Why is my ground rod shocking me?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Not badly just a little bit. I just installed a new Parmak charger, drove a new copper coated ground rod, and can't figure out how it could shock me. Also the fence doesn't seem quite hot enough considering the size of the charger (50 mile charger on 4 acres for predator control) It tests between 4-5000 volts on my multi light tester, but doesn't seem to really pop when I touch something to it, just a little crackle. The digital read out on the charger shows around 15,000 volts, but it shows it with nothing attached as well. Is there a problem with my charger? I have checked the entire fence and didn't see any problems, shorts ect...

[fordy]

..................Would be best if you would install several ground rods along the length of your fence . If you have field fence use the bottom wire as a ground wire and connect all your ground rods to this common point of attachment . One ground rod driven close too the charger won't get the job done . Also , ground conductivity will wax and wane with the level of soil moisture which directly determines the source voltage delivered to anything coming in contact with the hot wire . As summer wears on without rain the soil resistance will increase which will reduce the shock value of your hot wire . Numerous ground rods driven along the length of your fence will mitigate this to some extent . Most folks cut an 8 footer in half because of the cost . , fordy

[deaconjim]

It sounds as though you don't have a good ground, or connection to the ground rod. Pour some water around the rod, and make sure the wire is connected well. You may also have part of your fence going to ground.

[Bearfootfarm]

Youve got a dead short somewhere in the fence.
Thats whats feeding power back to the ground rod. That would also explain why it feels "weak". Check all your hot wires and insulators and youll probably find something thats not right

[longshot38]

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

Youve got a dead short somewhere in the fence.
Thats whats feeding power back to the ground rod. That would also explain why it feels "weak". Check all your hot wires and insulators and youll probably find something thats not right

plus one on this. not that im an expert on electric fencing but i have had a few dead shorts or helped find them with friends on their equipment.


dean

[Cascade Failure]

Dumb question time....Is there a difference between a short and a dead short? I have never heard the term dead short before.

[palani]

Capacitance.

Your body, even though insulated pretty well from the ground, will have a certain amount of capacitance with respect to it.

A fence charger puts out a sudden pulse of very high voltage (15kv as you indicate). This pulse actually contains many different frequencies. The higher frequencies will tend to be routed easier through your capacitance than through the small resistance presented by a ground rod.

[MaineFarmMom]

I second deaconjim's suggestion that you put water around the rod. I had to water mine during the summer. Soak the ground well so that you don't have to do it again in a day or two.

[deaconjim]

Originally Posted by Cascade Failure

Dumb question time....Is there a difference between a short and a dead short? I have never heard the term dead short before.

It's a matter of degree. A short is a low resistance connection between two points of a circuit (usually where no connection is intended). A "dead short" would be a connection with almost no resistance.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

hmmm, I am almost 100% sure that there are no shorts, I think I will water my ground rod and see what happens, perhaps add another... we have clay soil around her which "should" be fairly moist, although the number of days without rain are growing...

[scorpian5]

you can run another wire and connect it to your ground and not the fencer

[Bearfootfarm]

Originally Posted by Matthew Lindsay

hmmm, I am almost 100% sure that there are no shorts, I think I will water my ground rod and see what happens, perhaps add another... we have clay soil around her which "should" be fairly moist, although the number of days without rain are growing...

That electricity you feel has to be coming from somewhere. If its not a defective charger, then there has to be a fault in your insulation or wiring to allow current to reach the ground rod.

If the ground rod system is inadequate and a heavy short takes place on the fence, probably near the end where the fencer feeds it, then a shock will be experienced when touching the ground rod and the ground! The image below shows this phenomenon. The solution is to locate and remove the fence short and then install a proper ground

http://www.hallman.ca/troubles.htm

Also , most systems should have at least 3 ground rods spaced at least 10 feet apart