A Homemade Electric Fence Charger

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This homemade fence charger is, of course, hooked up in the same way as are the store-bought ones. We simply hung the box on a convenient fencepost, placed a 12-volt auto battery-raised off the ground -beneath it, and drove a 4-foot bare steel rod into the earth near the site.
This homemade fence charger is, of course, hooked up in the same way as are the store-bought ones. We simply hung the box on a convenient fencepost, placed a 12-volt auto battery-raised off the ground -beneath it, and drove a 4-foot bare steel rod into the earth near the site.
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Diagram: Circuit board pattern.
Diagram: Circuit board pattern.
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Diagram: Parts of the electric fence charger box.
Diagram: Parts of the electric fence charger box.
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Materials list for electric fence charger.
Materials list for electric fence charger.

This homemade electric fence charger was created when footloose livestock caused crop losses resulting in this livestock management idea. (See the detailed electric fence diagrams in the image gallery.)

Whether you’re growing vegetables or raising critters (and especially if you’re doing both), you know the importance of keeping hungry livestock in their place. Of course, barbed wire will usually serve as an effective deterrent to all but the most determined animals. For those few headstrong beasties, though, this homemade electric fence charger might be just the ticket . . . and it requires less sturdy, and thus often less expensive, posts than would a barbed wire enclosure.

However, if you were to buy a fence charger at your local farm supply house, that piece of equipment would probably set you back between $25 and $35. You’ll be glad to know, then, that it’s possible to make this component on your own-using readily available, and some easily salvageable, electronic parts and the information given here-for as little as $10 or $15.

A HARDWORKING ELECTRIC FENCE CHARGER . . . AND HOT!

The charger we put together is powered by a 12-volt automotive battery, and can deliver an attention-getting 25,000 volts of electricity to the fence strands once every second. Built around a standard car ignition coil, the device hasn’t enough amperage to seriously harm or to kill an animal, but its “bite” will certainly serve to reinforce the concept that territorial boundaries do exist!

  • Published on Jul 1, 1982
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