What's new
By:
Filters

Don't F**K with lightining its the real deal

V6TOY4X

Active member
Joined
May 21, 2020
Member Number
861
Messages
36
We were doing a seismic upgrade on the roof of one of our buildings 2 summers ago in late June (SF bay area) when that one freak early summer storm rolled in and it turned into a good thunder and lightning storm. The building housed a server farm for one of the cell providers (huge power loads) and we had done a pretty thorough job of covering the roof in preparation. However as the weather forecast started to get really nasty I called a bunch of guys in to make sure we were going to be good. We had just got there (9pm) and I was climbing the ladder and all of the sudden it appeared the transformer blew up, I mean BLEW up, I was at the top of the ladder maybe 100 feet away and my first thought was oh S**T water got in the switch gear and we just blew the place up $$$$$$$. The two onsite back up generators kicked on and the frenzy started. Once the sun came up we saw that lightning had hit the bus ducting and blew an 18" hole right threw it and took the t former with it. Lightning aint no joke!

IMG_0412.JPG
 
Some years ago I noticed a basketball size hole through the side of the roof of a little barn building in the backyard. I go in to look around and see nothing but splintered wood with burnt ends. Look closer and see charred branches on the tree next to it. Best I could figure was it hit the tree and jumped to the building. Lucky it didn't burn the building.
 
We seem to have strikes close every year, but so far nothing directly on house. Last night there was one that hit a barbed wire fence 100 yds from me, I saw it hit :eek:Last year one hit close enough to roast my tv from the static. I generally hand inside now when a storm is rolling in.
 
How high is the roof?
Is there a lightning protection system?
Horizontal bus duct on roof.... 🤪
 
78bronco460 said:
How high is the roof?
Is there a lightning protection system?
Horizontal bus duct on roof.... 🤪
Click to expand...

Roof is 24'
No lightning protection, we very rarely get lightning.
Bus duct was at 3'+/- above ground level feeding from building main transformer to the building, up the wall 6'ish and thru the wall to the internal switch gear
 
Last edited:
Lightning keeps taking out the fuel station at works keypad login on/off functions. It's blown it up at least once a year if not more. They finally are looking in to Lightning protection for it.
 
V6TOY4X said:
Roof is 24'
No lightning protection, we very rarely get lightning.
Bus duct was at 3'+/- above ground level feeding from building main transformer to the building, up the wall 6'ish and thru the wall to the internal switch gear
Click to expand...

That makes more sense. I bet the switchgear was a mess.
 
78bronco460 said:
That makes more sense. I bet the switchgear was a mess.
Click to expand...


I'm imagining the company safety guy making him wear his NFPA70E insulated nomex suit, face shield, and rubber gloves/boots, because he's "working with switch gear", even though it's currently a slag pile of aluminum and copper.


__
 
Amazingly the main gear breaker tripped, the back up generators started up and the transfer switches switched over and they were back on line. The local utility swapped out the transformer 2 days later and temped them up on cabling. It took quite a while to get the new bus ducting installed. Could have been a whole lot worse. It definitely scared the shit out of me. I was sure we had caused it!
 
shortbus4x4 said:
Benjamin Franklin wasn't afraid of no lightening.:flipoff2:
Click to expand...

Think of all the guys that proved LIghtning was electricity before Franklin but we'll never know because they were struck dead on the spot.
 
You sure that wasn't alien invasion lightning? Seen a movie and....
 
Filthy McChevy said:
Lightning keeps taking out the fuel station at works keypad login on/off functions. It's blown it up at least once a year if not more. They finally are looking in to Lightning protection for it.
Click to expand...

We had a strike about 10 years ago at work that fried a ton a parts. Never really did find anything substantial for protection other then inline surge devices. There is just so much power in a split second it's hard to limit it.
 
Had an electric pumping unit at work get struck by lightning las week. It popped the transformer the variable frequency drive and every bit of automation equipment. The only thing it didn’t ruin was the 30 horse electric motor. The gov makes us ground clear all locations for that reason. Fire didn’t leave their origination points. Always fun to play detective on those.
 
A couple years ago I was unloading metal from my truck because it looked like a storm was coming soon (10-15 miles away on the horizon) when my next door neighbors tree was struck. Knocked all kinds of shit off the walls and scared the hell out of my dog.

it really made me appreciate the power and the ability to strike far away from the storm.
 
I had lightning strike a 60' poplar tree in my back yard a couple years ago. Blew it into smithereens. I had branches all over the place, a smouldering stump about 10' tall and toothpick sized pieces of the trunk all over the ground. The explosion from that strike was incredible. Amazing it didn't blow any of our windows out - We had bits of poplar trunk on the roof of our house, all over the deck and across the whole lawn.
 
shortbus4x4 said:
He is but it wasn't lightning that killed him.:stirthepot:
Click to expand...

You know, some say that, but others say it was the lightning that got him.

Reference.com said:
"Benjamin Franklin died of pleurisy on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia, Penn. The condition is caused by the swelling of the lung and chest linings.
Click to expand...

Know what else causing swelling in the lung and chest linings? Lighting to the chest.

Reference.com said:
Although generally healthy throughout his life, Franklin did have respiratory problems, gout and bladder stones, especially as he got older. He particularly struggled with a bladder stone that became so big that it could not be removed surgically. Instead, he tried to be conscious of his diet, avoided drinking and exercised to prevent the stone from getting larger. In the later stages of his life, Franklin used opium to dull the pain.
Click to expand...

Apparently none of his improved diet, lack of drinking, or exercise made a difference as he probably died from the lightning shot to the chest. I mean, we don't really know do we? They just said he died due to pleurisy which is swelling of the lung and chest lining which I'm pretty sure could have been caused by that lightning strike. My advice would be to enjoy eating, drinking, and posting on Irate4x4. Also, avoiding lighting strikes to the chest would probably be a good idea.


__
 
I've been struck indirectly. I was riding a dirt bike with my friend on the back when I was about 12. We saw the storm coming and were trying to get back home. The main bolt hit the ground about 30 yards to our left, then bounced/arc'd to my front rim. It threw us on the ground and killed the bike. Luckily both of us were okay, but the CR80 never ran again. My wife still wonders why I'm scared of lightning.

-DuckTape
 
Weasel said:
We had a strike about 10 years ago at work that fried a ton a parts. Never really did find anything substantial for protection other then inline surge devices. There is just so much power in a split second it's hard to limit it.
Click to expand...



Real lightening protection is expensive. Basically cover the building in rods and copper, and ground it all away from your service. Make sure everything is under the envelope of your new copper Faraday cage. Still won't protect if your utility gets hit and it travels down the lines.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh