Hey everyone, so more and more decisions are getting made on the new electric fence, and I swear the decisions just never end. So I spoke with horseguard this week and will be getting the Mono-polar fence for my location. My perimeter fence is wood posts. Step one is simply to run electric around the top, it will be probably 6-12 months before I get cross fencing in. So are the Horseguard brand insulators the best thing out there for horseguard fencing, or is there a better/just as good but cheaper option out there for mounting to round wooden posts? I feel like I’ve read some reviews that didn’t have the horseguard brand insulators, some had it pinch the tape, some it seemed to work just fine on, but none of those reviews said what brand/model of insulators they were using that worked or didn’t. I’m not opposed to getting HG brand if it’s going to lengthen the life of my fence (or be required for a warranty, is that a thing for them?) but if I can find something 35c less per insulator, that could be a massive savings if something else works just as well. I’m shopping in black plastics.
I think you should be fine with any old insulator for the line posts. They really aren’t anything super special, IMO. I would use Horseguard tensioners for ends and corners though.
The only thing I appreciate about the Horseguard insulators is if/when the insulator gets partially busted, it’s 98% of the time just the front and I can replace the broken piece from my little stash of extras, I don’t have unscrew the whole insulator requiring tools since we used special screws for our install.
Admittedly I haven’t used other tape fencing so I’m not sure if this is something that’s a problem often on other fences, but I noted that I like it.
My advice would be to make sure that the insulator actually clamps and grips the tape, rather than allowing it to slide freely.
Hey I over ordered my insulators. They’re brown.
How many do you need?
No contest. HG insulators. I’ve had the tape for over 20 years and we have consistent winds of 20+ mph. The HG insulators hold the tape tightly whereas the other brands let it slip. Result is abrasion of the tape and ultimately the wires fail.
The only ones I could find in store had an overlapping clamp that didn’t meet, you could see light through it, so those were definitely out. The Ramm ones looked tempting, they claim that they hold the tape tight, and look like they might actually clamp in a single area, but without holding one it’s rather hard to tell. They do run right about half the price.
Goodness I have no idea how many I even need. I close on the place either next Friday or the one after (depending on if we can get the survey back quickly). Front fenceline is wooden rails, so probably 8’ spacing, and the sides I’d guess are closer to 12’. Google Earth and I measured the perimeter fence around 2209 ft. So that would be 200 or so? I have permission to go walk the property, maybe I should go out tomorrow and actually count.
Horse Guard website states posts can be up to 16 feet apart. Assuming that you’re going to be installing electric inside of the existing wooden fence with posts every eight feet, would it be possible to skip every other wooden post to achieve the 16 foot spacing, and use only half as many HG insulators?
If you can make a diagram of your fence lines, number of strands, gate locations and widths, etc and you send it to HorseGuard they are SUPER helpful in making sure you have everything you need! We placed one big order after talking to them and it had everything we needed to put up the whole fence.
I would think skipping a wood post that is in line with the ones it’s mounted to would just be asking to ground out the electric in any breeze at all. Counted my posts, 233, which does include my 2 gates and 6 corners, but a few spare regular insulators is never a bad idea. Plus, this is just the perimeter, and I am planning to cross fence eventually, so extra supplies are not going to go to waste.
