Lightning rod for a MH?

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WildIrish
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:00 pm

A few weeks ago, lightning mildly damaged our telephone line, as well as coming through the cable internet line (fried the modem and my ethernet card). I now realize one must unplug the phone lines and the cables, as well as unplugging electrical appliances from the wall. (Can't afford one of those $100 surge protectors for each room that has a TV, computer, or phone!) This leads me to a question....

What do MH's have for protection against lightning? What SHOULD they have for protection against lightning? :D

We didn't even get a direct hit, and sustained all this damage. If it helps anybody answer this question, we have a double-wide on a foundation (not skirted), with a crawlspace. Being that it's severe thunderstorm season, I'm concerned about making sure that we've done everything we can to protect our home and its contents from lightning.

Thanks!
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Greg
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Location: Weedsport, NY

Well, I'm no lightning expert, but I think for the most part it is all odds. Unless you are on a hill or in an open lot, if you are going to take a hit it's going to happen.
Lightning has a LOT of voltage, if it hits anywhere in the area you risk a voltage spike that will in all likelyhood do damage.
Surge protectors have come way down in price and are avalable in many discount stores. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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Teresa73
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:49 am
Location: St. Johns, MI

Hi Wildirish,

Just a tip I'm passing on from my PC repair man,
he told me that when it storms to not just unplug
the electrical items in the home, but to also make sure
the actual plug is at least 2-3 feet away from the outlet you
unplugged it from. He said the surge can jump from the outlet
to the plug if it's any closer than 2 feet when unplugged.

I just thought I'd share that since I never knew it.

Also we bought a really nice surge protector for under 25 dollars.
Their prices are a lot lower now than when they first came out.
I'd still unplug everything you can though when the storm rolls in.
The surge protector we bought at walmart is to protect HDTVs,
DVD players, and electronics that are so sensitive now a days.

P.S. You also shouldn't use the water during bad lightening
storms, because the lightening can even travel through the water.
My step mom was washing her hands, and once got thrown back
across the whole kitchen when lightening surged through the home
and through the water - striking her through the water!

So, no showers, baths, or etc either (for those who don't know).

- Teresa
Please Spay & Neuter Your Pets =^.^=
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WildIrish
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:00 pm

@ Theresa73:

I forgot to mention it in my post, but yes--we do have surge suppressors all over the house. Even our refrigerator and freezer are plugged into a surge suppressor.

Except for the fridge/freezer, I unplug the surge suppressors from the wall, too. Interesting that you need to keep your plugs that far away from the outlet, when you unplug them...I'll keep that in mind. I did know, however, that you're supposed to avoid water during lightning storms. Also, no talking on the telephone....


@ Greg:

We have surge suppressors, but they didn't help; the lightning came in through our telephone and cable internet cords, causing damage to electronics that I had unplugged from the electrical outlet. Darned lightning outwitted us, LOL!

I guess what I meant to ask was, is there such a thing as a lightning rod for a MH, as there are for stick-built homes?


Thanks! :)
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PrincessJM

Hi, Wildirish:

The other day, the clean water supply to my toilet stripped out and spewed clean water everywhere on the bathroom floor.

I have to have electrical cords running from the bathroom to the master bedroom to run my alarm clock and a small fan, so I went in there to check. I had rubber-soled shoes on btw.

I reached down to pick up the extension cord, and my cat, Hungry, started meowing a very strange meow. It was really quick and ended with a t-sound. I realized that she was saying, "Wet, wet, wet!" I was very careful to pick up the extension cord and not touch the blades. She hasn't done that before or since, either.

No one can call a cat a "dumb animal" to me. LOL. She's my "miracle kitty."

Princess
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flcruising
Posts: 606
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:18 pm
Location: Florida Panhandle

To answer your question about lightning rods. A MH is no different than any other building in terms of susceptibility to lighting. All that a lightning rod will protect the structure from is a direct hit. That's all. The fact that your equipment got fried meant that it struck the lines feeding the house somewhere, therefore a lighting rod wouldn't be any more protection than you already have. The best way to protect these would be at the entrance to the house, same as electrical surge protection. Most electric companies will install a whole house surge suppressor at the meter for a small monthly fee. That would eliminate needing protection at every piece of equipment.
[color=blue]Aaron[/color]
steve
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Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 2:16 pm

Most of the new surge protectors have inlet and outlet for phone and cable connections
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flcruising
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Location: Florida Panhandle

[color=blue]Aaron[/color]
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Greg
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Your surge protectors MAY have an insurance policy included. Contact the manufacturer. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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WildIrish
Posts: 144
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steve wrote:Most of the new surge protectors have inlet and outlet for phone and cable connections
Unfortunately, those only protect things INSIDE the house. Most of our damage was done on the OUTSIDE of the house, and the damage to the PC and answering machine simply resulted from that. Repairmen from the cable and phone company had to replace burnt-out wiring that was on the outside of the house.

No surge protector can protect the outside of your house, and that's why I was asking about something for the outside. We were lucky in that only our wiring was damaged; the MH could have taken a direct hit on the roof, for instance, and that's what we're trying to avoid. When I lived in Arizona (where lightning was almost a daily occurrence during late summer), homes were often hit by lightning, which took out entire sections of the roof or walls. We don't want that to happen to our beloved MH.

I happened to find this site, which not only sells lightning protection equipment, but also explains why it's necessary.

http://www.lightningrod.com/manual4_why.html

I hope that clarifies what I was looking for. I'll have to ask them if this sort of thing can be put on a MH. Looks as if it can, but I always like to ask lots of questions before I shell out the cash. :D

Thanks for your input, everyone!
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flcruising
Posts: 606
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Location: Florida Panhandle

Installation on a MH would be identical to any other building.

Here's some more:

http://www.lightningrodparts.com/surge.html

http://www.lightningrodparts.com/parts1.html
[color=blue]Aaron[/color]
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flcruising
Posts: 606
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:18 pm
Location: Florida Panhandle

Here's what you should search for:
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&q ... suppressor

A whole house surge suppressor acts simply like a switch. It takes the excess voltage coming from the lines (like when lightning hits) and dumps it to ground. The simplicity of it allows it to use the existing grounding rods/wiring that you already have at the service entrance to your house.
[color=blue]Aaron[/color]
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WildIrish
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:00 pm

Great info at these links...thanks! :D
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