Horseguard fence tester question for those with HG fence...too hot to read?

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

This is a new one, but I’m an electric fence novice. I did a new underground run to open my brand new DIY horse shelter to the drylot (finally done!! yay). I thought I better test my fence again, since it’s been awhile. The drylot is next to the charger. It’s actually testing hotter than before (I suppose the grass is shorter and in some places I am getting a reading that just says high (digital tester). That’s new. Anyone seen that?? I think it can only read up to 9,900 and maybe there aren’t enough letters to do 10,000 (I was getting 9,900 in places). But does anyone know for sure? I know I can call and ask, just wondering if anyone has seen that.

I really want to know how hot it actually is. But I don’t really understand volts with regards to amps and all of that stuff either… Part of me really wants to touch it…just to see how bad it is. But the smarter part of me says no.

I was worried about the bipolar not holding a good charge. Hasn’t been a problem.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

If you tested earlier with tall grass draining your fence and now the grass is not touching, you should definitely be getting a higher charge. Dampness in the earth around your ground rod will also affect how hot your fence is (more damp = more juice). Don’t touch to test unless you feel like getting whacked by a baseball bat. Even when it’s low, HG still packs a punch.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

Right. I know it’s because of the weeds. Just weird that it can’t give me a real reading! I’m pretty sure it said “high.” I’d only ever seen numbers before.

I don’t have ground rods btw. Bipolar. Cool stuff.

[wildlifer]

I adore my bipolar (fencing, ugh, what a horrible name). Having backed into it a couple of times…it’s hot, ow!

I wouldn’t worry about your voltage reading. My multimeter only reads up 4500 volts, but the only time I checked it was when I first turned it on. After that, I just check the tape & wires.

But how much voltage goes into your horse’s body when he touches it is also affected by how many joules the charger can push through the tape (the bipolar tape has a higher resistance than traditional tape, hence HG’s joule rating recommendations). Sounds like you’re good though, pony will get a zap!

I also have a weird personal rule that I have to touch the fences my horses live behind at least once (although it usually happens involuntarily at some point anyway). It sure wakes you up…

[Cruiser12]

Sounds hot! Don’t touch it for goodness sake! LOL
I love my HG fence. My dumb dogs tests it for me about every two months when his memory doesn’t serve him well and he doesn’t duck down quite right. He screams like it’s on fire.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

My dog touched the horseguard once and also screamed. He’d gotten underneath it a couple times without getting shocked, so I think it really caught him off guard. He won’t go within 6 feet of it now…even if his ball, which he loves so very much, accidently rolls on the other side.

We had a lot of grasshoppers and they kept getting electrocuted in front of me this summer. Gross. One was like Star Wars (where the old dude toasts Vader) and I could see the electricity lines. Luckily, even though it is bipolar, the ground wires are on the bottom, so the birds that land on it don’t get fried. I would feel pretty horrible about that. I hope it never gets one of my chickens.

wildlifer, I’m sure I will accidently get hit at some point. I think it is 6 joules…can’t remember now. Like I said, I know we did electrical experiments in high school physics class, but I can’t seem to remember anything! I always seemed to get hit when I boarded, but it was never too bad. I have a feeling this is a lot hotter. Which is good–donkeys grow amazing winter coats.

[Cruiser12]

@TrotTrotPumpkn;7839622

We had a lot of grasshoppers and they kept getting electrocuted in front of me this summer. Gross. One was like Star Wars (where the old dude toasts Vader) and I could see the electricity lines.

HA! That’s funny, poor grasshoppers, never saw it coming

[BEARCAT]

If you do touch it, we want to see the video