr. Essex has helped, no divorce was ever threatened

You can totally do this.

[Texarkana]

@EssexFells Thank you! This is exactly the info I needed.

[Feliz]

@Texarkana

I was thinking I would have to remove every nail and replace with an insulator. It just occurred to me that if I release the tensioner, I can just pull the wire out. Then I can run the new wire through the existing nails with a little insulator sleeve, like how they did the top hot coated strand. Anything that gets stuck can be cut, because no, I don’t think I need to save the wire for any reason.

We’ve removed lots of high tensile wire (not coated though). I thought I’d be able to do what you’re thinking of - it was way harder than I thought it was going to be. When I could pull it through it would then whip around and was even harder to coil up. Your coated wire might be easier though.

I found it by far the quickest to cut the ends, take all the insulators off, then roll it up as I walked along the fence line. Mr F is a sparky so a master of coiling things and he showed me the trick - you start the coil and then do it hand over hand along the “wheel” of the coil. I don’t think I’m describing it very well

We’ve done most of our nearly 10 acres ourselves - haven’t got divorced yet

[EssexFells]

@Feliz

We’ve removed lots of high tensile wire (not coated though). I thought I’d be able to do what you’re thinking of - it was way harder than I thought it was going to be.

Agree. some of the staples will be tighter than others, and if the wire has any little kinks in it, it won’t pass easily through any of the staples even if they’re not hammered all the way in. You’ll spend more energy having to really yank on the wire than just removing the staples. PLUS, when you re-install the new wire, you won’t have to thread it through the eye of the needle over and over and over. Way easier to tap in new staples once the wire’s already up and slightly tensioned.
Just pull the staplesyou’ll thank me later.