How to Install Polytape Fencing With Fiberglass Poles

Clear your fence line. Remove all obstructions, such as rocks and weeds, from your fence path. Mow a 2- to 3-foot path along the fence line to further lower the height of the grass and reduce the chances of your fence shorting out.

Install your corner posts. Stand the first fiberglass pole upright where you want the first corner post to be and pound it into the ground approximately 10 to 12 inches with your hammer. Repeat this process for each corner post.

Mark your fence line with string so you have a guideline when installing your line posts. Tie the string off at the first corner post and run it to the second corner post, pulling it tight before tying it off again. Repeat this process for each set of corner posts.

Install your line posts in the same way you installed the corner posts, hammering them firmly into the ground approximately 10 to 12 inches. Position the line posts approximately 8 to 10 feet apart.

Install screw-on plastic tape insulators, which are specially designed to work with fiberglass poles and polytape. Make sure your insulators are wide enough to accommodate the polytape width you're using, typically 1 inch or less. Unscrew the back portion of the first tape insulator and slide it down to the correct location on your pole, which should be about 6 to 12 inches from the ground, depending upon the height of the livestock species you're containing. Screw the back portion onto the insulator, tightening it until the insulator won't slide up and down the pole freely. Repeat this process for each insulator on each post. Insulators on each pole should be 5 to 10 inches apart, again depending upon the height of the species you're containing within the fence.

Install your polytape. Run the polytape through the plastic insulators, starting with the bottom strand. Ensure that the polytape is tight enough that it is not sagging between poles. You want it to be taut but not so tight that it pulls and tilts the fiberglass poles.

Connect your charged wires together at the corner post closest to your charger unit. Wire your charged strands of tape to each other using a jumper wire (insulated cable), which allows electricity to run between your charged wires without contacting the grounded wires on your fence. Using wire cutters, cut a strand of insulated cable that is long enough to reach between the bottom and third strands of tape, peeling back the first 2 inches of insulation on both ends of the cable. Wrap the exposed wire on one end of the insulated cable around the bottom strand of polytape and the exposed wire on the other end of the insulated cable around the third strand of polytape. Repeat this process if you have additional wires, connecting the third wire to the fifth wire and the fifth wire to the seventh wire.

Connect your jumper wire to the fence charger. Measure out a section of insulated cable that is long enough to reach from the top jumper wire to the fence charger. This is your lead-out wire, which allows electricity to run between your fence and your charger unit. Peel back the first two inches of tape on both ends, then wrap one end of the lead-out wire to the top jumper wire, making sure that the exposed wire on the lead-out wire makes physical contact with the exposed wire on the jumper wire. Wrap the other end of the lead-out wire to the positive terminal (the fence terminal) on the fence unit. Plug in your fence and turn it on.