Electric Insulators: The best and the worst by Andrew Stickler

     The electric fence surrounding the pasture has two purposes. The first is to help keep out predators. The second is to help stop the cattle from damaging the fence. There are two electric lines that run along the fence on the outside. One electric line runs along the top of the fence, and the other electric line runs alongside the bottom outside of the fence, 8 to 12 inches off the ground. Even though the electric runs on the outside of the fence, it still helps to prevent the cattle from damaging the fence. If the cattle are pushing against the fence, the fence will electrify and get them off of it. 
      In order to install the electric fence, a system of insulators is required to keep the line secure and in check. I have tried three different kinds of insulators.

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     The first kind of insulator I tried was the ceramic insulator pictured to the left. These often cracked, and sometimes the clip would fall off and leave nothing holding the wire. Therefore, this kind of insulator holds up the worst over time.

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   The next kind of insulator that I tried was the C-shaped plastic insulator pictured to the right. I found that this insulator works well, but that it takes a very long time to screw into place. Also occasionally the insulator would break off at its neck. This kind of insulator works well, but it is not the most efficient one to install a large number of.

     The most recent kind of insulator that I tried is the plastic wraparound insulator pictured above. I found that this kind of insulator works the best. These insulators are the quickest to install, they wrap around the wire and then are fastened with a U-nail. These insulators also do not break easily and will last a very long time. Therefore, out of the three kinds of insulators I have tried, these plastic wraparound insulators work the best for me.