Lightning Fence Dropper - Frequently Asked Questions

1. Q. Where Can I Buy Lightning Droppers?

   A. We supply all major rural Merchandise retailers throughout Australia including Elders, Landmark, AIRR, CRT, Roberts, NRI and Pursehouse Rural. Please call us on 07 3265 6788 and we can suggest your closest Lightning reseller.

2. Q. Do your prices include GST?

   A. Our published prices excludes GST.  Most of our clients are retailers who require their pricing displayed this way. To see the price including GST just add the items to your cart and it will display the GST calculated.

3. Q. What do Droppers cost?

   A. Our value proposition is simple. A fence dropper should cost you between 1/4 and 1/3rd the price of a decent steel fence post (ie 2kg/metre). This reduces the cost of building a typical four (4) wire rural fence by around $500 per km.  For retail customers, our PDF price list is here,  We ask that Distributors please use our contact page to request a copy of their price list.

4. Q. How  do you calculate shipping costs?

5. A.Road carriers calculate your shipping costs according to a number of different ways (generally by cubic measurement/volumetric weight,or geographic zones and distance). We cross check carriers to arrive at the right carrier and on-forwarder to carry your shipment.  We cannot always use the cheapest carrier as they may not meet our standard for providing a reliable service. If the rate looks a little high and you know a carrier in your area that you know and trust, please let us know on 1800 177 615.

   Your shipping costs can be calculated once:

   • you add your items to your shopping cart, and

   • enter your delivery postcode.

6. Q. How do I create an account?

A. Your account is what you use to order and log into the fencedropper site. You will be asked for an email address and password when first ordering. These details are what will be used when you return to the site to order again. If at any stage you have forgotten your password you can simply reset it. Remember it's always the email address you first used when ordering on the site that is required.

7. Q. How do I use a discount code?

   A. When you proceed to the cart you can see left to the tally of your good, a coupon code entry area. Add your code name here and click apply, and you will see your discount come off your total. If you have problems with your coupon please call 1800 177 615 for assistance.

8. Q. How do I place an order online?

   A. Select your products by clicking "Add to cart". Then proceed to the cart where you should enter your postcode and click "Calculate rate" to have your delivery charge added to your total. If you are happy to complete this order, click the orange "Checkout" button at the bottom. Then add your billing address and shipping address. (PLEASE NOTE: we are unable to deliver to a PO BOX as all deliveries must be signed for by the receiver.)  Select your payment method and continue through the payment gateway to confirm your order. For a more detailed set of instructions explaining how to order with Lightning please click here.

9. Q. Who pays for shipping my order?

   A. Our freight policy is set out at http://www.fencedropper.com/freight-policy/

10. Q. How long is my sales quotation valid?

    A.  30 days.

11. Q. Can I cancel my order?

    A. You can't cancel an order, merely if you have changed your mind. If you have an enquiry about your order, we urge you to contact us as soon as you can during business hours on 1800 177 615. If stock has arrived damaged or we have sent  the incorrect stock, we can arrange for a refund or exchange if you contact us within 24 hours of delivery. Click here to read our full Terms & Conditions. If we haven't received your payment within 2 working days of order placement we reserve the right to cancel the order.

12. Q. How long will it take for me to receive my order?

    A. We will normally process your order within 2 to 3 working days of payment being received. We will advise you via email when your order has been picked and packed. You can login to your online account to follow delivery progress. Given that many of our customers live in remote areas, depending on location, delivery may take up to 5 - 9 additional working days from the date payment received.

13. Q. Can I collect my order?

    A. You may collect your order from our Brisbane factory.  Otherwise we will deliver orders via our nominated carrier to a freight depot location in a town near you. .

14. Q. When are you open?

    A. Our staff are available Monday to Friday from 8.00 AM - 5.00 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time, . We are closed on Queensland public holidays.

15. Q. Can I arrange my own delivery?

    A. Our freight carriers have been carefully selected based on their cost and reliability. We don't permit customers to arrange their own delivery. However, if you wish to recommend a good, local carrier in your region, please email us their details to info@mayne.com.au or telephone us on 1800 177 615.

