Lightning & Telephones

[Varmintmist]

What you are doing with the well case isnt grounding, it is bonding. Tieing the grounds together so that they are at the same potential. The well case is a good ground, probably as good as there is in that area. If the power co and phone co cant get a good ground, they drill wells. You want the grounds to be at the same potential no matter what they are.

DO NOT use a phone in a electrical storm. I have seen those grey boxes on the sides of your house blown over a 100 foot area. I have seen phones blown OFF the wall in a house, I have see the only thing between the pole and the house left hanging is the rubber, the conductors were vaporized, I saw underground cable melted together. Lightning is nasty stuff.

I have also seen a guy with 1/2 a ear because he insisted that he talk on the phone during a lightning storm.

The protection at the side of your house is a gas protector that will shunt the power to ground AFTER 350 volts. It is there to help prevent a fire, not your equipment. Those old rotary phones can take it, new stuff cant. Even with that protector and as many surge suppressors you put on the lines, if the lightning hits close enough, your stuff will be fried.

Unplugging fron elec, phone, and cable, is the ONLY sure fire way to save equipment.

 

[Gomez]

Well said.

Verizon is currently running fiber to homes in my county. That eliminates one path from the equation. Now, if they could come up with a way to distribute power over fiber... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Varmintmist]

But now you will lose phone when you lose power /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif You cant line power fiber.

Find out if there is a battery back up for your home.

 

[techman]

Yes you are correct that the correct term for connecting equipment, etc to a common ground potential is called "bonding".

One point is that even a good ground, like a well casing, does not have as low a return impedance as does the power grid. Typical earth resistances (varies widely with soil conditions) is in the 10's to 100 of ohms. The power grid has a much lower resistance since it has effectively tens of thousands of ground rods attached to it, and it's overall impedance is very low due to the size and distributed capacitance of the grid. Bonding the well casing to the grid provides good unipotential level between the two and reduces the potential for failure of devices and insulation between them.

The gas surge surpressors are common today in new installations, but many older homes still have the old carbon/wax type of surpressors, which are no where as reliable.

Despite the surpressors in my NID, I lost two modems over a few year period. I finally installed three 200 volt gas surpressors in a PI network on the telephone entry/distribution panel in my basement. I further added a 22 ohm 5W resistor in each incoming leg to limit the fault current in the surpressors. Since installing these several years ago, I have had no failures in any phone related equipment.

I still consider a seroius injury from a lightning-phone use a long shot. It would take a direct or near-direct hit, and a strike like that would toast everything connected to the phone lines in the house, which is a very rare event. I am more concerned about lightning when moving the lawn furniture to a safe area as a storm approaches. Far more people are killed or injured by outdoor strikes than by phones.

paul

 

[Varmintmist]

Well NIDs and gas protection have been in use for at least 20 years, and techs are supposed to put a nid on at every visit per the fed, so the amount of carbons and fuses SHOULD be pretty low.

If you want to talk on the phone during a lightining storm, have a good time, just dont call me cause I aint talking. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif