(Topic ID: 5057)

lightning

By mickthepin

12 years ago


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  • 33 posts
  • 27 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 11 years ago by RCA1
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    #23 11 years ago
    Quoted from TaylorVA:

    All my pins are on wall switches. Would I still need to unplug them?

    Yes, it is best to unplug. Lightning is such a high voltage that it can jump/spread on ground wires while looking for a place to dissipate, and your whole house electrical system and probably your copper water pipes are tied together to the main breaker panel.
    I used to do some electrical building design and also worked as an EE for a power company and have heard some crazy stories about damage caused to phone and electrical systems from lightning strikes.

    I have not kept up to date on surge suppressing systems in the last 10 years, but most are not worth much against a lightning hit that is nearby. The heavy duty commercial systems also cost several hundreds or thousands of dollars and even then they are likely not going to stop a direct lightning strike .

    Here are some examples of heavy duty surge suppressors:
    http://www.advancedpowr.com/index.cfm?page=products_listing&categoryid=141

    #29 11 years ago
    Quoted from fusion301:

    My entire gameroom has its own circuit breaker box - If I flip the breakers off is this enough to protect them?
    Its a pain in the ass climbing under twelve games every time you think its going to lightening here which could be every other day in the NE during summer.

    It is still not enough to turn off the breaker box. It is the ground wire that is going to transfer the lightning's energy to your games in the event of a direct lightning strike. The grounds of the breaker box are literally connected to the ground outside with cables and metal ground rods. The grounds are connected to the breaker box even when you shut off or pull out the main breaker. When the lightning hits, the voltage spreads around the ground and can jump onto those ground rods and go into your breaker box and home wiring.

    It would probably be easier to unplug the machines if you get some of those power strips that let you plug in about 4 to 6 games each so you could unplug the strips rather than each game.

    #32 11 years ago
    Quoted from fusion301:

    Thanks DCFAN - I was hoping that wasnt the answer lol....

    No problem, glad to help out.
    I edited my post above to include:
    It would probably be easier to unplug the machines if you get some of those power strips that let you plug in about 4 to 6 games each so you could unplug the strips rather than each game.

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