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How do I test to see if my fence is electric?

19K views 17 replies 18 participants last post by  wild_spot 
#1 ·
I know what you're probably thinking. Well, if it's your fence you should know if it's electric or not. Wrong.
My mom's now ex boyfriend made the fence electric. I have never used it except for two days ago. I plugged it in and touched the top wire. It hurt. Haha, obviously. I was told it would be a little shock, but it wasn't so little. Anyway, I just wanted to test it out before I used it on my horse. So, I unplugged it and went inside. I was noticing some posts bending outward from my horse leaning on the wire, pushing the posts. So, I would like to plug the fence in but I want to know if the bottom wire is electric ( I don't want my 70 lb dog getting shocked, or my 75 lb goat getting shocked ). If I plug it in again, how do I test if the bottom is electric, other then touching it again?

p.s. I thought I could put a piece of hay on it and see it vibrate but I tried that right before I touched the top wire and the hay didn't move, and I got shocked. :/ Oh, and I offered my brother to touch it but he doesn't want to. haha, so, how else to I figure out if it's electric, other then touching it again?
 
#2 ·
well, go and get your REALLY good friend...... and then say: aww we gotta crawl through the fence to see the hroses..... haha naw, that would be mean, i dont really know how else to test it but... maybe be careful all of a sudden making it electric without your horses knowing, tht might spook 'em
:)
 
#7 ·
Lol I have to touch it....but once my mom's friend was making my younger sister and I keep her autistic son occupied while she and my mom talked....so we went in the pasture to see the horses while they were eating in their stalls. My sister, being 9 and volatile, told the 14-yr old autistic kid to touch the electric fence wire because it was "really fun." Before I could tell him not to, he walked up and touched the wire. A shocked expression crossed his face.....I'm pretty sure the fence was working xD
 
#12 ·
If the juice is going to the lower wire, there should be a piece of wire going between the two. If there is no connection between them than the lower wire is not hot.
Or...Tell your brother to hold your hand when you touch the fence. Let him know that if your holding hands the electricity won't hurt you. Then you touch the fence.
 
#14 ·
One way that I always tested was I would take a hammer with a rubber handle, put one side of the hammer against the wire and bring it close to the post. There should be a spark that shoots from the hammer to the post and then you will know if it is hot. Like Jugornot said, the farther the hammer is from the post when it shoots a spark, the hotter it is. Sometimes if the fence isn't very hot and it is bright sunlight, you can't see the spark but you can still hear it. It is usually a small popping sound.
 
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