There are many options when it comes to wiring for electric fencing.
ie: Galvanised steel, Aluminium, stranded aluminium and stainless steel.
Each of these options have thier pros and cons.
For example, aluminium wire is a much better conductor of electricity than stainless steel as the latter has a much higher electrical resistance. So aluminium wire has the ability to conduct electricity fo much longer distances.
However what stainless steel lacks in conductivaty, it makes up for with other qualities such as its robustness and longivity , makin it much more suitable to our coastal conditions in Cape town.
Aluminium is also mush softer than stainless steel and this make it much easier to cut. From a home security perspective, this rules out aluminium as a suitable option in high risk security electric fence installations.
Aluminium is also more suseptable to reactions with other metals causing weak points on the fence wherever joints are made .
So why offer aluminium as an option for electric fencing you ask? There are instances where aluminium wire is the best option.
For example : Agricultural , Equestrian and Livestock electric fence installations where security is not the main objective and distances tend to be much longer than your typical security electric fencing installation. This applies to galvanised electric fence wire aswell wich is used upcountry where salt corrosion is not an issue. Galvanised wire is also vastly cheaper than the other two options making it ideal for long agricultural farm fences in the Boland regions / upcountry.
At EFI , we tend to lean towards stainless steel as our primary electric fence wiring imaterial. 316 Marine grade stainless steel to be precise. It can handle the highly corrosive atmosphere at the coast, tough to cut with normal hand held cutting tools and does not easily react with other metals .
