Tensioners

The tensioners (R36V) and corner insulators (R45V) have large flanges at the top and bottom. These should be ignored as they are moulded for North American use.

Carefully break the two parts of the body apart and retain the spare plastic “bits”. The securing screws clamp the tensioner wire and two parts of the main body together and onto the wood post in one action. For R36U use the bolt and nut and attach to the post with two electrical cable ties (CT1). After inserting the tape, use the spare plastic parts to secure the tape neatly onto itself.

To attach tape to a tensioner, make a loop with the short end beside your thumb. Pass the loop through one side of the back of the tensioner wire, with the short end (thumb) contacting the wire uprights and facing away from the stake. Drop the tongue down into the loop, pull tight and you have a fixing. When the tape is tight, cut off the excess leaving roughly 18 inches spare as a purchase grip when re-tensioning the tape.

This excess is then folded back through the tensioner wire so it lies on the other side of the tape to you, as a lock. The excess is clipped onto the tape run using the small tape tidies originally attached to each tensioner body before it was broken in two.

When you need to tension up the tape, first loosen the tape fixings on all insulators in the run.

Starting at one end, pull the tape manually through the first insulator and holding the tape taught re-secure the insulator cap.

Repeat with each insulator down the line until you reach the tensioner at the other end. First ‘unlock’ the existing spare tape by feeding it back through the back of the wire so it is your side of the fence. Pull slack up to the tensioner with one hand and through the tensioner with the other. Once tight then relock the tape by feeding the excess back to the other side of the tape run to you.

To release tape from a tensioner pull up all the slack line tape so that it forms a loop and lift the tongue.