whole house surge protecters

When we moved to the farm we lost a ton of electronics. The biggest electrical house in the area recommended this which we put on all three buildings and have yet to lose anything since. I was not aware they could degrade and these have a little green idiot light on the side to tell me it's still OK. However, we did have a little strike this summer so I have just bought this one thx to you guys. Specs are pretty impressive but more than that they appear to work, we used to be surge city here.

Designed specifically for residential use, this unit is rated for split single-phase panels up to 400 amps and will absorb an astonishing 2,700 Joules! And with an ultra high spike capacity of 60,000 amps, this surge suppressor is one of the best values y

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panamax-Primax- ... 500wt_1415

I've posted this link before, "How to Protect Your House
and Its Contents from Lightning":

http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lhm/IEEE_Guide.pdf

It's an IEEE, the professional electrical engineering society's, recommendations on lighting protection. Well worth looking at. It shows typical residential illustrations. Also covers lighting rods. I'd post it here but it's copyrighted by the IEEE. It's a bit technical but the several examples are excellent. If you have detailed questions after studying it just ask.

Yanche wrote:I've posted this link before, "How to Protect Your House
and Its Contents from Lightning":

http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lhm/IEEE_Guide.pdf

It's an IEEE, the professional electrical engineering society's, recommendations on lighting protection. Well worth looking at. It shows typical residential illustrations. Also covers lighting rods. I'd post it here but it's copyrighted by the IEEE. It's a bit technical but the several examples are excellent. If you have detailed questions after studying it just ask.

Not sure how up to date this reference is but there is an emerging problem (known since about 2007) with lightning and CSST. CSST is corrugated stainless steel tubing gas line. It's a yellow flexible gas line widely used in homes with natural gas and propane. It is reported to experience damage if your home is struck by lightning or even a very nearby lightning strike. Blows a hole through it and then you have a blow torch. The manufacturers say if the gas lines are properly bonded it is not a problem. The NFPA recently released a report that concludes the material is likely to fail in a lightning strike regardless of bonding. Here are some links to info.
http://www.toolbase.org/pdf/techinv/css ... ncerns.pdf
http://www.gastite.com/include/language ... 010-01.pdf
CSST_Product_Liability_Suit.pdf
http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files//PDF/R ... Report.pdf

Geez Yanche, so much to learn at coal college, I'll never graduate. One of the reasons I am attempting to digest this is that my back up generators are Lister CS/6 Metros with Indian generic alternators. The thing I love about them is 300 RPM and will burn anything with a sufficient calorific value (waste engine oil is my favorite) and with luck will last for ever. There is an added bonus in that being an idiot I could watch an EFM/AA turning or a Lister running forever. However, quality of electrical output is not in the plus column so I am fighting current/voltage quality. So my supply is iffy at best. To that end I bring up from the tractor shed 400' away the generator line and have put 5 plugs at various points in the house wired with 12/2 MC armored. It's a totally different electrical circuit with separate grounds - everything. So lighting (easy) and various things are manually plugged in then there are problems, just the critical stuff. The problem comes with the coaltrol/anthraKing that has a fit when fed this stuff. So I am thinking a forklift battery charger and then pulling clean stuff off the battery banks? Simpler ideas would be welcomed.

United Illuminating charges $ 5.95 monthly for the whole house surge protector that they mount to the electric meter.

EarthWindandFire wrote:United Illuminating charges $ 5.95 monthly ...

Forever?

rberq wrote:

EarthWindandFire wrote:United Illuminating charges $ 5.95 monthly ...

Forever?

Its 90 bucks to buy your own.

Lovely, figures i have these yellow lines.

coalkirk wrote:

Yanche wrote:I've posted this link before, "How to Protect Your House
and Its Contents from Lightning":

http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lhm/IEEE_Guide.pdf

It's an IEEE, the professional electrical engineering society's, recommendations on lighting protection. Well worth looking at. It shows typical residential illustrations. Also covers lighting rods. I'd post it here but it's copyrighted by the IEEE. It's a bit technical but the several examples are excellent. If you have detailed questions after studying it just ask.

Not sure how up to date this reference is but there is an emerging problem (known since about 2007) with lightning and CSST. CSST is corrugated stainless steel tubing gas line. It's a yellow flexible gas line widely used in homes with natural gas and propane. It is reported to experience damage if your home is struck by lightning or even a very nearby lightning strike. Blows a hole through it and then you have a blow torch. The manufacturers say if the gas lines are properly bonded it is not a problem. The NFPA recently released a report that concludes the material is likely to fail in a lightning strike regardless of bonding. Here are some links to info.
http://www.toolbase.org/pdf/techinv/css ... ncerns.pdf
http://www.gastite.com/include/language ... 010-01.pdf
CSST_Product_Liability_Suit.pdf
http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files//PDF/R ... Report.pdf