Stray Voltage Defined

1. Unexplained lower rate of gain 

2. Too many dark cutters in beef

3. Hair coats not thrifty (just like they may have worms)

4. Looser stools than normal

5. Urine color quite yellow

6. Lapping water at drinker – very wet or excess ice around drinker

7. Lapping/drinking urine

8. Lower than desired feed intake – lack of rumen fill

9. Cattle more nervous than normal

10. Lack of grooming

11. Unexplained higher rate of illness – immune suppression

12. Not eating well at certain areas of the bunk

13. Pressing their noses against steel 

14. Lower than desired conception rate

15. Low bull fertility

16. Cows are nervous in the parlor -  

• Poor milk letdown
• Incomplete milk out
• Kicking during milking
• Decreased milk production 
• Refusing to enter an area such as a parlor
• Jumping across thresholds
• Increased somatic cell count/mastitis
• Increased Incidence of mastitis

1. Aches/pain/soreness

2. Headaches

3. Muscle tension

4. Ringing sounds

5. Dizziness

6.  Immune dysfunction 

Traditional stray voltage is a neutral problem. Stray voltage can be caused by wiring and electrical usage on the farm. The voltage between the farm neutral/grounding system and the earth is influenced by the amount of neutral current and the resistance of the neutral/grounding system. We try to balance the amount of 120-volt loads at each building between the two hot wires to reduce the amount of neutral current. Some equipment can be wired for either 120-volt or 240-volt operation. This equipment should be wired for 240-volt operation to eliminate neutral current. Poor neutral connections and wire too small for the current and/or distance will increase the resistance of the circuit and raise the neutral-to-earth voltage. Equipment that is shorted out and not grounded properly will raise the neutral-to-earth voltage. Equipment that has a small amount of current going to ground through deteriorated wiring that is not yet completely shorted-out will also contribute to stray voltage.

Stray voltage can be reduced by balancing the 120-volt loads in the building. Example: A farm that the neutral to earth voltage was pretty good until a large box fan was turned on. The fan was wired for 120-volts. We checked the 120-volt balance in the panel and found that it needed to be corrected.  The farm that had the dramatic drop in somatic cell count after the issues were corrected.

Split-bolt connectors have been used in the past to connect overhead wires at buildings and at poles in the yard. These connectors can loosen up over time, creating a poor connection, raising the resistance of the circuit, and raising the neutral to earth voltage. Split-bolt connectors should be replaced with squeeze-on type connectors. This has been done to a large extent, but there are still some split-bolt connectors still out there.

Wiring to all farm buildings are connected together at the metering point. This means that all of the farm neutrals are connected together. If there is neutral to earth voltage at one point on the farm, it should exist at all buildings on the farm. We check all water fountains on farms. If stray voltage is found on one fountain, it will usually be found on all fountains, even if they are in different buildings. If one fountain does not have voltage on it when the others do, then that fountain has not been properly grounded. 

If I know there is a stray voltage problem coming from the farm wiring system, I will check the neutral to earth voltage at each building on the farm. The building with the highest voltage will be where the major problem exists. I will then turn off the main panel at that building to see if the voltage drops significantly. If it does, then I will go through each circuit to see what circuit is causing the problem. Once the circuit has been identified, then I look for what part of the circuit is the problem. Sometimes stray voltage can be caused by something on the other side of the farm.

Stray voltage on feed lot operations has been showing up the last several years. This usually is because the water fountains are a long distance from the electrical panel. The wire to the water fountain may be large enough to carry the current, but cause a stray voltage problem due to the voltage drop over the long distance. The easiest cure to this is to convert the water fountain to 240-volts. Again, the 240-volt circuit does not use a neutral, eliminating stray voltage.

One of the first symptoms that shows up is low water consumption and related problems. Along with low water consumption is a lowered feed consumption, resulting in lowered production, weight gain or milk production, than would be expected for the ration being fed. Many times a stray voltage investigation comes from the advice of a nutritionist who is unable to find a reason the recommended ration is not giving the expected results. Animals will normally let you know if there is voltage on a water fountain. They will tend to “lap” at the water and get enough water to satisfy their thirst, but not enough for weight gain or milk production. If they don’t put their mouth in the water and drink, they probably are not getting enough water. Water meters can help determine the amount of water per animal that is being consumed.

Dairy cows may be nervous while being milked, either in a parlor or stanchion barn. They will probably be reluctant to enter a parlor if they know they will experience discomfort while being milked. If there is stray voltage bothering the cows, she tends to not milk out completely in at least one quarter. If milked is left in that quarter, then mastitis is a reasonable result and cows dry off early.

An animal exposed to stray voltage experiences stress. We know that long term stress causes many ailments in people and animals causing many different problems - as SCC, metabolic diseases, lameness, poor reproduction, abortions, poor performance.

People do not usually feel the voltage as quickly as livestock. We have boots or shoes on and our hands are calloused. If a person has a hangnail or an open cut on a finger, they are more sensitive and may feel the voltage. Sometimes women will feel it when others do not. People and animals have different sensitivities, so some may not react to a voltage while others do - cattle are 10 times more sensitive than humans. I have had various investigations involving people with basement showers. These showers have concrete floors and the water lines are grounded to the electrical neutral/grounding system. A person, with bare feet and wet, feels stray voltage. Some of these people have used a dry wash cloth to turn the water on and off so they wouldn’t feel the voltage.  If you can feel it fix - it ASAP.  Have an expert come to help find the issue.

1.  What's the best way to contact Stray Voltage Consulting?

•  Call, text or email.  Leave a message if there is no answer.  Let us know the best time to contact you back

2.  Where is Stray Voltage Consulting based out of?

•   Home base is Minnesota

3.  How soon can we come out?

•  That varies on location/state.  Closer locations usually within 1-2 weeks

4.  What's the cost?

• We charge round trip mileage plus time (hotel if need to stay overnight)

5.  Can the source(s) of stray voltage be determined?

• Usually - more than one visit sometimes is required 
• To be proactive - some farms have us come out quarterly or semi-annually 

5.  Is there a good stray voltage resource:

• www.strayvoltagefacts.com - this an excellent site on stray voltage facts