I love hot wire - - - note I said HOT - - - my charger puts out 12.5 Jules and normally has about 7,000 volts at the end of the line. Buy the best charger you can find and put gate handles on each separate run so if there is a problem you can locate it. I have 5 miles of fence on 300 acres - - - with a fence this hot the hunters will not ride it down like woven wire or barbed wire and it sure deters the coyotes and dogs from town. My charger says it will charge 150 miles of moderately weedy fence - - - thus some would consider it overkill for 5 miles but it will send a blue flame about 1" on damp days and the cattle are true believers. If you read the specs it only puts out 0.0025 amps it will not kill even small animals or start fires but the few times I have gotten into it have made me a believer as well!
In Indiana it is against the law to energize barbed wire so I use hi tensile 12 guage and some of it is still in place from 1973 when I bought the property - - - every few months I will walk a line and replace any insulators that are questionable. I also spray the fences with a non selective herbicide. Knock on wood I can't remember an animal getting out for several years unless someone leaves a gate open. This also keeps the neighbors cattle away from my property as well.
In Indiana it is against the law to energize barbed wire so I use hi tensile 12 guage and some of it is still in place from 1973 when I bought the property - - - every few months I will walk a line and replace any insulators that are questionable. I also spray the fences with a non selective herbicide. Knock on wood I can't remember an animal getting out for several years unless someone leaves a gate open. This also keeps the neighbors cattle away from my property as well.
