How To Test Your Electric Fence Without A Tester In 8 Steps
Step 1: Check the transmitter
One of the first steps you should take is to see if the transmitter is working properly. Depending on the transmitter type, it may make a clicking sound. This clicking sound indicates that charging is currently taking place through the wire.
If your transmitter doesn't click and it should, this may be your first sign that the fence isn't working.
If your transmitter doesn't click, your fence is always on. There should be an indicator light or other indicator on the transmitter that will tell you if it's running. If you do not see an indicator light or symbol, the transmitter may not be operating.
Step 2: Check for broken wires
If you have a wired fence, then you should next check for any wire damage. You can do this with an official line detector or just an AM radio and engine.
Finding a broken wire means the rest of the fence will not be powered. You will need to turn off the transmitter before attempting to repair the fence.
Step 3: Look for Blades of Grass
To test your fence, you'll want to find a long blade of grass. Any type will do.
Step 4: Rest the blade of grass against the barbed wire
Once you find your blade of grass, you'll want to pull it off the stem and lean it against the fence. You should hold the bottom of the grass and only touch the tip of the glass to connect the wires.
Step 5: Move the blade closer if needed
If you don't feel a pulse at first, you may need to move the glass blade closer. Slowly slide the blade of grass a few inches along the wire.
Step 6: Put the Grass in the Best Location
The most common distance to feel your pulse is to keep the bottom of the blade 2 to 3 inches from the wire. Your fingers should be only two to three inches away from the wire itself.
Step 7: Consider Pulses
If your fence has a pulse, you may have to wait a few moments before you can feel the pulse. Touch the blade of grass to the wire for a moment before retracting or trying to move the glass closer.
Step 8: Run Down the Fence
Using your blades of grass, you can test several different areas of the fence to make sure the current is passing.
How can you tell if an electric fence is working without touching it?
There are several ways to test your electric fence to determine if it is active. The first is to check the transmitter. Some transmitters will click to indicate that it is pulsing through the fence. However, sometimes the transmitter still clicks even when it's not actually working.
Some transmitters also have lights. If the light is on, the fence is active.
You can also walk along your fence. In some cases, the wires also click when the pulses pass through them.
Otherwise, you can use a wire detector to determine if a charge is passing through the wire.
As mentioned above, you can also use a blade of grass to quickly and easily determine if a wire is live without touching it directly.
Can you test an electric fence with a voltmeter?
You can test electric fences with a voltmeter. For accurate results, your fence needs to be active when testing with a voltmeter. You can test the fence by connecting part of a voltmeter to the fence. The other part is grounded.
Then you just run the voltmeter along the fence, albeit without touching it, to receive information on how many volts are passing through the fence.
If vegetation touches the fence, the voltage can drop. This forces the current to flow to ground instead of continuing through the fence. If the voltage drops by 1,000 volts, vegetation is interfering with your fence.
How many volts should an electric fence have?
A high-quality fence emits 6,000 volts. Depending on the type of fence you have or what it is used for, you may find that the fence has a higher or lower voltage. The maximum voltage your fence conducts is listed in its manual.
The rule of thumb for indicating fence failure is the 100 volt rule. Check the fence every 100 meters and your voltage should stay the same. However, if you notice that the voltage starts to drop 100 volts every 100 meters, then you are close to failure.
The voltage continues to drop until you fix the fault. After you pass the fault, the voltage flattens out again.
What is the best electric fence tester?
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If you want to know the voltage of your fence, then the best electric fence tester for you is the Speedrite Digital Fault Finder. This is a voltmeter that indicates the voltage of the fence and the direction of current flow.
It also remembers past readings the meter gave you so you can compare new ones.
If you just want to tell if your fence is active or not, then you can enjoy electric fence light bulbs. Once the bulb is connected to the fence, it will light up when it detects charging. This is ideal if you don't care about voltage.
Electric Fence Bulbs
In the end, if you want the cheapest way to test your electric fence, then you should only use the blade of grass method above. It won't cost you anything.
