Fencing smarts from the Emerald Isle
While a leading New Zealand brand seems to have a stranglehold on the local electric fencing market, a company from the Green Isle seems to be making significant inroads, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere.
Strainrite fencing Systems says it has developed the Joule Shield wooden post claw insulator to address the limitations inherent in older insulators.
The new insulators are said to cope with modern energisers that deliver much greater voltage than older units, while also giving more effective stock control.
Strainrite says that while existing design insulators were effective with older, lower-output energisers, higher currents can result in power loss, lack of fence efficiency and increased running costs.
Tests show the Joule Shield insulators withstand 50% more voltage in a dry-conditions test and up to 100% more voltage in simulated rain.
The insulators are designed with low profile, heavy-duty jaws for extreme load endurance and multiple shield plates. The latter increases the surface area and tracking distance, helping reduce potential power leakage.
The multi-shield design is inspired by the insulators seen on high voltage power lines; they have structural webbing and thicker walls for strength and durability, using UV stabilised polymers.
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