Here's the surge protector advice from my electric co-op in Florida.
<www.preco.org/documents/AUGUST08_mark.pdf> Scroll down to the 6th of 7
pages which is actually numbered as 9.
I've not paid much attention to it since I don't live in Florida during
the summer. However, maybe I should. I just installed a new A/C unit
($4,000) and it is left running in the summer. At $6/month it's
probably a reasonable investment for a large suppressor on the meter.
But I just noticed the newsletter is dated Aug. 2008 so maybe the price
is a bit higher today.
Chuck Norcutt
On 6/15/2012 9:05 AM, Charles Geilfuss wrote:
> Thanks for the reply Chuck and an interesting story as well. Lightening
> is an interesting phenomenon. The reason I ask is that a while back we had
> an electrical storm that came through our neighborhood. All the power lines
> are underground here. A bolt struck the ground near a neighbors house and
> apparently made its way into the buried line feeding his house. The surge
> destroyed most of the electrical equipment he owned: computers, flat screen
> TV's, microwave oven, dishwasher, etc. He ended up with an $7000 insurance
> claim. I've been told that whole house surge protectors have the ability to
> detect voltage spikes and divert them to ground before damage is done to
> equipment. Of course the people recommending these things are also selling
> them. I'm looking for an objective opinion.
>
> Thanks,
> Charlie
>
> On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 8:38 PM, Chuck Norcutt<
> chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> I can't answer your question except to say that, despite many
>> neighborhood power outages, I never suffered any failures of electrical
>> equipment in my house in Boca Raton, FL over the 10 years I lived there.
>> I did have a UPS on the computer but nothing on the TV or appliances.
>> That despite the fact that South Florida has about 4 times the amount
>> of lightning as the national average.
>>
>> But the development did have underground utilities so perhaps that is at
>> least partially protective. Given that a lighting bolt can easily jump
>> a 10 mile air gap I'm not sure how much protection a little diode will
>> be. :-)
>>
>> During the time I lived there I used to work as a volunteer at the
>> Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. One of the rangers was hit by
>> lighting one day. The sky was clear blue except for a gathering
>> thunderstorm about 5 or more miles away. He had been driving the dirt
>> perimeter road and had to stop his truck to get out and open a large
>> steel gate. He had stopped the truck perhaps 20 feet from the gate and
>> was about half way between the truck and the gate when a lightning bolt
>> struck the antenna of the truck, fried the radio, jumped to the damp
>> sand under the roadbed on its way to the nice ground formed by the steel
>> fence and gate. Burrowing through the moist sand caused a steam
>> explosion and dug a channel thorough the sand about a foot deep and a
>> few feet wide. The sand explosion picked him up bodily and threw him
>> backwards over the truck. At the same time it caused his Glock pistol
>> to fire in its holster. The round missed his leg but the holster was
>> torn and the butt of the pistol bruised his side. When he landed in the
>> sand at the back of the truck his eyes were full of sand and he was
>> unable to see for a while.
>>
>> There's a lot more to the story. He did survive and took about 3 months
>> to recover but I think you get the idea. No surge protector would have
>> helped him. :-)
>>
>> Chuck Norcutt
>>
>>
>> On 6/14/2012 2:03 PM, Charles Geilfuss wrote:
>>> Nice composition Jim and kudos to you for spotting it. Although after
>>> losing power last night due to lightening storm (first time in ten years
>> at
>>> this location), I've grown to appreciate the underground grid.
>>> That brings up a question that someone on the List must be able to
>>> answer: are whole-house surge protectors of any value?
>>>
>>> Charlie
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jun 13, 2012 at 5:40 PM, Jim Nichols<jhnichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Most of us don't get a chance to view the artistic work above our heads,
>>>> created by electricians that take as much pride in their work as we do
>> in
>>>> our images. Here is an example.
>>>>
>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Lineman+Art+221.jpg.html
>>>>
>>>> A Telyt grab shot.
>>>>
>>>> Comments and critiques welcomed.
>>>>
>>>> Jim Nichols
>>>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>>> --
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