Comments on: Choosing The Right Wire Guage for Electronic Dog Fences

By: melissa

melissa — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:19:09 +0000

Why does the wire have to be insulated for above ground use?

ADMIN – Hi Melissa,

We have found that when you use uninsulated wire, you don’t get a consistent field from the wire. You get sections where the field is uneven and inconsistent. We don’t understand why that is the case, so am afraid we can’t give a very satisfying answer. But, our experience is that it rarely works satisfactorily.

By: melissa

melissa — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:01:10 +0000

Can I use regular galvanized electric fence wire with the petsafe system we are going to run it on the fence just like a electric fence?

ADMIN – Hi Melissa,

Afraid you are going to need to use an insulated copper wire. The uninsulated Galvanized electric fence wire does not get you a consistent signal, even when fence mounted.

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:06:31 +0000

I currently have a petsafe underground fence. The underground boundary wire was struck by lightning. Since the lighting strike the continuity of the loop is not consistent. One acre 20 AWG wire, ohm reading 7.2 some days and somedays it’s completely open. I have tried to locate the open section with little luck. It would be nice if it was just cut somewhere. Question is can I abandon the old underground wire and run new 18 gauge wire in parallel? Do I have to remove the old damaged wire?

ADMIN – Hi Jay,

You can indeed just run new wire in parallel to the old wire. As long as you unplug the old wire it will have no impact on the signal in your new wire. You do not need to remove the old damaged wire – just unplug it from the transmitter box.

By: Trent

Trent — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:38:41 +0000

Can a person use bare wire connected to fence posts as would be used in an electric fencing to keep cattle in?

ADMIN – Hi Trent,

You don’t get a consistent signal with bare wire, even if it is on the insulating rods they usually use for electric livestock fencing. Afraid you need to use an insulated wire to get a good consistent signal.

By: Marshall

Marshall — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:13:26 +0000

I have 10 acres I would like use the underground fence on. My question is most of that is fenced with barbed wire could I zip tie the insulated 16 gauge wire to this or would cancel the signal?

ADMIN – Hi Marshall,

Attaching the electric dog fence wire to a barbed wire fence will work well. There would be no signal cancellation.

By: Frank Parkinson

Frank Parkinson — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:31:17 +0000

I need to run the twisted wire for about three meters over a terrace – the best place is in a channel already used for co-axial television cable (from a satellite dish). I notice that you advise that dog fence cable shouldn’t be with electric or cable Tv cable, but will it be fine with the co-ax alongside?

Thanks for all your great advice.

Admin- Hi Frank,

If you are able to cross the cable lines at a 90 degree angle, you can avoid all possible interferences. However, the best option is to lay the wire in your planned route and test the system. Testing the collar around the house at the boundary and where the co-ax cable enters the house, you will be able to see if you receive any feedback. The only interference you might see would be an amplified signal. If you layout out the boundary wire and test the loop, you will know instantly if you have any interference. If you did receive interference, you will need to adjust the boundary wire.

By: W Brown

W Brown — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:29:11 +0000

I ordered a surge protector for my system. Unfortunately I no longer have any RFA wire left. Is there any commercially available wire that can be purchased by the foot for these cases or do I have to buy another roll? Thanks!

ADMIN – Hi W Brown,

For the lightning protection unit, you can use any single insulated electrical wire. It is available by the foot at most hardware stores. Since this wire is not used outdoors, only between the control box and the lightning protection, we do not need to be as picky about the type of wire we use.

By: Scottie

Scottie — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:50:43 +0000

I have a ditch going through the middle of my property. Any suggestions on the best way to run the wire without the dogs getting out? I was thinking of maybe running the wire through pvc pipe about a foot above the water level.

ADMIN – Hi Scottie,

To get across a ditch, you can create a bridge above the water as you suggested, using something like PVC pipe to span the ditch and running the wire through the pipe. You can also run the wire through a flexible conduit (ilke sprinkle tubing) and staple it to the base of the ditch (below the water).

By: Joanie

Joanie — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:16:07 +0000

I already have an existing Invisible Fence brand system. I was wondering if we are better off
to run new wire to expand the distance of the boundry? Or is splicing it feasible? What is the best gauge of wire to use? Is it worth it to do it ourselves? Or pay a professional? Thanks, Joanie

ADMIN – Hi Joanie,

If there is existing wire in place, I would just splice in a new section of wire to expand the system (and disconnect to old wire that is no longer a part of your layout). It is easy enough to do, but is labor intensive. Whether you do it yourself, or have a professional install it is usually just a matter of price.

By: Thomas Nunn

Thomas Nunn — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:59:34 +0000

Hello, I have two reels of 500 feet of coax meant for direct burial that I would like to use for enclosing 5 acres with an older pet safe transmitter we brought from our old home that did close to 10 acres using 5 pair phone wire that was shielded. Do you see any problems with using this? Thank you, Tom

ADMIN – Hi Tom,

The shielding on coxial wire tends to cause the boundary to be inconsistent. I would avoid using coax, and would try to use a single core copper wire.