This implies youll need to use one designed specifically for sensing extremely high voltages. You can do so by walking near your electric fence and If you see any item that grounds the system (i.e., a conductor touching a wire), you must remove it. High voltage is present in an electric fence. To know if your electric fence is holding a good amount of volt, you may check your manufacturers guide. Your fence is working properly if the output voltage is within the above range. Want to make sure its working correctly? The ideal resistance levels for an electric fence should range between 1000-3000 ohms, depending on the length of the fence. In this post, well go through how to test an electric fence with a multimeter and which type of multimeter to use for the task. You can achieve this by placing three eight-foot-long ground rods on the surface and connecting them at least 10 feet apart. Can I Use a Standard Multimeter for Testing an Electric Fence? STEP 1 - Power: Turn off the power to the energizer. Most electric fences need at least three grounding rods for the energizer to reach its full potential. Connect the red (positive) multimeter probe to one electric fence wire and the black (negative) multimeter probe to any nearby metal surface. The 'best' way to do it would be as follows; Firstly you will need to stand approximately 600mm away from the fence in question with your Multimeter or similar voltage measuring device in hand, switch your device on and set it to DCV 500v, make sure the RED probe is plugged into VmA and BLACK to COM on the device, now carefully place the . Have a qualified repair person inspect the fence. More on multimeter: How to Use a Multimeter for Dummies. Once all readings are taken and any necessary repairs are made, users can feel confident that their electric fence system is ready for use and functioning properly. In the next section, well go over the steps to testing your fence with a multimeter, so you can begin regularly checking and maintaining your electric fence. If you set the fence to this level and then turn it off again, it is safe to assume that the fence is working as it should. Stick as much of the metal tip of the probe into the ground as you can. A high reading could indicate that there are poor connections or loose wires, while a low reading could mean that there is too much contact between two wires and they are shorting out. In the next section, we will discuss how to check the resistance levels of your fence for optimal performance. Testing these posts can help determine if the energizer is properly outputting energy.