General Information

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EuroFence fencing wire is manufactured from high grade steel, coated with an XtraLife zinc/aluminium coating. XtraLife zinc/aluminium is an advanced coating that provides both barrier and galvanic protection from a single coating.

The XtraLife zinc/aluminium coating used on EuroFence wire is a mix of 5% aluminium and 95% zinc. As the name indicates XtraLife coating is designed to extend the durability of EuroFence wire. XtraLife coated wire lasts up to 4 times longer than traditional, heavy galvanised wire, when used in the same conditions.

Useful Terms

Tensile strength – the maximum stress a material subjected to a stretching load can withstand without breaking

Breaking load – is the load (stretching) in kgs/unit of force that the wire will take before breaking, e.g. EuroFence 2.5HT wire has a minimum breaking load of 620kg/f

Tensile classes – there are three main tensile classes for fencing wire - High Tensile, Medium Tensile and Soft (Low/Mild) Tensile.

Recommended tension - this is the tension of the wire to achieve optimum performance in typical applications.  Wire tension should be checked using a meter once the fence is strained appropriately. 

Straining up - this is the action of tightening the line wires.  Industry practice is to tension the wire to a proportion of the maximum breaking load of the wire i.e. 2.5HT has a minimum breaking load of 620kg/f so is tensioned to 150 kg/f.  See the table below for other recommended tensions by wire diameter.

EUROFENCE FENCING WIRE REFERENCE TABLE

Diameter Gauge	Diameter (mm)	Minimum Breaking Load kg force	Recommended Tension  kg force
High Tensile
16	1.60	220	80
14	2.00	395	110
12½	2.50	620	150
10¾	3.15	835	200
9¾	3.55	1225	250
8	4.00	1405	300
10¾	3.15	365	150
Soft Wire or Low Tensile
14	2.00	140	65
12½	2.50	215	80
10¾	3.15	365	150
9¾	3.55	460	200
8	4.00	590	250
7	4.50	745	315

Iowa Barbed Wire - a four point type of barbed wire, with a continuous twist, normally having 2.5mm soft wire as lines wires.  Usually 75mm or 150mm barbed spacing's and barbs made of 2.0mm soft.  Primarily used in rurual applications.

High tensile barbed wire - the reverse twist design alternates the direction of the two wires at the barbs to reduce sagging and better hold the barbs in place.  Primarily used in security applications.

Plain Staples - plain or slice cut staples also have a divergent point for ease of driving and are preferred by some users.

Barbed Staples - have a divergent point and barbs which offer greater holding power as the barbs prevent the staple from working loose from the post.