Jason Hotze Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 So last night my house was struck by lightening. Besides scaring the piss out of my family I found I had a faulty surge protector. Just so happened to be the one my very large TV, PS4, cable box and stereo were plugged into that are now all very expensive paperweights. When I found this I immediately went to my shop and luckily I keep most things unplugged anyway in case my kids get out there but my jointer and brand new Laguna bandsaw were plugged into a surge protector that luckily worked. The surge protector is dead but my tools work still. Just something to think about if you guys live somewhere that thunderstorms are a regular occurrence. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Thanks for the reminder! Hard to lose good equipment to something like that! Glad you guys are ok! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 They make surge protectors for 220v equipment? I think I looked into this for my Nova DVR lathe, because the manual suggested it, and found nothing. Care to share what you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 2 minutes ago, Pwk5017 said: They make surge protectors for 220v equipment? I think I looked into this for my Nova DVR lathe, because the manual suggested it, and found nothing. Care to share what you use? A whole house surge protector installed at the box is what I used in my shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtnwoodworker Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Thanks for the reminder. I have to say almost none of my tools are plugged into a surge protector. I think I will fix that today. Sorry you had to lose some of your stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Fortunately, basic motorized machines are much less susceptible to voltage spikes than electronics gear. You can buy "suppressors" for any power system, but a nearby lighting strike can overwhelm anything made by man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 31 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said: Fortunately, basic motorized machines are much less susceptible to voltage spikes than electronics gear. You can buy "suppressors" for any power system, but a nearby lighting strike can overwhelm anything made by man. Yeah, and when it comes to lightening, the spikes sometimes travel via the telephone lines or the cable TV lines. Unfortunately I've lost a couple of internet routers for that reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Hotze Posted June 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Two it blew my internet router and cat 6 distributor. It actually hit the tree in my front yard I found out. Blew the bark off one entire side and out a few large holes in my yard where the electricity escaped the ground I'm assuming. I don't have any 220 tools so I don't know about the protectors for those. I rent this house so it doesn't have a whole home protector but I did have one on my house I owned. Def a good piece of mind. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown craftsman Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Oh geez that bad.Several years ago a squirrel chewed thru the neutral wire on my service at the utility pole. I was running my bandsaw at the time and cyclone dust collector. The run cap blew on the cyclone.my Bose radio smoked.And all the surged protectors in the house. Not as bad as your loss but I still feel your pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 A whole house surge protector installed at the box is what I used in my shop. ^^^This is a great option. I have a whole home surge protector for my house and shop. They aren't that expensive and you don't have to worry about putting seperate surge protectors throughout the house. Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 I have a couple of battery back-up / surge protectors at my house. Satellite cables,phone(back when I had a landline) and power for TV, stereo,DVD,TiVo CD player etc all plug into surge protectors that are plugged into the battery back up. Power goes out and the TV just flickers and runs for over an hour. Battery is almost the size of a concrete block. I got them free because the battery was dead, local supplier had new ones cheap ($25 ea sealed lead acid). They even recycled the old batteries for me. Years ago a lightning strike took out my TV, stereo,phones everything electronic in the house. Homeowners said take a couple pieces in to see if they could be fixed. Shop said they weren't fixable and wrote up a ticket saying so. They paid to replace everything (after the deductible ), it pays to have a good agent ! Lightning hit a transformer near my old shop a few years ago and none of my machines was harmed. Only electronics are in multi speed routers that stay unplugged. Probably need to get some surge protectors just in case the router table gets left plugged in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Are whole house protectors more reliable? I feel a little better with normal surge protectors knowing that at least 2/3 of them will work, and I won't lose 100% of my electronics in one strike... Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 A few years ago I did some electrical repairs on a house that took a direct hit by lightning. Pretty interesting to see how & where the strike traveled to ground through the house wiring (power & communication). Just now, JosephThomas said: Are while house protectors more reliable? I feel a little better with normal surge protectors knowing that at least 2/3 of them will work, and I won't lose 100% of my electronics in one strike... Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Short answer; yes. They generally have much higher capacity to absorb a surge. The prefered setup is to have a whole house protector tied into the panel, keeping the leads to a bare minimum length. That will offer protection from inbound surges. Then at each sensitive appliance, use a surge protector receptacle or power bar. Those will protect from surges that are generated within the house. They are a lot lower that something that would come through the utility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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