How to find/make/whatever things like this cheaply?

[Chris Green]

I have several hundred metres (maybe even a km or so) of electric fencing around our land. One of the things one often has to do is tie down loose folded over ends of electric fence tape and make connections. The best bits of hardware I have found over the years for doing this are these:-

I have quite a lot of these, they tie down the loose ends nicely and I make connections by using a crimp connector with a bolt through the square hole (can't use the round hole as that's in the middle of the tape when in use).

However they are rather expensive and also, since they are designed as joiners, they aren't quite as good as they could be for the job I use them for mostly.

So can anyone come up with a good way of getting say 50 or 100 of them in a slightly modified format:-

• Three prongs only needed, just to slide firmly onto tape * A smaller (5mm maybe) round hole instead of the square one * Made in stainless steel (as the above are), about 1mm thick I think * Price somewhat less, though for exactly what I want I suppose 50p is OK[ish]

Even ideas for cheap alternatives that only do one job would be welcome. If I could buy very large paper clips made of stainless steel they would provide the loose end fixing devices but I can't find conventional paper clips in stainless.

[newshound]

That's posh, we just use granny knots.

[Chris Hogg]

You can get paper clips in brass, but beware brass-plated ones. There must be something here that would do.

[Chris Green]

Mine have lasted 20 years or so now without too much maintenance, and they're still electrified throughout.

[GB]

It's possible that Newshound's fencing has lasted just as long?

[Chris Green]

It's possible but IMHO unlikely. :-)

I have so often seen the mess people make with their electric fences and then wonder why they don't work very well (often immediately but nearly always within days or weeks). I get it on our fences because we have someone who rents fields from us and does tie knots in their bits of electric fence, they really don't last very long. It's not *just* the knots, it's the whole attitude to making a decent electric fence.

[newshound]

Not with some of the horses we have had! Also, ours gets moved around a fair bit. The OP may be using it to keep horses off post and rail fencing, and that has a much easier life.

[newshound]

There are a lot of factors, what sort of posts do you use?

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Plastic freezer bag clips? Lakeside plastics? The idea being to fold he conductive tape so it made contact, then put the clip on and pop the little end bit over to secure it. Brian