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Wow, found where some of the lightning hit my house

Discussion in 'General Talk Forum' started by Jnida63, Jun 20, 2011.

  1. Jnida63

    Jnida63 Member

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    was trimming the tree back from the house and found where one of the offshoots of lightning hit the house.
    So far I have had my main pc, 27 inch monitor, playstation 3, wii, entire Att universe system, 2 flatscreen tv's, my wireless N+ router, a kodak printer and my girlfriends work from home VPN pc setup fried.
    This picture is of my gutter that the lightning ripped open like a soda can getting hit by a deer slug Attached files [​IMG]
     
    Jnida63, Jun 20, 2011
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  2. dugd1013

    dugd1013 Member

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    Curious question, were you using circut potected power strips on any those electronics? I always wondered if they would really save a device as advertised in the event of a lightning strike. Living in the midwest lends itself to a lot of potential bad weather events. Last fall I had a $20,000.00 hail claim on my house. Baseball plus size hail really does a number on everything it hits!
     
    dugd1013, Jun 20, 2011
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  3. ToxicToast

    ToxicToast Down in the weeds. Staff Member

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    Wow Jeff! Holy schmoley!

    Hopefully the insurance will help you recover some losses. Thats pretty tragic.

    If I didn't know that was a lightning strike, I'd say check for a meteorite or frozen waste from a passing plane.
     
    ToxicToast, Jun 21, 2011
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  4. Tweakie

    Tweakie Member

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    That is terrible, hope it is all covered by the insurance.
    Out of curiosity what material is the gutter made from ?

    Tweakie.
     
    Tweakie, Jun 21, 2011
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  5. Jnida63

    Jnida63 Member

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    I was using plenty of surge protection but nothing will stop a direct hit, I believe it came thru the cable lines, all my computers that were wireless survived unhurt.

    The gutter is made of aluminum
     
    Jnida63, Jun 21, 2011
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  6. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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    WOW that's a fierce hole for an off-shoot of the main branch. I figured the surge protectors wouldn't do anything. Heck if Lightning can gap the cloud to ground, the half inch of the little capsule of the actual protector ain't nothing.
    Actually not long ago I had a "discussion" with a guy at the field who is an electrician. Forget how it started, but he stated that the car is the safest place because of the rudder tires. My argument was yes it is safe, but because it is basically a Faraday Cage not because of the rubber tires. Yes the tires are insulators, but if the lightning will gap the cloud to ground, the 6 or so inches from the bottom of the car to the ground ain't nothing. He wasn't buying it. I suggested he sit in an open bed of a pickup truck during a thunder storm to see if it works :D

    Just out of curiosity, how hard is it to get lightning rods installed in your area? I haven't checked in a while, but in this neck of the woods it's almost impossible to find any information locally. We don't have that many storms, but it seems like after every storm that passes through there is a news report of a house/building that was hit. Would think lightning rods would be easier to come by.
     
    rcav8r, Jun 21, 2011
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  7. TigerPilot

    TigerPilot Well-Known Member

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    rcav8r, you were right, of course. It is the Faraday effect that makes the car safe.

    I'ts very easy to make a lightning rod system. As long the rod is on-top of your house it's OK. Google it. If you live in an area where the ground is soft it will be no problem to put ground rods into the ground. It will definitely be a better solution than the surge protectors which are really not designed for the extreme high voltage (1.5 million volt give or take a few) of a lightning but for the odd case when for some reason there is a surge form your electrical company. These surges, if you ever will get one, are mostly less than 220V on your 110V line.
     
    TigerPilot, Jun 21, 2011
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