16. Q. Who contacted me from this number?

    A. Our phone numbers are; 07 3265 6788, 07 3266 1000, 07 3161 4428, or 07 3161 4328. If you wish to ever unsubscribe from any communications simply reply "stop" or contact us on free call 1800 177 615 and we will update your marketing subscription preferences. You may hear from us either because you have registered with Lightning directly or with one of our affiliates. If we send you irrelevant information please let us know so that we can amend your profile.

17. Q. How Many Fence Droppers per bundle?

    A. We supply Fence Droppers in bundles of 25. Each bundle is wired together with a minimum of three wire ties.

18. Q. What does a bundle of droppers weigh?

    A. A bundle of droppers weighs between 3 kg (3 and 4 wire droppers) up to 4.5kg (for 7 and 8 wire droppers). On average, fence droppers are less than 5% of the weight of a fence post.

19. Q. How do I arrange to receive a sample Fence Dropper?

    A. Simply click this link http://www.fencedropper.com/samples, enter your contact details, answer the few questions and we will post you a sample fence dropper.

20. Q. What tool(s) do I use to install Lightning Fence Droppers?

    A simple screwdriver is all you need. Nothing else. Ideally it should have a flat blade and soft handle for all day use. The screwdriver shown here and listed in our store is pretty much perfect.

    
21. Q. How far apart do I space Lightning Fence Droppers

    A. The appropriate distance between two fence droppers varies according with livestock density.  Livestock density will in turn be a function of average carrying capacity.  In high pressure areas, Droppers should be spaced between 2 and 3 metre apart.  However, in low density grazing situations you may be able to spread Lightning Fence Droppers up to 8 metres apart. In extreme circumstances we have heard of yet greater dropper spacings. For the full story see http://www.fencedropper.com/page/home/principles-of-elastic-fencing/

22. Q. What is Elastic Fencing?

    A. Elastic Fencing is simply fencing built using light gauge wires (that are highly tensioned) in conjunction with efficient end (strainer) assemblies. The elastic nature of the wire allows it to stretch and shrink like the ropes around a boxing ring. The wires absorb shocks by stretching like elastic and then "bounce" back to their original length and shape when the load is removed. "Elastic Fencing" has the same meaning as "Suspension Fencing".  To understand the physical principles of a suspension fence, it helps some people to think of a suspension fence as a "suspension bridge" which uses the same principles to deliver structures that  are lightweight, flexible, and very strong.

    Using Lightning fence droppers enables you to use up to 75% fewer posts per fence line.  To be clear - THIS PERMITS A BETTER FENCE WITH ONLY 1/4 OF THE USUAL NUMBER OF POSTS PER KILOMETRE.

    Elastic Fencing is a necessity in lightly stocked areas of the country where fencing runs of 100km are common and fencing needs to be professionally built to ensure low maintenance costs.
23. Q. What does "Elastic" Mean in This Context?

    A. Elastic Collisions occur where the fence absorbs all the kinetic energy of impact and then returns to its pre-impact shape without damage or permanent deformation. In simple english - an elastic collision is one where everything in the fence bounces back into its former shape without damage. 

24. Q. How do Lightning Fence Droppers Save Time?

    A. Time is Money. Lightning Droppers are lightning fast and easy to install. An experienced person can Instal one dropper in < 10 seconds.  This saves valuable hours of your time or contractors labour. Other droppers can take up to 2 minutes each. Watch the video on the main page.

25. Q. Will Lightning Fence Droppers Corrode or Rust?

    A. Lightning fence droppers are made from heavily galvanised spring wire. Because they remain always suspended in the air once installed on the fence - they have no contact with ground or water and are therefore dry nearly all the time. This reduces any electrolytic effect to an absolute minimum. As a result Lightning Fence Droppers usually outlast fence wires and posts comfortably.

