How to make an Electric Fence

Thread Starter

0steve0

Joined Apr 17, 2021
3
Hello guys, I need to make an electric fence for my goat. Can you please help me and give me an easy method to make it?
 

ronsimpson

Joined Oct 7, 2019
2,985
In may countries you must post signs on the fence that people can read and goats can not. lol
Also it is important to have the fence turn off for a short time to let people and animals get off the fence. People will grab the wire and can not let go when the power is on. It is important to turn the power on then off for 1 second. I can not find the law right now.
If you find the neighbor's child dead on your fence you will have bigger problems than a goat. (back to post #3)
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,068
yeah i will use battery 12v
The power supply doesn't matter. An electric fence depends on high voltage to delver a (mostly) harmless low current but painful shock. It has to be carefully designed to limit the current and duration of the shock, and have other safety features.

Buy a commercial product, a homemade fence is potentially deadly to humans and possibly to your animals as well.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
The power supply doesn't matter.
But it does.
A line powered fencer could develop a short between the mains and the fence, which could be lethal.
Such a short for a battery powered fencer would not.

I have not seen a do-it-yourself circuit for a battery powered fencer that is significantly dangerous.
They generate a short duration high voltage pulse using an ignition coil or similar which I don't see as being lethal, any more than that generated by commercial fencers.
I have never seen a warning that the spark from a vehicle ignition could be dangerous.
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,068
But it does.
A line powered fencer could develop a short between the mains and the fence, which could be lethal.
Such a short for a battery powered fencer would not.

I have not seen a do-it-yourself circuit for a battery powered fencer that is significantly dangerous.
They generate a short duration high voltage pulse using an ignition coil or similar which I don't see as being lethal, any more than that generated by commercial fencers.
I have never seen a warning that the spark from a vehicle ignition could be dangerous.
I was referring to the 12V battery comment, which I surmise the TS thought he might just apply to the fence.

If you feel comfortable suggesting a person without knowledge about high voltage create an electric fence DIY—of any kind—we feel very differently but I don't think I am the authority on this, it's just my opinion based on what I know and my experience.
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
Hello guys, I need to make an electric fence for my goat. Can you please help me and give me an easy method to make it?
If you already have a fence the goat should already be confined. If you do not have a fence consider an "invisible fence" as used for dogs. This eliminates anyone else being a victim of shock. Just Google invisible fence. After a few shocks your goat will figure out the boundaries. Goats are remarkably smart. :)

Ron
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,167
In may countries you must post signs on the fence that people can read and goats can not. lol
Also it is important to have the fence turn off for a short time to let people and animals get off the fence. People will grab the wire and can not let go when the power is on. It is important to turn the power on then off for 1 second. I can not find the law right now.
If you find the neighbor's child dead on your fence you will have bigger problems than a goat. (back to post #3)
Every commecrcially sold fence charger that I have seen delivers short pulses of high voltage, not a steady charge. A constant voltage fence charger is designed to kill, not just deter. It would never be used for livestock, but rather as a lethal protection system. Even the "Black Max" anti carjacker system only delivered a fairly short shock, intended to knock a carjacker to the pavement.
 

bassbindevil

Joined Jan 23, 2014
824
I would look for a used or broken fence charger. Ask your fellow goat owners and (hobby) farmers, leave a note on the bulletin board at the feed store, check out local antique stores. But it might be tempting to try an ignition coil driven by a 555 timer and a suitable power transistor (or use a solid state ignition module as the "amplifier"). Or you could try these plans from a 1982 Mother Earth News; a 4001 CMOS chip pulses a car ignition coil (using a 2N2222A transistor and relay).
https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/homemade-electric-fence-charger-zmaz82jazgoe
or there's various ideas here (read the comments as well):
https://www.homemade-circuits.com/homemade-fence-charger-energizer/
If you haven't used an electric fence for goats before, it looks like you need multiple strands of wire, not the single strand that will suffice for cattle. So, that's more work and expense (for wire and insulators), but still cheaper than putting in a real goat-proof fence.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
Most that crossed my path had the schematic pasted inside the cover and they are all copies of one another. Also search the net, this is no proprietary information an it can easily be found.
Most of those use a special designed high-voltage coil which may not be readily available.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,167
There are complete circuits published on the "Schematics for free" website. Some are quite simple, some a bit more complex.
All of the line powered ones that I have worked on use a half wave rectifier from the AC mains to charge a capacitor to some voltage through a fairly big resistor and then every second or so trigger an SCR to discharge through the primary of a step up transformer. A caution I add is that the transformer must have good insulation to assure that mains voltage can't get to the fence, which would be a serious hazard. THe very simplest pulser used a neon bulb relaxation oscillator to trigger the SCR.
And actually, if you can get hold of one of the cheap strobe lights, you can put the transformer in series with the flash tube.
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
Really I have no clue where the thread starter is located. Locally I would go to any Tractor Supply or Farm and Fleet and buy the setup. Buddy of mine in West Virginia US leased some of his bottom land to a neighbor who had a huge garden. Electric fence powered by a 12 volt lead acid battery maintained by a solar charger. There was no mains power available unless a thousand foot extension cord was around. It's easier to just buy than build. Anyone familiar with West Virginia knows the deer will wipe out a hundred acre plot in one evening. You plant the poles and install insulators depending on the area size. This is something better bought than built by someone lacking the experience. That or as I mentioned earlier an "invisible fence" as used for dogs and other domestic pets.

Ron
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,167
Same, easy to find, coils as in furnace igniters.
Actually, for battery operated systems where isolation of the power supply is not a safety issue, the older type of automotive engine ignition coils that worked with a distributor would work quite well. And those should be available almost everywhere in the world.. A 2 millisecond pulse every two or three seconds should be enough to startle an animal investigating a wire. I am not sure how it would affect deer, though.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
When I was a youngster on my home farm, we had a line-powered Surge brand fencer (below).
The mechanism was in a sealed glass container, much like a mains power meter.
A small electric motor caused a mercury switch (curved ampule in the front) to rock back and forth
The were two electrodes side-by-side in the top of the ampule.
When the small blob of mercury rolled from one side to the other, causing momentary contact between the two electrodes, you could see a large neon bulb flash, indicating the spark generated (video below).
If the neon didn't flash it meant you had a short to ground somewhere along the fence (usually from a tall weed).

Note that the period between flashes is asymmetric.
Don't know if that was intentional, but could make it more likely that the animal would get two quick shocks, improving their memory of "don't do that again".

It was fun just to watch (farm kids are easily entertained).

1618794557877.png
(20+) Watch | Facebook
 
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