🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan10.044936.7909@rtfm.mlb.fl.us>, luckey@rtfm.mlb.fl.us (Jon Luckey) writes:
> The joys of living in florida!.
> 
> Last night a lightning strike took out two v.32 modems I had set
> up in my house.  And yes, they were run through a lightning protector.

Yes, but what kind of protection and how well grounded, and was there a 
last ditch protector for BOTH power and phone near the equipment
close coupled to a COMMON GOOD ground. There is no such thing as 
'good enough' ground. At least if protectors for both services are close 
coupled to the same 'ground', you can limit damaging potentials within your 
equipment.

At your service entrance, you want really heavy duty lightinng arrestors
dumping to a substantial ground. These may not be as fast as other things you
deploy but should be able to handle lots of energy.

Farther inside, the whimpier but faster spike suppressor stuff gets deployed.
You never have enough.

If telco is using 2 electrode carbon or even gas tubes, that can actually 
hurt you. You want 3 electrode gas tubes where each phone line enters.
Don't ever remove their protection even if you can't get them to 
improve it. Just add yours after it and use the telco CO grade stuff.

Doing it 'right' would have cost a lot less that what you have lost. 
Doing it right is NOT just getting a power and phone protecting power strip
at the corner hardware store.

What did you use? Did it die trying, or does it think everything is just 
fine and dandy after having let its protectees die?

There are plenty of external things you may not be able to control.
If you are fed off a transformer on the LAST pole down a long transmission line,
watch out. Far better if the edison folks extend the primary to one more
otherwise useless pole, and put well grounded primary arrestors THERE
at the end as well as feeding your transformer one pole back via arrestors.

They probably will have no protectors on the secondary, but you should have 
something at your service panel. $50 gets you an electrical supply house
grade GE protector. Shopping can get you a Delta silicon carbide deep
well submersible pump protector that has the same voltage ratings but is 
heavier and for less $s. Their hefty oil well rig motor protectors are 
wonderful, but for the wrong voltages. Just get the proper voltage unit 
in the same product family. For $35 it will laugh at what would trash 
any whimpy power strip MOV.

At least 2 of the better power strip class protectors now offer insurance.
Read the fine print and comply, but also add heavy front door protection
at the service entrances, yourself.