Modern-day insulators
Strainrite fencing Systems says it has developed the Joule Shield wooden post claw insulator to address the limitations inherent in older insulators.
Primarily used to hold a herd of cattle in a break-feed crop, the shaft of the pigtail stake is electrified using an insulator just above ground level instead of at the pigtail end, which helps deter more boisterous bovines from pushing over the fence to get to the rest of the crop.
Ease of use is ensured by an insulated hand grip just below the pigtail – none of the protruding handle seen in the previous design – which helps reduce the tendency of shafts to tangle.
The shaft of the Hotpost is manufactured from high strength, bend resistant galvanised spring steel, and uses the galvanised steel foot proven on the company's popular gold foot post; it is said to offer superior strength and excellent ground holding characteristics.
The new post also has an integral, formed spring steel pigtail that carries no risk of poly-wire or tape cutting through plastic coatings and causing electrical shorts.
Dairy farmer Alf Teasdale, who has used the posts with conventional pigtail standards for years, comments "getting supplementary feeding wrong can be disastrous to a cow's health, but these new standards reduce the potential for breakouts and are quickly respected by stock".
