Protection from lightning

[gabshere]

ok guy if i haven't mentioned it in the last month
lightning has struck three times . once blowing
the bark off an old oak tree for 20 feet up the tree.
the last strike hit the transformer outside my house
got my stove, answering machine (phone line surge),
modem (phone line surge) and my triple lnb from
Direct TV. I know it was grounded but it blowed the
grounding connection loose from the grounding rod.

so besides my statement above. I know nothing is 100%
i used to have a inline surge protector on the coax of my
old cband unit at the receiver.

i plan on placing this on my new units will there be any
problems (INLINE SURGE PROTECTOR) as in power
i wouldn't think so but thought i would ask

hope everyone is enjoying a great saturday, football ect
i have to work and had to postpone my weekend project
a week or two.

 

[PSB]

Should be no problems, if possible get one that has a satellite (or two) input for extra protection!

But as you have stated above nothing beats grounding to local and NEC code, where the surge is sent to ground!

 

[mastermesh]

I'm using a surge protector with my system and there's no problems whatsoever. I also have local grounded.

 

[brentb636]

My stb's and small electronics in my basement "office" are all on 2-1100 VA UPS units, for battery backup and line isolation. This is more for my convenience during power outages, but it also serves to isolate the units nicely from line problems. Nothing can save you, though, from a well placed lightning strike, not even the NEC .

 

[Inno]

I have two completely different thoughts on this issue. The first one being the obvious, ground everything very well and get the best surge protector you can afford. The cheap ones really don't do a whole lot for ya.
The second thought is, don't ground anything and when there's lightning in the area just unplug EVERYTHING connected to the STBs. That way there's no path to ground therefore nothing gets hit by lightning or destroyed by power surge. Now I realise there are several problems with this theory from a practicality standpoint. You're not always home when a storm rolls in, you have to wait for things to come back online after the storm, you can't watch TV in a storm etc. In my opinion though, all that is a small price to pay for absolute protection of your precious gear. An hour or so without TV is nothing compared to the week or more it may take you to replace/repair your blown equipment. Now my first system was not grounded and I lost my first receiver to lightning because it was still plugged in and operating when the storm rolled through. After that I started unplugging every time and haven't lost a single piece of equipment since! That was approx 14 years ago! I still don't ground any of my dishes, I have trees that are much higher than any of them and would likely take a hit before the dishes would.............maybe I've just been lucky but it seems to work for me.

 

[thetractorking]

In case you are going to rework, you can use dual rg6 (3mhz swept is the new stuff)--it has a #17 ground built onto it. Go from your ground block (you MUST have one) with #10. Preferable grounds are in order:
1. house common electrical ground
2. air conditioning main cutoff
3. cold water pipe
4. seperate ground rod-- 8 feet
Never disconnect the house's common ground wire.

 

[PSB]

Be VERY careful when grounding to a waterpipe!


There are five suitable grounding locations.*

1. Electrical service electrode (ground rod), or the conductor that connects the rod to the electrical service panel. (Image 15)

2. The metal electrical service panel. (Image 16)

3. A metal electrical raceway or conduit. On many homes a strap can be attached to the metal conduit running to the the service panel or between sub-panels (Image 17)

4. Water pipe. BUT ONLY with in five feet of the water pipes entrance to the
structure and only if the water pipe is metal and in direct earth contact for at least 10 feet before entering the property. Attaching a ground wire to a water valve is NOT ACCEPTABLE and should not be accepted. Attaching a ground wire to any water pipe beyond 5 feet from where the pipe emerges from the ground is not allowed.

5. If the above methods are not available, a ground can be achieved by attaching to the metal frame or steel structure of a building, if the frame or structure is proper grounded by one of the prior methods. This method is often used on mobile homes and RV's.


http://dbsinstall.com/whatis/Whatisgood-5.htm

 

[gabshere]

thanks guys for all the input , i do have several grounding points via grounding rods that i placed in with the help of my electrician. my main problem and i didn't realize it was when the direct tv installer set up his dish ( my dish) he grounded to the frame of the double wide. my problem with that was just six foot from where he grounded was my grounding rod he could have used. i have reworked this now and will add the coax inline surge protectors as well. Everything else is running through the isobars.

 

[techpuppy]

Whenever possible it is best to use a common ground for everything. Usually this turns out to be the ground rod for electrical service. The reasoning behind this is that there can be a significant difference of potential between two grounds which can be damaging in itself during a storm. The further apart the grounds are, the larger the potential. So in theory if you ground your satellite dish with its own ground rod (and it is some distance from your house) you could get an electrical discharge running through your coax and receiver to your household wiring ground as it's the easiest path for the charges to equalize. If a single ground is not practical connecting them together with ground wire is somwhat of a solution.

 

[Stats8]

What happens if lightning enters the center conductor if the RG6 cable, either through the LNBF or a penetration of the shield?
Are there any hope the grounding efforts will make any difference at all in that situation?

 

[PSB]

Inside conductor and shielding , both should go to ground if energized!

Another thing to remember is that if you use a ground rod it MUST be bonded to thehomes service grounding point. MUST.

 

[bryansr]

When I upgraded my Electrical Panel, the County Inspector MADE me & the electrician, I hired, place another 8 foot ground rod 6 foot from the previous ground rod that was there. The original ground wire had to be replaced so it would run uninterrupted from the electrical panel thru the original Ground Rod with a good bond to the second Ground Rod where it was also bonded. I suffer from a LOT of surges and electrical outages ALL of the TIME. Lightening is also prevalent here in Georgia so we have had our share of strikes too.
I made a TON of money in the C-band days because of the dishes being struck by lightening or even hitting close by.

BryanSR