Electric Fence = Multimeter Death?

[wayback machine]

Had a strange one happen yesterday afternoon -We have a small wire fenced garden, that my wife was preparing for the fall / winter crop.
We also have an intermittent dear problem, and so we have an electric fence around it also.

Cleaning up and repairing the elec. fence yesterday, I got the ground wire fixed, plugged it in, and thought to test it, as I couldn't clearly hear the box buzz.
So I put the probes of my nice auto ranging multimeter across the terminals - I hate getting shocked, just to test it!
There was a small spark when I touched the second probe, and the meter went dead!
The fence is a non-pulsed 120 VAC one, 0.27 A, and I had the meter set accordingly.
Afterwards, I tested the meter's fuse with an old meter I had, and it had NOT blown - So today is shopping day for a new one :~(

 

[rabler]

Similar to a car ignition, electric fencers raise the output voltage considerably. So it is a lot more than 120V on the output. That will certainly blow out a multimeter.

 

[pdentrem]

Can be upwards of 2000 volts. Like a spark plug ignition but not as strong.

 

[wayback machine]

AHH - That explains it .......... Smacking face at same time ......
Perfect sub forum for this, then - Blunder I should have avoided :~0
Thank you.

 

[RJSakowski]

A rule of thumb that I have used is that there is 5,000 volts/ per centimeter of gap for a spark. This can vary significantly, depending upon a number of factors but it gives you an idea. Based on that, 1,000 volts will jump a 2mm gap.

Most of my my meters have a 1,000 volt maximum rating. I have a probe for high voltage that was made for CRT testing that drops the voltage by a factor of 1,000 which allows the use of my multimeter when working with higher voltages.

 

[markba633csi]

Yep, you probably exceeded the max ac range on your meter: RIP for the a/d converter chip inside

Next time just hold a fluorescent tube near it- you'll get a little glow

 

[SLK001]

I did this to a meter trying to measure the output of a microwave oven transformer. It smoked the meter and damn near killed me (the current went right thru the meter). If I hadn't been sitting on a wooden bar stool, I would be pushing up daisies.

 

[Reddinr]

I just use a shovel or rake (insulated handle) and put the metal part near the wire and the metal also touching the ground. Should see arcs and you get a feel for how strong they are. Quick and easy way to check a few places along the fence line.

 

[Mill Lee farm]

I did this to a meter trying to measure the output of a microwave oven transformer. It smoked the meter and damn near killed me (the current went right thru the meter). If I hadn't been sitting on a wooden bar stool, I would be pushing up daisies.

My dad did almost the exact same thing in the early 90’s with our 1st microwave from the 80’s.
He was a lifer’ at Xerox as a technician for their huge print shop stuff and before that a radar tech in the Navy.

He was troubleshooting it and got across the klystron (think that’s what he said?) and POOF! There went the Xerox meter….
Amazing the digital Simpson meter only lost the AC side and still worked fine for DC, resistance etc… it was ‘my’ meter for years lol

He just picked up a new Xerox meter of course! lol

 

[Mill Lee farm]

These are darn cheap and you should be able to get one at tractor supply or amazon