From: "Snooze" 
Newsgroups: rec.gardens misc.rural misc.consumers.house alt.home.repair
Subject: Re: How to keep raccoons away
Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 20:26:39 GMT


"Adam Russell"  wrote in message
news:2g9tllFclq3U1@uni-berlin.de...
> > Evolution in action.  He'll either learn what futility is, or he'll
> actually
> > educate himself on electric fences and not subscribe to ignorant
hysteria.
> > I'll bet he's even touched his tongue to a battery as a child, but
somehow
> > he thinks that should have electrocuted him.
>
> I'm pretty sure it takes more than 9v to scare off a racoon.  So how much
> voltage would you use that would do the job but not hurt the child?  I
know
> you can die from as little as 50v.  Even less if you got imaginative.
>
>

Don't let your kids wear wool socks on a low humidity day...imagine what
would happen if they discovered they can shuffle around the house and zap
each other with a few thousand volts. A typical static electricity shock is
about 2000 - 4000 volts.

Of course a amperage involved is so low, that aside from the surprise, no
damage is done. Ever taken a weak 9v battery and tapped it against your
tongue? A fresh battery hurts a little, but a weak one gives a little
tingling sensation.

A consumer grade electric fence is harmless, it will give a mild shock, but
nothing dangerous. I couldn't find the specifications online, so
guestimating, if an electric fence transformer draws 120v A/C @ 1 amp, the
output would be 4000 v A/C at .03 amp.

That's just a mild shocker, pretty safe..if it was D/C on the otherhand is a
different story.


Sameer