7 common cattle fencing mistakes- Ground rod is too close together

Today, we will share the fourth cattle fencing mistake: Ground rod is too close together .

Grounding is 99% of the electric fence, the specialists explain. So if the fencing uses 6-joule energizer, it will take 18 feet of ground rod. “Normally this would be three, 6-foot ground rods, spaced at least 10 feet apart,” Tianze suggests.

How to fix it？

Tianze says spacing is key, as a ground rod is basically an antenna that receives electrons flowing through the soil and back to the trigger, completing the circuitGround rods can also interact with a certain volume of soil. If three ground rods are separated 6 inches, in essence, they act as one ground rod because of the volume of soil they interact with. Tianze says that most people insert three ground rods near the energizer.He encourages people to place ground rods throughout the fencing, especially if the average rainfall of the fenced area is less than ideal for proper grounding. Galvanized rods are the best choice for ground rod, and most livestock fencing companies use an insulated galvanized lead-out wire on energizers. Galvanized isn’t as expensive as copper and you never have to worry about corrosion. If galvanized wire is used in the electric fence system, you need to keep everything galvanized. Tianze recommends 12.5-gauge galvanized wire, galvanized ground rods and galvanized connections. The most effective area of the ground system is continuous damp, high-mineral soil.