On the problem of how to wire for a fencer without using a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlet, one option that has been suggested for my outdoor post location is to wire two outlets, but make the first one in the series a standard outlet that would be dedicated to the electric fencer. The second, a GFCI for other uses. One thing to remember is regular outlets were used for several decades before GFCI outlets were invented, and not that many folks perished using the regular outlets. In general, GFCIs are a good idea, but the risk of shock without them is generally quite low. In over 25 years of using them, I can't recall a single time when I ever tripped one, except for the two times when a power cord was severed by saws, and in both cases, that also tripped the breaker. In the event the property was ever sold, you would either have to remove it, or swap the two outlets to put them in the right order to put them into compliance with code.
Option B, would be to add an additional circuit inside the barn, also dedicated to the fencer, and put that outlet either up high, or in an otherwise out of the way location, and also dedicate that single outlet to the electric fencer. Downside of that option is one would then have to run a drop line from the fencer inside the barn to the electric fence. That needs to be special highly insulated wire made for this application. That would be a pain.
Option C is to skip the AC unit and buy a
solar powered charger for twice the price and half the zap. As long as half the zap is still
enough to set a coyotes tail on fire, I might be OK with that. I find it interesting that the instructions for some of the AC units would have you set three....count em three......ground rods of at least 6 feet in length and at 10' intervals and preferably in a wet location. They want a seriously good ground. By comparison, the
solar units only use one rod and for some of them, it is only the dinky little rod you drive into the ground to mount the charger on.
Still curious if only one or two metal wires is enough to keep
chickens in and varmints out. I have seen a short fence setup that had a foot or so of
chicken wire tacked to short wooden stakes made from 2" x 2"'s, with a single hot wire atop that. It was being used to keep critters out of a large garden, and that included
deer. The hot wire was set just high enough deer would rub their belly on it stepping over it and once they were zapped by it, would never come back. Raccoons and others had to climb over and as soon as they hit the single wire on top, they were done.
