Lightning rod ideas
- Thread starter rogerius
- Start date
- Views: 3679
Ted Summey
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2012
- Messages
- 724
- Location
- Germanton, NC
- Tractor
- Kubota MX5100F IH McCormick Farmall 140, Massey Ferguson 135
My house has been protected by lightning rods since 1989. I am sure without a doubt that the things work. Lightning has hit the lightning rods multiple times. The house just wouldn't be here anymore without them. We live on a lightning prone ridge at 1125 feet above sea level. besides a tree or two nearby our house is the tallest structure for at least a mile or more. We have had the power lines hit, tobacco barns hit, cows hit and trees hit within a few hundred feet of the house in the last 24 years. I am just very thankful The Man Upstairs has good aim or that the Devil doesn't:shocked:
strum456
Platinum Member
I can add one thing to this. When current is forced through a circuit with resistance, heat is generated. Most building components are not good conductors and therefore build a lot of heat when lightning forces current through them. The good thing about lightning rods is that they provide a low resistance, low heat pathway for the current to flow to ground (aka, your house doesn't catch on fire).
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Well, after a place is struck, it just isn't the same place anymore.
Well... you do have a point there!
FredH
Platinum Member
Back in 2006 or 2007 USE to have a 100+ year old Ponderosa pine 19' from our back door . Cloudy morning , Flat Clouds , no rain or thunder , walked our dog around the back yard for 20 minutes from 06:00 till 06:20 . Came in and sat in front of the computer on this very website for maybe 10 minutes . First thing that I noticed was " Stuff " going from south to north by the window of our office away from that pine , from the corner of my eye's . Before I could turn my head , Major " Crack " and whole house shook . As I came out of office on one end of house , better half came flying out of our bedroom on other end of house . About what she looked like :shocked: . I posted pictures here back when it happened .
You could see were it had traveled down the pine to guy wires for the utility pole , ( Plastic weather head ) , then traveled across the steel guy wires to the 6" x 6" and the eye screw . From there , it jumped approximately 8" to 10" to a brass splice in t.v. / internet cable . From there it proceeded to FRY 1 Router and 3 network cards . Cable company has since replaced that section so no splices are around .
It was interesting to say the least . While we still only have normal ground rods , I do keep 1 eye out as that was the only lightning and thunder the whole day . Was going to take apart the router just to look inside . Without anything plug into it , if you connected the power cord , Every light on that thing would light up , so I imagine it may have been interesting to see . A few years after , the tree died , so we had it took down .
Fred H.
You could see were it had traveled down the pine to guy wires for the utility pole , ( Plastic weather head ) , then traveled across the steel guy wires to the 6" x 6" and the eye screw . From there , it jumped approximately 8" to 10" to a brass splice in t.v. / internet cable . From there it proceeded to FRY 1 Router and 3 network cards . Cable company has since replaced that section so no splices are around .
It was interesting to say the least . While we still only have normal ground rods , I do keep 1 eye out as that was the only lightning and thunder the whole day . Was going to take apart the router just to look inside . Without anything plug into it , if you connected the power cord , Every light on that thing would light up , so I imagine it may have been interesting to see . A few years after , the tree died , so we had it took down .
Fred H.
PhysAssist
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Messages
- 2,510
- Tractor
- Kubota B2320
That would look (and work) nice over top our well, is it original?
If not, what was yoursource?
We would love a non-electric back up water pumping system.
Thanks,
Thomas
PhysAssist
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Messages
- 2,510
- Tractor
- Kubota B2320
Seconds to that, we have a tree that has been sorely tried by lightning strikes at least every other year for the past 10 years or so.
It sits on the midslope ofour property line and makes for quite a show each storm.
Once I found an 8-10' sliver of it blown 10-15' away on a morning after a storm.
T
SPIKER
Elite Member
Back when I was in school (long time ago) I watched a bolt of lightning strike a swamp Elm about 50 yards from our house.
I went to look at the tree the next morning and it was peeled like a banana about 5 stripes of bark were peeled off in a candy cane stripes around it from top to bottom. The 1"x1" strips un folded out away from the tree, which later died from the injury. It was only about 10" at the base & maybe 40' high. the really neat part was the strips that came off were almost completely even dimension apart up as far as I could see & spiraled evenly as well.
Mark
PILOON
Super Star Member
Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin' ..
That was the TIMEX watch logo in the '50-'60's
One add showed a TIMEX watch strapped onto a water ski in Cyprus gardens and when removed they'd show it ticking away.
Reason I recall so well is that the skier that did the advert was a friend of mine.
That was the TIMEX watch logo in the '50-'60's
One add showed a TIMEX watch strapped onto a water ski in Cyprus gardens and when removed they'd show it ticking away.
Reason I recall so well is that the skier that did the advert was a friend of mine.
