Will a 7,000 Volt Electric Fence Kill You?
There are several reasons why you might be wondering will a 7,000-volt electric fence kill you. Maybe you’ve got a property with an electric fence near you. Maybe you’re considering installing an electric fence and wondering if it’s safe.
The answer to the question, will a 7,000-volt electric fence kill you is probably not – but there’s more you need to know.
Two Kinds of Electric Fence
There are two kinds of electric fence: lethal and nonlethal. The vast majority of electric fences are nonlethal, including the kinds that are used for animals and most privately owned electric fences.
However, there are still some places that might have a lethal electric fence, including prisons or military compounds. These fences are usually protected by another fence, so you can only access them if you have already climbed a fence (or, sometimes, more than one. They’re not accessible by accident, and they’re designed to protect very high security facilities.
What Makes an Electric Fence Lethal?
The voltage of an electric fence is actually not what kills you. The amperage, or resistance, is far more dangerous.
So, the answer to the question, will a 7,000-volt electric fence kill you is: what is the amperage?
Most commercially available electric fence systems have high voltage, so you will definitely feel a jolt when you touch one, but they have low amps, so they aren’t designed to kill. These fences are usually pulsed too, so there’s a break between the electrical pulses, so you can pull your hand off the fence.
With ordinary electrical current, there is no pulse, and electricity causes your muscles to contract. This is why when someone touches an ordinary electric wire, their hand will close on it, and they will continue being shocked until the power is turned off.
A Word of Caution
While nonlethal electric fences are not designed to kill people, they’re also not designed to be touched by people. Touching one accidentally probably won’t kill you, but if you were to become trapped touching an electric fence for a long time, or if you have a heart condition or a pacemaker, it could become quite dangerous.
Electric security fences are designed for sites that need a little extra security, and they usually also sound an alarm or trigger a burglar alarm when touched. Usually, they’re installed so that they are hard to touch accidentally. So, while it probably won’t kill you to touch a 7,000-volt electric fence, it’s never a good idea.
