squirels and electricity

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elbo

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ok, here's my problem: I have squirrels chewing on the insulating foam rubber around the return refrigerant line of my air conditioner unit. I want to give them a mild elec. shock when they go to chew. I don't want to electrocute them, just get their attention enough so they go away. I have an old charger from a cordless drill that its output rating is 24 volt and 400 ma , is this hot enough to scare them or is it too much ?
 
that will work,until it rains, and/or, I remember to reapply it. I'd rather give them a little goose that will require no attention from me
 
Purchase a small animal fence charger.

Cut the sod away from the ground beneath the tubing. Install grounding grid copper screening in that area. Connect the grounding terminal of the fence charger to the grounding grid. Bond the grounding grid to the shell of the condenser fan unit. Replace the sod.

Cover the foam insulation with fence charger electric barrier tape. Use the attachment fitting for the barrier tape to connect it to the fence terminal of the fence charger. Apply a liberal bit of antioxidant paste on the connection point. Cover the connection point with waterproof tape. Plug in the small animal fence charger or install it's solar panel and battery depending on what type you bought.

Install an enclosure around the compressor, condenser, fan unit to prevent contact with the charged tape by children and domestic animals.

A small animal fence charger will not actually harm the animals that it shocks but the shock will be rather painful. It will only take a couple of attempts to steal your foam insulation for nesting insulation before the squirrels will look elsewhere for their insulating material. Squirrels are very territorial so they will keep the other squirrels away from the unit.
 
c'mon guys. I just want to know if 24 volt and 400 MA is too much. I already know how to do it at very little expense or labor. If the voltage and amp aren't too much for a squirrel, then it wouldn't hurt anything else. besides, I live in a over 55 community, so children aren't a problem
 
In order to do your calculation I need to know the resistance of a squirrel. You may well have a 24 v power supply but that has nothing to do with the 400MA until you know the resistance of the squirrel. Of course the resistance will change depending on what two parts of the squirrel you measure it at and how wet that area is. Voltage is not what kills it’s the amperage or current. You can get shocked off a car spark plug and have no issues except you wont do it again and that has a voltage of something in the thousands of volts.
 
24 volts probably won't do anything.
 
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iKD7vuq-rY[/ame]
 
Saturday morning I was watering the plants on the deck (the ones I haven't killed yet) and I swear the dang squirrels were up in the big oak throwing acorns at me....bad when you have to wear a hard hat just to water plants. (they must be weeds cause they're still green)
 
Take a piece of corrugated drain pipe. Cut it lengthwise and wrap it around the lines and wires.
 
I'd worry about damaging your system by energizing a copper refrigerant line.
 
I'm not too familiar with animal fencing, but I'd have to agree with Buffalo that energizing that line probably wouldn't be a good idea. That copper line is bonded to your unit and the rest of your electrical system. I'm not even sure if sending 24 VDC through it would even work, since you would essentially be connecting a positive to a negative. Maybe installing an independent system around the unit would be a better idea.
 
I think several of you misunderstood me, I would wrap wires connected to the charger around the outside of the rubber insulation. There would be no contact with anything directly connected to the a/c unit. I can't wrap or enclose the insulation with anything rigid because the copper line /insulation is an "S" shape made from soft copper that allowed the installers to bend it to that shape, If they had made it from rigid and soldered pipe, there would be no problem at all.
 
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