Hello,
I've been thinking about using a small, cheap neon light transformer (something like this one which is 3kV 30mA) to charge an electric fence around my chicken coop at night to discourage raccoons. Since the transformer would be "always on" if I plugged it directly into the mains, would it make sense to use a timer circuit to switch the mains connection on and off, for example once per second, so that the transformer output becomes "pulsed"? Or would this constant on/off switching of the transformer cause it to burn out prematurely? Or might there be other issues that make such a plan impossible or undesirable?
I've been thinking about using a small, cheap neon light transformer (something like this one which is 3kV 30mA) to charge an electric fence around my chicken coop at night to discourage raccoons. Since the transformer would be "always on" if I plugged it directly into the mains, would it make sense to use a timer circuit to switch the mains connection on and off, for example once per second, so that the transformer output becomes "pulsed"? Or would this constant on/off switching of the transformer cause it to burn out prematurely? Or might there be other issues that make such a plan impossible or undesirable?