Anybody use these?

[Steve]

I'm getting closer to getting Dexters! I'm getting my plans finalized on my fencing, and was wondering if anybody has any experience with this wedge-loc system for corner and end braces. I'm planning on using woven field fence with a strand of barb wire on bottom and two strands on top. I'm on a tight budget and thought these would save some money compared to heavy wooden posts and concrete. Any opinions?
Here's the link:

www.wedgeloc.com/

Anxious to hear what you have to say - good or bad!

[davendahlonega]

Steve,

Have you started your fencing yet? I researched this and found High Tensile Electric to be the least expensive. It has worked very well in the past year and keeps the dogs and other predators out. My neighbors lost all their turkeys and quail to dogs or some other varmit and I haven't lost any. I've seen dogs running and yelping after encountering the fence. You can place posts very far apart and I used five strands starting at six inches. Build your corners and gates strong and pull it tight with the ratchets. I am really sold on this.

Dave

[Steve]

Dave,

No, I haven't started the fence yet. Could you give me some specifics on yours? Type of line posts, corner posts, and bracing? Charger? AC, battery, or solar? I really need all the advice I can get.

Thanks.

[anthony]

Depending on how flat your ground is will make a big difference on fence spacing. My memory of eastern Kansas was a bit of hills and rolling terrein near KC but I was never in southeast Kansas. Yes, they work but dogs and yotes will go over them or under them depending on the critter. Have watched it first hand and have seen other dogs hit them and go flying back at a hundred miles per hour yelping.. The more strands the better but be aware that weedload in spring can really sap the power, get a good short tester so you can find any dead shorts, ground the heck out of it and have a good sized energizier. I fixed a ground problem on one fence and it went from pushing 1600 volts 5 through fence that surronded maybe 230 acres with a lot of cross fencing to 5700 volts.. Cows would push through 1600 and especially calves but nothing wants to mess with 5700... I imagine if there was more moisture in the ground it might hit 6000+

[davendahlonega]

You are right Anthony, the drier it is the poorer the ground. You need to make sure it is grounded well. I live in the north Ga. foothills and the drought this year really highlighted this problem. I put some grounds down close to the creek at the back of the pastures and solved this. You can soak the ground where the ground rods are also.If you have hills and uneven ground, as I did, it will take more posts. I still used less than on field fence or barb wire. Your corner posts can be 5-6 inches with 4 inch brace posts. If you have a Tractor Supply close they have a video that shows how to set it up. If you start at 6" of the ground and it is putting out the correct voltage it will stop most dogs and predators. Barb wire and field fence doesn't stop any of them. Price the materials and at worst you will have a fence that stops predators sometimes vs never and is less expensive. As far as the weed load goes I have found that the cows will graze amazingly close on the inside and I turn it off and put my mower deck under the wire and mow all the way around the outside. Then clean up the posts with a weed eater. I have a friend that sprays Round Up a couple of times a year if you don,t mind using that stuff. The cross fencing is only 1-3 strands depending on how permanent the line is and it starts about 10 inches off the ground and needs cleaning up infrequently.

Dave

[anthony]

We are on sand ground in a lot of our place so dry is a problem. A lot of our ground rods will run along a building side. This serves two purposes 1) the shade keeps the ground from drying up as fast and 2) the moisutre that runs off the roof helps make for a good ground.

The idea of trimming all of our roadsides is not fun but we started last year.. Looking for shorts I would take out a weed eater and go to town.. We didn't turn the fencer off but cut power to that section. Worked well and looked good. We also ran sheep in the fence between the road and the fence and they helped a lot too.. It is a long, long job to do for us but we have to. I think we have 5 or 6 miles of fence that is only grazed on one side and most of the ground is walkable only.. Ahh, country life, lol. I have only used herbicides in an emergency to kill hemp and some other weeds that got a head of me.

6-7 inches is where our bottom wire is for the most part but in a few place either water run off or just strange terrain left a gap a bit larger. Gates are also a weak spot in fences as far as predetors. We actually have some 8 strand that the bottom wire is maybe 4 inches off the ground.. Had too, goats were crawling under. Didn't matter that their was 80 acres of lovely grass, weeds and browse to the north, nope, the grass was always greener on other side of the fence.

[liz]

We use it (6 strand h/t) for the main barnyard and just lines of tape for the paddocking...guess we've been lucky there! The one thing that we have found really helpful is a special ground that has a sealed cyclinder with liquid. It helps through drought and is really worth the extra $. L

[liz]

Genebo I think that it is made by Gallagher...but it has been quite a while and so I don't remember. Anyways, it is an 6' sleeve that holds the ground rod which is surrounded by a chemical that always provides some moisture. It obviously isn't as effective as having proper rainfall but we have about 6 grounds planted, and a couple are these sleeves, so if the regular ones are not getting enough moisture....then they do the job. At least they keep the fence hot enough for the cows and horses, goats and Icelandic sheep didn't care anyway! L