You can install a water gap kit either: (1) directly on the bottom wire of an electrified fence, or (2) on a separate wire or cable stretched across the stream or ditch, below the main fence. Our kits are designed for easy installation on an existing fence wire. Even if you are building a new fence, our kits never slow down fence building—because you install them after the fence has been built.
Here's one of our kits installed on the bottom wire of an electrified fence:
Advantages:
❑Inexpensive. Avoids the cost of an extra wire or cable spanning the ditch or stream.
❑Low labor cost. Avoids the need to install an extra wire or cable.
❑Faster to build. Again, because you won't need to install an extra wire or cable.
Disadvantages:
❑Is electrically "part of" the fence. If any of the kit's droppers (vertical chains or wires which hang down from the fence and, because they are electrified by the fence, make a barrier to livestock escape) are shorted out by high water or debris, the entire fence may be shorted out—or may have greatly reduced voltage, at least—increasing the chance that livestock might escape while the water remains high or debris remains in contact with the droppers.
❑Does not span great distances well. If the ditch or stream is very wide, the fence wire may sag excessively due to the weight of the kit. (This problem is minimal with our kits because they are designed to be light weight. The Tips, Ideas, and Comments section has some tips about reducing fence sag due in wide water gap installations.)
This diagram shows a water gap kit installed on a separate wire or cable below the main fence, and connected to the main fence's electrical current through a flood gate controller (energy limiter) or switch:
Advantages:
❑Electrically isolated from the fence. When any of the kit's droppers (vertical chains or wires which hang down to occupy space between the fence and a stream or ditch. They are electrified with current from the fence and make a barrier to livestock escape) are shorted out by high water or debris, a flood gate controller will limit the amount of voltage drawn from the main fence, keeping it "hot" so that livestock won't escape. (A switch accomplishes the same thing, but you must disconnect/reconnect it manually.)
❑Can span greater widths. A cable especially, can span a wider stream or ditch because it has higher tensile strength than a single wire.
Disadvantages:
❑Costs more and requires extra labor to install than simply adding a water gap kit to the bottom fence wire. Typical cost items include extra posts, the wire or cable itself, electrical insulators for insulating the wire or cable from the posts where it is attached, a flood gate controller or switch, and extra installation labor.
❑Build the fence first. Our kits are designed for easy installation on an existing fence wire. Even if you are building a new fence, its easier (and faster!) to install water gap kits after the fence has been built.
❑When building a fence make sure the bottom wire is above the highest expected stream flow level, so debris won't catch on the wire.
❑Place fence posts close to the edge of the stream or ditch where the water gap kit will be installed, to minimize the length of unsupported wire. Our kits are designed to be lightweight, but any amount of weight makes a horizontal wire sag at least a little bit.
There is no "right" or "wrong" way to install our kits...these steps are just suggestions for how to do the job efficiently.
What tools do you need?
Only a pair of pliers for cutting droppers (vertical chains or wires) and tightening end lugs (split bolts installed at both ends of a water gap to keep components of the water gap kit from moving left or right on the fence). When installing chain kits a second pair of pliers is recommended if your pliers only "score" chain links and do not cut through them cleanly. (The second pair makes it easy to break the link in half where it was scored.)
Spacers are slit on one side, so simply snap them onto the bottom fence wire.
To install a spacer: Start one end of the spacer onto the wire. With a couple inches started and the slit facing upward, hold one hand under the started part of the spacer...
Grasp the loose end of the spacer with the other hand and flex it away from the fence wire. Wiggle it slightly as you push upward, and part of the spacer will snap onto the fence wire. Move the hand which under the started part of the spacer forward a bit at a time to support the part that has snapped onto the wire (as indicated in the photo above). Repeat until the whole spacer has snapped onto the wire.
After installing one or two spacers you'll get the hang of it—it's really pretty easy!
Install spacers close to a post if possible. The fence wire won't "give" as much there, making it easier to snap spacers onto the wire. You can install all of the spacers there and slide them across the fence wire as you add them.
You can either (A) add a separate wire or cable below the main fence and install the kit there, or (B) install the kit on the first available hot wire up from the bottom of the fence—but if you do, the droppers (step 4) must be installed so that they hang on the downstream side of the fence. Also, you must insulate any non-electrified wire(s) which the droppers may touch.
Snap spring clips onto the fence wire—one between each pair of spacers. You will use them in step 4 for hanging chain droppers on the fence (if you purchased a chain kit).
Spring clips are only used with chain kits. They are not needed with wire kits because the wires have a loop in one end for hanging directly on the fence.
Droppers are vertical chains or wires hung between the spacers. They occupy the space between the bottom fence wire and the stream or ditch and, because they are electrified by the fence, make a barrier to livestock escape. Droppers are cut to length to match the stream or ditch terrain:
Chain kits come with a long piece of chain which you must cut into lengths to match the terrain of the ditch or stream where the kit is being installed. To "measure" how much chain you need, dangle one end of the long chain beside a spring clip and hold it at the desired height above the stream surface or ditch bottom (typically 18" or so).
Then cut the chain (the links of our stainless steel chain are tough, so pliers or wire cutters sometimes just "score" them without cutting all the way through. When this happens, grab each end of the link with pliers and twist it...the link will break easily where it was scored) even with the spring clip.
Snap the cut-off piece of chain into the spring clip to attach it to the fence. Detail:
This is an early photo which shows cap washers already installed. Our current recommendation is to install cap washers later (see step 6).
Wire kits come with 6-foot-long dropper wires, which usually must be cut shorter to match the terrain of the ditch or stream where the kit is being installed.
Cut the wire to length. To "measure" a dropper wire for cutting, hold it upside down (loop end toward the ground) against the fence wire at the location where you want to install it. Raise or lower the wire to the desired height above the stream surface or ditch bottom (typically 18 inches or so), then cut the dropper wire where it crosses the fence wire.
Hang the wire on the fence. Now, turn the cut-off dropper wire right-side up (loop end toward the sky) and hang it on the fence wire this way, with the short "pigtail" facing you:
Swing the straight end of the dropper wire to the right and upward until the "pigtail" is positioned so it will clear the bottom of the fence wire:
Now rotate the dropper wire to twist the "pigtail" to the back side of the fence wire. It will look like this when you are done:
Finally, move the dropper wire and the "next" spacer to close up the space between the spacers and the dropper wire (assuming you had spacers roughly spaced across the span of the water gap, and began hanging dropper wires starting from one side of the water gap.)
You can move the installed components left or right to center the water gap kit on the fence wire and/or to tighten up the space between components. Just leave a small gap between the spacers for installing cap washers (in the next step). Why? ...cap washers do not slide easily on the fence wire, so the other components should be slid to approximately where you want them before installing the washers.
Install a split bolt close to the last spacer at each end of the water gap kit, to keep the kit's components from moving left or right or from getting spaced out too far on the wire.
End lugs are not needed when... a spacer is the last (end) piece of the water gap kit and is touching a fence insulator. Also, end lugs should not be used if where they might contact a metal post, etc., and short out the fence.
Don't overtighten split bolts! Remember, you are not using them to restrain an elephant, only to keep water gap components from moving left or right on the fence. Snug split bolts lightly; otherwise one or both of the split bolt's "ears" may break off.
