Constant Amperage Stunning

Why is Constant Amperage Important?

According to Temple Grandin (2015), a minimum of 1.25 amps must pass through a pig's brain to reliably induce insensibility. In sheep, 1 amp is required. The best electric stunners use an amperage regulated circuit. Older style circuits are voltage regulated. These circuits are inferior because they allow large amperage surges which can fracture bones and allow blood splash.

According to Robert Maddock in Meatingplace (3/21/11), scientific research has shown that an electrical stunner must have sufficient amperage to induce a grand mal seizure to insure that the animal will be made instantly insensible. For market weight hogs a minimum of 1.25 amps is required. To deliver sufficient amperage, 250 volts is the recommended voltage for hogs to insure insensibility. Hogs will vary in fat thickness so an electric stunner that is voltage regulated will apply varying amounts of amps at the same voltage setting as the fat thickness

CONSTANT AMPERAGE STUNNING

The TBG 100 and TBG 200 stunners are constant amperage stunners. Other electric stunners, where you can only adjust the voltage, leads to variation in amperage during stunning of the animals due to:

Variation in fat thickness
Weight
Access to Water Prior to Stunning
Variation in wetness of the Skin
Mineral Content of Water on the Skin
Wool or Hair Coat Length
Skin Thickness
Age

Constant amperage stunners minimize or eliminate broken bones and blood spots. The tongs of the TBG 100 and 200 (unlike spurs) allow for both head to head stunning and head to heart stunning which results in little or no leg kicking and allows for more time allowance for shackling and hoisting. When you encounter an aggressive animal, tongs also are easier to work with. Tongs also work well with stunning sheep because they allow for proper placement on the head.