Electrical Safety in the Hog Barn

Electrical Safety in the Hog Barn  

Safety has been a hot topic for as long as we can remember.  Electrical safeguards should always be monitored. Damaged cords, faulty wiring, and stray voltage combined with wet floors and any metal inside the room makes for a dangerous, and sometimes deadly, combination. Electrocutions in the swine barn are few, but even one incident is one too many.

When we first began manufacturing our plastisol coated hog floors, we knew that benefits included:

• better traction for the pigs,
• a warm and dry surface to keep stress on the animals to a minimum, and
• easy cleaning to reduce bacteria buildup.

But then it was pointed out to us by one of our customers that our floors are naturally insulated from electricity. He had previously used galvanized steel flooring and had issues of shocks given to employees as they were washing pens. This was a dangerous situation for employees in the barn, as well as for pigs. Symptoms of stray voltage in sows include dehydration, below normal weight gain in piglets, and an increase in stillborn animals.

The poly-vinyl coating that is bonded to the steel is an insulator that prevents the flow of electrons. In fact, it is the same material coating applied to tools that are used by electricians to keep them safe when working on live electrical wires.

Coated Steel for Strength and Durability

Dura Trac floors have the strength of steel, enhanced by our specially applied rubber-like plastic coating. Our process of dip molding steel completely coats the steel animal floor with liquid PVC. The outcome is that all steel is coated. It is then oven-cured at a high temperature for an extended length of time. This process creates a tough surface with a smooth finish that has superior wear resistance.

For more information about Dura Trac electrically nonconductive flooring please contact us.