Lightening strike neaby -- some damage

[Ed Pawlowski]

We had a near lightening strike that sent a surge though the power lines. Not sure where the hit was, but I did have some damage.

My wife called me at work after a thunderstorm and said she saw a big red ball in the driveway and then some of the lights went out. The doorbell rang and would not stop ringing. I told her to take a wire off the chimes and they stopped, but a breaker was tripped and would not reset. The bell button has a diode in it and that may have taken the hit.

When I got home, I took the two wires off of the breaker and it still did not reset so I replaced the breaker. One of the circuits was OK, the other had a short and tripped the breaker. Since it was not getting dark and it was still raining, the hunt would wait a day. Next day, I went out to the (detached) garage and found an X-10 module I use to control an outdoor light was blown apart and burnt. The plastic cover was gone, the insides were soot covered. I'm wondering if the jolt came in that way or out, it was the furthest away from the electric panel.

I'm going to replace the receptacle it was plugged into also. I've not pulled that out yet, but I'm not taking any chances. Once replaced. I'll hook the wire back to the breaker.

Losses were: HD TV, Surround sound receiver, X-10 module, computer router, doorbell.

The good news is: I now have a 47" TV with far better picture than my 5 year old 32" and a better sound system. More stuff is on surge protectors too.

[dpb]

Ed Pawlowski wrote: ...

Out of curiousity, is there a lightning arrester on service entrance? They can help before get to the individual protectors.

In TN some years ago, took nearly everything in the house behind a friends including dislodging about half of the brick veneer off rear of two-story mini-McMansion...it's pretty amazing what it can do, indeed.

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[Frank]

I've got all my electronic stuff on surge protectors and APC's. Don't like the idea of a whole house protector as I've seen them get knocked out and then you are at the mercy of getting in an electrician. Also power company is reticent to take any blame even when it is their fault because they saved money in tree trimming. And, with a $500 insurance deductible plus value proration, insurance company is a PITA too.

[Jim Yanik]

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in news:8eOdnSaAf5OFjZTRnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Wise to have surge protectors.

where do you live? I'm in central Florida,the lightning capital of the US. We've had a couple of heavy storms the last two days,lightning was pretty bad.

[bud--]

Good idea in high risk areas particularly.

The brick must have been a direct strike to the house. That will teach them to build a McMansion.... Protection requires lightning rods (now called air terminals).

[hrhofmann]

Michael Jackson may have had a lightening strike, you had a lightning strike.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Nothing on the entrance. I'm debating whole house surge protection. Initial cost is about $150, then a $6 monthly charge. Over the years I'm still ahead, but. . . . .

OTOH, I'd not have a new big screen TV for a while without the lightening.

[Ed Pawlowski]

.NE corner of CT. Not extreme, but we've had a few hits nearby over the years.

[Ed Pawlowski]

*********************************** Right, and he had more damage. I knew that did not look right after I hit send.

[Pete C.]

Huh???

Sounds like some type of contract scam. Just buy and install the ~$75 suppresser and be done with it. I have a Square D "SurgeBreaker" in my QO panel, I believe it cost $60 or so.

[JIMMIE]

I know they don't work well enough every time but . I had my whole house lightning protectors blown out of there box, nothing else was harmed. I hate to think of the damage that would have been done if I hadn't had them

Jimmie

[Roy]

=3D=3D The extreme explosive sound when lightning struck my house six years ago was something to experience. The base of my cordless phone was destroyed, a surge protector in the computer room was destroyed (the computer was okay except for the modem), a small surge protected plug tap was damaged and the sparks blew out of for a foot or so and the smell of burnt bakelite or whatever it was made of permeated the kitchen. Other than that, everything else was okay although later on that summer the transformer on the service pole started to smoke and short out and had to be replaced so it most likely was damaged from the same storm. =3D=3D

[Jim Elbrecht]

What's the $6 charge for?

Good a time as any to ask if this is what I want when I get around to it-

5yr warranty- 400Amp or less panel- $10,000 warranty $149 delivered

There's your silver lining- I think I'll put it off until something gets my 10yr old TV.

Jim

[John Grabowski]

Ed I suggest that you check your grounding electrode system. Make sure that your clamps are tight as well as the panel connections. If you don't have a ground rod, get one or two installed.

[ransley]

I had a big strike costing the insurance co about 20,000 in electrical stuff, You really need to test everything even the boiler, its very possible things will go bad within a year that look fine now. If it burnt up things wireing can also be affected, my lightning loosened the wires on many sockets, loosened bulbs in sockets. It did damage from the 3rd floor to the basement, all 4 floors, so take your time and check everything, even amp draw on the frige, AC, pumps, etc. Did you have surge protectors, you can sldo get a cheap lightning arrestor for your mains. I hope the damage is minimal.

[Pete C.]

To further that, check every single connection in your electrical system as any part could have sustained damage. This really isn't as bad as it might sound, it shouldn't take more than a weekend day to do unless you have a really large house. Check each connection for signs of arcing and damage and tighten the connection.

Since burned connections have higher resistance they generate heat under load, furthering the damage until they fail. If you inspect and find any problem spots now, you can prevent failures in the future and potentially a fire.

[Jim Yanik]

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in news:1MedneNdQ-Z-2pTRnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

why is there a monthly charge? are they insuring it and your household goods?

BTW,you also can get strikes entering your house thru the phone/data and cable lines. those need surge protection too.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Just curious, is your utility lines(power, phone cable) all underground? Any overhead poles? None at my neighborhood. All underground.

[Pete C.]

99% probability his lines are overhead, unless he is in a rather new development, and even then they will be overhead outside the development. There is very little underground in the northeast.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote

Profit for the electric company as far as I can see.

That looks reasonable.