# PVC fence posts



## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

I recently read about using 3/4" or 1" thick wall pvc pipe as electric fence posts between solid wood posts.

One can drill holes at increments, and either fish the electric wire through or use a metal clip to keep the wire up. The person doing this used 5' long pieces, and drove them 1' into the ground.

Obviously this represents a huge savings over tposts and insulators, but how long does pvc last in the elements? Has anyone tried it?


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

After 3 or 4 years white PVC starts to get brittle outdoors, exposed. It will last quite a while if the fence stays hot all the time. If animals start leaning on the fence they break off. The grey electrical conduit lasts 20 years or more. I have electrical conduit for greenhouse hoops 20 years now, still good. It is more expensive though. They make small solid fiberglass posts for that purpose but the ones I had 20 years ago started to split after a few years, don't know if they are better now, they and the clips were pretty cheap....James


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## genebo (Sep 12, 2004)

I use 3/4" PVC pipe as spreaders between the wooden and T-posts. They don't touch the ground. They are to prevent my neighbor's cows from spreading the electric wires and coming in.

They have worked well for about 5 years. My lawn mowere snagged a couple and broke them, but they were easy to replace.

I set my miter saw to cut a shallow slot in the side of the PVC pipe at the locations the wire would pass. I cut 3" lengths of wire, lots of them. I wrapped the 3" wire around a fence wire, placed a PVC pipe so the fence wire was in the sawn slot, and then wrapped the other end of the 3" wire around the fence on the other side of the PVC.

The PVC pipe is so lightweight that it doesn't make the fence sag at all.


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## shaky6 (May 15, 2015)

Painting the pvc with exterior latex paint will greatly extend the life. UV rays damage pvc and makes it brittle. The paint blocks the UV.


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

I tried using the 1'' thick wall pvc as an experiment between a couple solid wood posts. We'll see how long they last.


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## shaky6 (May 15, 2015)

Yeah. We use pvc at work outdoors for pumping water in 3" lines. We paint it to make it last the season. We have compared the previous year's non-painted with this year's painted and it's hands down improved.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Electrical pvc is gray and schedule 40. It's made to withstand uv for longer than the regular white pvc. It's approved for new construction so it must last a long time. I've used it and after 10 years it was slightly 'whitened' but still very strong.


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## shaky6 (May 15, 2015)

You can even paint the gray pvc to extend that life even longer.


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