2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[beach chick]

as posted on the Fox thread, we lost 4 girls and a bunny just over a week ago, for those of you in the south you might remember it was the night the weather broke and we had big storms. OH has subsequently been doing some research (because he couldnt believe Mr Fox had bitten through the fence, despite the big hole in it) and told me the following: (in lay terms)

 

in exceptionally dry weather, it is quite possible for the charge from the electric fence to be considerably weaker than you expect it to be, because there is not enough moisture in the ground to deliver enough charge to the earth spike.

this is even more likely if your spike is about 1' long, ie the kind typically supplied with the charger unit, rather than the 3' which is recommended.

 

we now have ours on the mains continuously, and I have to say that it does deliver a bigger jolt than I remember (not that I am doing it too often you understand). OH also thinks we need to move it to a new location, because as the ground has dried out the hole the spike is in has expanded, so therefore the earth might not be touching it 100% - so we'll do that as well.

 

dont know if anyone else would find this helpful/has anything to add??

[Redwing]

I have heard of people throwing a couple of buckets of water on the area where the stake goes in to the ground to improve function in hot weather

[beach chick]

that would make sense then. just never occurred to us that the dry conditions would affect the fence's operation...

[Isabel]

I'm sorry you lost so many to the fox. Thanks for posting this information - I had no idea & will be making sure we take precautions if we ever see dry weather again!

[lillybettybabs]

I hose mine just because i remember something when i had horses, Also long grass can affect the current.