How to Install an Electric Fence Charger

An electric fence is more than just a physical barrier for an animal–it’s a psychological one, too. Once an animal touches an electric fence and feels the unpleasant shock, it will associate that bad feeling with the fence and learn not to go near it. Upon installing your electrically charged fence, any type of animal that comes in contact with the wire–livestock or predator–will feel a shock. The shock comes from the electric current passing through its body and to the grounding system buried in the earth. The fence is powered by an electric fence charger. Learn how to install one with Blain’s Farm & Fleet.

How to Install an Electric Fence Charger:

1. First, make sure that your fence is constructed to absorb pressure from animals and other weather-related elements. The fence controller, also known as a charger or energizer, must have enough power to support the size of the animals being controlled, as well as the length of the fence.

2. Properly installing a ground circuit is crucial to setting up an electric fence system. The earth itself makes up half of the fence circuit and without this part, the animal will not feel a shock. In areas with poor soil grounding conditions, a two-wire system can be used with one wire being electrically charged and the other wire acting as an earth ground. This system is utilized when there are alternating hot and ground wires installed.

3. Make sure the fence wire doesn’t come in contact with any conductive objects such as shrubs, tall grass, fence posts or nails. This can cause the fence wire to lose its power.

4. Regardless of what wiring system is used, ground rods and their connection to the charger’s ground terminal must always be used.

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