Electric fence--problem or ok?

[tsperry88]

What kind of fence tester do you use? Is the fence pulsing about every second? 2000v is actually quite low for modern style chargers that put out pulses rather than continuously energise the line. Mine puts out about 7k volts and I can watch the indicators pulse on the tester.

 

[cmom]

My electric wires put out around 8,000-10,000 volts. The only things that were electrocuted were a couple of snakes. Their bodies were in the fence across the electric wires with their tails touching the ground. I have had several predators touch the wires especially when I first put them up but now they know they are there and I think the parents teach the young not to mess with them. There have been some spots where a predator has attempted to dig but once it touched the wires they aborted the attempts. This is similar to my charger. I have had mine for many years.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Voltage startles the critter but it takes amperage to actually kill. Think in terms of pressure with voltage and flow with amperage. My guess would be the damp conditions made the fence a lot easier to ground out than what we have to deal with in the drier climates. Might keep a heart patient away from the fence but a normal, healthy person or kid won't be harmed.