If you’ve seen or heard a man peeing on an electric fence, mostly survive, and deaths are infrequent. You may feel a severe shock as the current penetrates the sensitive body parts such genitalia and urinary system.
Electric shock intensity increases if you are closer to the fence by 1-2 feet and the fence charger is powerful.
As an electric fence charger outputs a short-timed(milliseconds) voltage pulse, it must not risk a human or animal’s life peeing on the fence.
We’ll discuss what actually happens if you pee on an electric fence, electric blanket, or a third-rail subway.
What happens if you pee on an electric fence?
When urine leaves your body, it converts into droplets after a few feet(4 feet). Due to the increasing distance in drops, low power, and short voltage pulse, you’ll receive a much lighter shock than peeing on a live wire.
The current can’t climb to your body quickly, so you’ll receive a bearable shock but painful at the moment. However, shock intensity worsens if you are quite close to the fence wires.
Explanation:
As urine leaves your body, it is transformed from a stream into droplets after some distance(2-3 feet). If you stand far from fence wires, urine will be dispersed(broken) before reaching the fence wire.
As the urine stream is converted into drops, less current will travel through the urine drops to your body.
If you are standing quite near the fence, urine in the form of a stream(unbroken) will hit the fence wires and acts as a conductor.
Saltwater(urine) is more conductive than natural water. Urine comprises water, urea, salt ions(chloride, sodium), and other minerals making it an excellent conductor.
Very little voltage will travel to your body through the genitalia, following the urine to the urinary bladder and from the blood into veins. You’ll receive a tiny fraction of the fence power as very little current climbs(pass/travel) to your body. Death is never reported in the case of an electric fence.
Depending on the intensity of your fence power and how far you are standing, the current enters your muscles but must not cause burns or harm as the fence charger output’s bearable charge. That’s why fences installed in public areas should have low amps(around 0).
Can you get electrocuted by peeing on an electric fence?
It is not possible to be electrocuted while peeing on electric fences. Electrocution means someone is seriously injured or killed by electric current/shock.
However, it’s very strange if someone dies off the electric fence, as a charger generates a short-time voltage pulse(discontinuous) that allows you to move away.
Factors that impact an electric fence shock:
- Heavy-duty AC fence chargers, such as 20-100 Joules output, have enough power to deliver a more tremendous shock than a few joule chargers.
- Your shoe’s thickness also impacts the shock you’ll receive. You will receive a low-powered shock if you wear hard(more insulated) shoes.
- If the electric fence is shorted, i.e., touching a live wire and someone peeing on the shorted fence can get severely injured or may die.
What happens if you pee on the third rail?
Remember that incidents involving peeing on electric fences are not as severe/deadly as peeing on the third rail of a train (subway).
Urinating on the electrified third rail will deliver 600-750+ volts and 1,000’s amps to your body at the current speed and can quickly kill you in seconds.
In Brooklyn, N.Y., on 8 June 2013, Matthew Zeno, age 30, was drunk returning home from a bar and was electrified by peeing on the third rail at the subway.
Electrified third rail receives a heavy current supply enough to blow you away. But if you are peeing standing higher, there are higher chances that you don’t get electrocuted.
On the other hand, electric fences charger generates very low amperage(around 0 amps), so they are not considered lethal.
Amperage(number of electrons) is something that kills. Otherwise, 120V or 10KV feels the same until the amperage is kept low/equal.
Pee stream/drops will only carry a very small amount of current and will not seriously injure you. It leaves a lasting (vivid) memory, so you will never approach a fence again.
MythBusters about peeing on an electric fence:
According to MythBusters (a popular science entertainment television program, 2003-2018), peeing on a live electric fence should not severely injure or kill someone.
When you release urine, it turns into a droplet stream after a few feet, so it cannot carry current to your body.
That’s why there are no long-term hazards of peeing on an electric fence unless it is not shorted with a live wire. However, small animals(cats, rats) may die off heavy power fences.
People also use electrified fence wires on top of wood fences or underground/near the ground to keep animals from jumping, digging holes underneath, or peeing.
A dog or cat peeing on the live fence wires while directly contacting the ground(bare paw) will get zapped. You may never have seen a cat jump as high as one who peed on an electrified fence wire and got shocked.
Although the poor animal will suffer high pain, it must not risk an animal or human life.
Precautions to prevent accidents:
Especially near roads and highways, sign boards (signposted) indicating live fence wires should be installed 30-50 meters away from electric fences to prevent electric shock.
It’ll help reduce such fence shock incidents. Peeing on a fence can be dangerous as the urine stream may attach to the upper strands and is not converted into drops.
People should also inspect the surrounding before releasing them(peeing).
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What happens if you pee on an electric blanket
Although the resistance wire connecting the layers is insulated, you may get a shock if urine/pee enters the insulation. It depends on how much salt liquid(conductor)reaches the circuit wires and if you touch anything grounded.
As per Electrical Safety Foundation, electric blankets can cause a fire as they wear out with time(5-10 years). Heating pads and electric blankets, fire incidents are around 500 each year.
Most of them happen due to old stuff, as blankets are made of wool or fibers, and other clothing stuff(cotton, wool) also catches fire quickly.
Conclusion
People die of peeing on third rails or home grounds because the current amount is much higher than a controlled pulse of your fence charger.
An electric fence will deliver voltage(current) to your body through the urine, but it should not kill anyone.
Follow instructions by Ren and Stimpy to “Don’t Whizz on the Electric Fence“
If you still have any queries, ask us in the comments.