Are Electric Fence Ground Rods Important?
Ground rods or some kind of grounding arrangement is vital to the work of any electric fence. Indeed, grounding problems are reputed to be the most common cause of electric fence failure. For this reason, it is worth focusing attention on this matter and ensuring that your electric fence system is well-grounded. Any electric fence consists of two systems—an active system including all charged elements connected directly or indirectly to the charger’s positive terminal, and an inactive system including all “grounded” elements connected directly or indirectly to the charger’s negative terminal. In the classic setup these grounded elements consist of a wire connecting the negative terminal to a ground rod; the ground rod itself; and moisture in the soil leading over from the ground rod to the feet of a target animal. The animal gets a shock when it touches the charged wire because it provides a bridge between the active and grounded systems-allowing the charge to pass from the wire throug
