Don't forget lightning protection

Xringer · 08-07-12, 11:20 PM

Lightning protection is important.

LIGHTNING HIT MY HOUSE..... - YouTube

OffGridKindaGuy · 08-10-12, 05:17 AM

That's happened to me once. I cringe everytime a thunderstorm comes around..

Xringer · 08-10-12, 07:57 AM

About 15 years ago, there was a line of five 30 foot evergreen trees across the street.
One of them in the middle got hit. All of them died within a couple of years.
When it happened, I was down in the basement checking for flooding.
There were arcs flashing around the room, as some of the power drained off to the swamp behind us.
Loud snapping sounds scared the heck out of me. But we only lost our new 9600 baud modem..

Across the street, they lost their GDO. The PCB was half melted.

OffGridKindaGuy · 08-11-12, 09:01 AM

My building is long. (Roughly 50') I had earth grounding on both ends via 8' ground rods, connected together with wiring from end to end. Everytime lightning would strike anywhere close to me, I would hear the snap-crackle-pop noises coming from who knows where. Lost a cordless phone, charge controller, a 400 watt inverter and a few other items over the years..

I changed my grounding scheme to a single point system. Removed the two grounds from the ends and installed an earth grounding point in the center with one rod and reconnected to my existing ground wiring throughout the building. Snap-crackle-pop disappeared and I haven't lost a thing since..

In the past, I had a hardline phone connection. I installed ~2200' of buried wire to the nearest pole. Had all kinds of issues while that was in! Went wireless, disconnected the hardline and a bunch of my issues went away.

I have no public utilities connected to my place today. It's nice..

Xringer · 08-11-12, 09:48 AM

That sounds like your connection from point-to-point might have had a bit of inductance.
Because of the fast rise time of lighting current, inductive reactance (Xl)
Electrical reactance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
can make the drain path so resistive, the current takes an alternate path. (snapping & popping).

Sometimes Hams make the mistake of adding rain loops to protection wire.
Any loop or even a sharp turn in the wire will boost the Xl.

IMHO, A good single point ground, fed by low Xl drain lines is a good system.

That's what I have at my house. But, the weak points are still there.
Grid power lines, city water (1/2" copper), and a separate set of grounds
out back on the PV arrays.
The grounds on the PV feeds are pretty good (into the water table),
but the ends of the feeds coming into the house are floating above ground.
Hopefully, if the PV takes a hit, the PV DC feed lines won't bring in any large fireballs.

Now that I have optical fiber (Fios) coming into my house, I wish the old copper phone line was gone.
Those things are lightning magnets. I could disconnect my end from the house,
but the bitter end on the pole would be hanging there for years, before they cut it down.

Check out this trench. http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/l...-foxboro-yard/

creeky · 08-15-12, 07:30 AM

I've got everything grounded except the panels in the sky. Guess it's time to get that grounding wire up.

08-07-12, 11:20 PM	#1
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Don't forget lightning protection Lightning protection is important. LIGHTNING HIT MY HOUSE..... - YouTube __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

08-10-12, 05:17 AM	#2
OffGridKindaGuy Hi-Tech Hillbilly Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 97 Thanks: 1 Thanked 16 Times in 15 Posts	That's happened to me once. I cringe everytime a thunderstorm comes around.. __________________ If it don't, I'll always think it shoulda..

08-10-12, 07:57 AM	#3
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	About 15 years ago, there was a line of five 30 foot evergreen trees across the street. One of them in the middle got hit. All of them died within a couple of years. When it happened, I was down in the basement checking for flooding. There were arcs flashing around the room, as some of the power drained off to the swamp behind us. Loud snapping sounds scared the heck out of me. But we only lost our new 9600 baud modem.. Across the street, they lost their GDO. The PCB was half melted. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

08-11-12, 09:01 AM	#4
OffGridKindaGuy Hi-Tech Hillbilly Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 97 Thanks: 1 Thanked 16 Times in 15 Posts	My building is long. (Roughly 50') I had earth grounding on both ends via 8' ground rods, connected together with wiring from end to end. Everytime lightning would strike anywhere close to me, I would hear the snap-crackle-pop noises coming from who knows where. Lost a cordless phone, charge controller, a 400 watt inverter and a few other items over the years.. I changed my grounding scheme to a single point system. Removed the two grounds from the ends and installed an earth grounding point in the center with one rod and reconnected to my existing ground wiring throughout the building. Snap-crackle-pop disappeared and I haven't lost a thing since.. In the past, I had a hardline phone connection. I installed ~2200' of buried wire to the nearest pole. Had all kinds of issues while that was in! Went wireless, disconnected the hardline and a bunch of my issues went away. I have no public utilities connected to my place today. It's nice.. __________________ If it don't, I'll always think it shoulda..

08-11-12, 09:48 AM	#5
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	That sounds like your connection from point-to-point might have had a bit of inductance. Because of the fast rise time of lighting current, inductive reactance (Xl) Electrical reactance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia can make the drain path so resistive, the current takes an alternate path. (snapping & popping). Sometimes Hams make the mistake of adding rain loops to protection wire. Any loop or even a sharp turn in the wire will boost the Xl. IMHO, A good single point ground, fed by low Xl drain lines is a good system. That's what I have at my house. But, the weak points are still there. Grid power lines, city water (1/2" copper), and a separate set of grounds out back on the PV arrays. The grounds on the PV feeds are pretty good (into the water table), but the ends of the feeds coming into the house are floating above ground. Hopefully, if the PV takes a hit, the PV DC feed lines won't bring in any large fireballs. Now that I have optical fiber (Fios) coming into my house, I wish the old copper phone line was gone. Those things are lightning magnets. I could disconnect my end from the house, but the bitter end on the pole would be hanging there for years, before they cut it down. Check out this trench. http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/l...-foxboro-yard/ __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less.. Last edited by Xringer; 08-11-12 at 09:50 AM.. Reason: news

08-15-12, 07:30 AM	#6
creeky Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: a field somewhere Posts: 304 Thanks: 64 Thanked 44 Times in 31 Posts	I've got everything grounded except the panels in the sky. Guess it's time to get that grounding wire up.