26. Q. Should a Fence Dropper touch the ground?

    A. Definitely not. Having your fence dropper touch the ground would defeat their whole purpose which is to dissipate the shock of animal strikes (eg. kangaroos or cattle). A suspended fence dropper shares the load with adjacent posts by transmitting the forces through ALL of the different fence wires in the fence - along the whole length of the fence to the end assemblies.  This has the obvious benefit of reducing the local impact by a whole order of magnitude - down to e.g. 10% of the local force. That is another advantage of using fewer steel posts per km in your fence.

27. Q. Where are Lightning Fence Droppers made?

    A. They are manufactured in our Brisbane factory.

28. Q. How Do They Work?

    A. By using Lightning droppers as suspended fence post substitutes together with 1. high tensile line wires and 2. sturdy end assemblies - in a format called "Suspension Fencing" or "Elastic Fencing", a farmer can potentially can use 75% fewer line posts over any given run, and yet make the strongest possible fence. Suspension fencing will reward the farmer in every conceivable way.

29. Q. Are Lightning Fence Droppers compatible with all types of fencing wires?

    A. Yes is the simple answer. We recommend and supply high tensile heavy gal. plain wire and barbed wire in a range of sizes. We also supply 2.5 mm low tensile Iowa style barbed wire. Lightning Fence Droppers will not work with "Bull Wire" - an antique term for soft wire with a diameter over 6mm. Bull wire needed to be thick because it was easily broken. It has not been sold or used for many years. It would be impossibly wasteful in a modern context.

30. Q. Why are Lightning Droppers better than any other fence dropper?

    A. The short answer is, other fence droppers all suffer from a critica flaw. See comparison table at http://www.fencedropper.com/page/the-voice-of-the-farmer-dropper-comparison/. Droppers made from timber or rigid sheet metal, are unable to elastically rebound after a stock impact. The timber dropper will break, burn or rot. The sheet metal dropper stays permanently bent. Attempting to straighten a sheet metal dropper will weaken it and often cause it to break at the damaged point. Lightning Droppers, by contrast are flexible and very lightweight (between 100 and 200 grams each) so as not to cause the fence wires to sag.

31. Q. Which end of the Lightning Dropper is Up?

    A. The painted fence dropper tail (only one tail is painted) winds onto the top fence wire. So painted tail is UP.

32. Q. What does the colour of the painted tail mean?

    A. All standard Lightning Fence Droppers models made to suit Waratah (r) posts are colour coded.  Please see the price list and the spacing charts for specific info. 

33. Q. How do I install a Lightning Dropper?

    A. Please consult the 3 -step installation instruction on the main page (http://www.fencedropper.com/).

34. Q. Which way should the Fence Dropper Tail Face?

    A. You can install them either facing left or right.  

35. Q. What is written on my Lightning Fence Dropper?

    A.

36. Q. What Steel Posts should I use?

    A. We recommend and supply heavy-duty (2 Kg/M) star posts, in preference to medium duty (1.5 Kg /M) posts. (http://www.fencedropper.com/galvanised-steel-star-picket-165cm-x-400)

    We also recommend high tensile steel posts, in preference to normal steel posts. They have about twice the elastic bending strength and consequently about 4 times the elastic energy absorbing capacity.A simple comparative bending test will identify whether the post is made from high tensile steel or normal steel. A heavy-duty high tensile post will support, in cantilevered bending, the weight of one person (about 90Kg) at a lever arm of about 1 meter. The post must be positioned as a horizontal cantilevered bar with the long web to the top.

37. Q. What is a Star Dropper?

    A. A Star Dropper is an alternative term for a Star Post. It is a term most commonly used in parts of South Australia. It is not to be confused with a Fence Dropper.

38. Q. What are some other terms for a Fence Dropper

    A. Spacer, Batten and Spreader are all synonyms for "Fence Dropper". A Fence Brace or Brace Wire is a vertical wire twitched manually onto the line wires. It is  effectively also a horrible, crude, hand-made fence dropper of a sort.