How To Power An Electric Fence Using Car Batteries?

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Electric fence (like these here) is a good thing to have to keep your horses, livestock and wild pests out of crops and other off-limits areas. You can certainly use solar fence chargers; however, one easy way to keep your electric fence charged is to hook it up with to 12V car batteries in a parallel manner. Doing this doubles the amount of time that you have before you need to recharge your fence.

In this article, we provide simple, step-by-step instructions to help you set up an electric fence using two 12V car batteries. Read on to learn more.

How To Make An Electric Fence With A Car Battery?

How To Power An Electric Fence Using Car Batteries

Follow these seven easy steps:

1. Begin by assembling your materials. You will need:

  • Two battery cables
  • An adjustable wrench
  • Two wire alligator clamps
  • A flat headed screwdriver
  • An electric fence controller

2. To hook up your fence charger, begin by putting two 12V batteries side-by-side in a protected area adjacent to your electric fence controller. Set the batteries up in such a way that the positive terminals and negative terminals are on the same sides adjacent to one another.

3. Next you will connect battery cables to the positive terminals of both 12V batteries. Use an adjustable wrench to tighten up the terminal bolts on both batteries.

4. Repeat the third step with another battery cable and the negative terminals of both batteries.

5. Take a good look at the power wires extending from the fence controller. Some power wires already have alligator clamps on both the red wires and the black wires. On some models, you will need to install alligator clamps.

If you need to install the clamps, you must first loosen up the screws on the alligator clamps using a flat headed screwdriver. Put the tips of the wire into the loosened clamps and then tighten the screws back up on both the red wires (positive) and the black wires (negative).

6. Connect one battery. Open the negative alligator clamp and place it on to the closest negative battery terminal. Repeat this process with the positive alligator clamp and the nearest positive terminal.

7. When you press your fence controller’s ON button, you should see a red light flashing every few seconds to indicate that your fence is now powered.

Be Safe!

Although you will surely want to turn on your electric fence as soon as you can to prevent horses from entering off-limits areas, be sure to observe all safety precautions.

Double check to be sure that all of your wires are secured before you turn on your fence. Make sure no vegetation or other stray objects are touching the fence. Take great care not to touch your live wires.

For the best results, place your electric wires at close intervals to keep both small animals and large animals out of the forbidden area.

Begin with a wire at 3 inches from the ground top that off with one at 6 inches, another at 10 inches, another 20 inches and the top wire at 30 inches. Another alternative is to use electric poultry netting.

Electric Poultry Netting

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it safe to keep horses in an electric fence?

Electric fencing is best used in combination with another type of fencing. Most horses will respect a fence they can see. Those who don’t will be further deterred from pushing through the fence or damaging the fence by rubbing on it if an electric wire is added along the top. Electric fence alone will not keep a horse in. They are very likely to go under it or accidentally run through it because it is hard to see.

2. What voltage is best to use for electric horse fence?

Between 2000 and 3000 volts is recommended for electric fencing added to horse fence.

3. How many strands of electric wire should you use in an electric horse fence?

If you decide not to use a standard horse fence along with electric fencing (and this is not recommended) you should use four or five strands. You should also make sure that at least one of the strands is very easy to see. Horses are notorious for getting excited and running through electric fencing.

4. How far apart should you place electric fence posts for horses?

For woven wire, you should place posts about fifteen feet apart. Posts for electric wire can be quite far apart (up to ninety feet). Remember that it’s best to use electric fencing in conjunction with solid fencing for horses. Additionally, it is extremely important that your corner post be solid and firm.

5. How high should I make electric fence for horses?

Your horse fence should be at least the height of your horse’s withers. Electric fence wire should run along the top of the fence, and you might want to add one or two electric wires halfway between the top of the fence and the ground if pushing or grazing through the fence is a problem.

3 thoughts on “How To Power An Electric Fence Using Car Batteries?”

  2. My question was …..Can I hook the Pos and Neg wires from the 12 volt car battery directly to the electric fence. Naturally Pos to Pos and Neg to Neg and run it like that. The way it’s written above I have to have a “Electric Fence Controller”.

    Reply

  3. Fence chargers adjust the volts and amps, but also pulse the shock on and off. The potential problem with direct connecting is the power will remain constant if it something touches it. It can start a fire in weeds touching it, weld metal to metal, or an animal or person (child) could get stuck getting shocked because muscles contract, so if they grab the wire they can’t easily let go. Any short will rapidly drain the battery.

    Reply

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