Lightning strikes!!

An organ dealer told me to leave the organ plugged in at all times because that way the organ is grounded at all times, thus protecting it. I would respectfully disagree. We had an electronic piano in the church which was fried during a storm and not on but just plugged in. I use a surge protector on the organ but always unplug it if a storm is around or I will be out of town for a while. Thus far, no problems.

There's always some folks that seem to like taking chances. I'll leave the tight rope walkers back at the circus. I wonder if the organ dealer knows that lightning generally "looks" for the shortest and closest path to ground..

Rgds,
Ed

I am hoping my insurance co. will honor their commitment to pay up to (in repairs) or replace the organ at original value...unless they find some loophole to get out of it.....I will keep you all informed.....
jr

Here's a little more technical info from studies done by the Russians and Westinghouse in the 1920's. Lightning bolts range from 10,000 to 180,000 amps. A 1/0 copper ground lead is the smallest that can survive a direct hit without damage. If a large electrical substation has a very good 2 ohm ground, the voltage rise of the substation equipment can reach 360,000 volts. A single ground rod at the electrical service entrance to your home may yeild a 50 ohm earth ground, so the voltage rise during a strike can be over a million volts for a few milliseconds. But, the service entrance ground tied to the power service system ground conductor and buried water pipes are all that you have for earth contact to dissipate the electron flow when lightining occurs. The impedance of the house wiring is critical in resisiting the flow in the house wiring to connected devices and your HW organ. I recommend a surge supressor at the house service panel and a second surge supressor near the organ and avoiding any secondary grounding paths near the organ.

A little more in the tech area - many folks don't realize there is a technical difference between (a) ground and the neutral (connection), even tho in the breaker box, connections for both may be made to the same bus.

Another (important) consideration, over time a (wire) connection may loosen up even tho when first installed, the screw/bolt was securely tightened. This is esp true with stranded wires. Over time, it is a good idea to re-tighten these connections esp the mains, neutrals and grounds. A loosened over time connection can cause what is referred to as electrical friction sometimes resulting in arcing which is to be avoided big time.

Rgds,
Ed

Joe,

To be fair, a surge protector will protect against nominal line induced surges. Nothing protects against lightning. The folks who sell high quality surge protectors are also selling insurance. They know, on rare occasion, lightning is going to kill everything plugged into their protector. They just offer financial compensation if you have proof of it happening. Read paper that comes with the surge protector carefully. When you spend money on the protector, you are just contributing to the risk pool. The only sure way is to unplug when not in use.

Bob

Altho not too common, lightning can "attack" by means to phone and cable tv/internet esp aerial feeds. Never heard of it happening via an underground service but I could be wrong.

Guess we'll need to move back into the cave dwelling mode. Now is that being paranoid or what?

Rgds,
Ed

I have an expensive surge protector for my hauptwerk organ, but...I had a strike on my satellite dish (about two feet from one of 8 lightning rods!) and it cooked my TV, surround sound, and DVR player. The surge came in through the satellite cable. Fortunately it did not enter my internet satellite cables. Why? Who knows?

But, as I have the internet (Hughesnet) coming into my hauptwerk PC I now unplug everything relating to my organ including the internet cable. So why the surge protector? It was sold to me as "a good idea."

Although not too common, lightning can "attack" by means to phone and cable tv/internet esp aerial feeds.

You don't HAVE "surge protection" unless ALL of your connections are "surge protected". That includes telephone, coaxial cable, possible ethernet connections, and ANYTHING else that connects between your equipment and "the outside world".

This is a topic that could be debated til the end of time. When it comes to a lightning strike there is never any predicting how far it may travel before it finds a sufficient ground to safely dissipate, if your equipment happens to be in the way along the line, it will take the hit as well. I've seen a lightning strike start a completely wet house on fire and make things burn you would think would not, kind of gives you an idea of what kind of juice we're dealing with.

Even if a person were to employ some kind of a power disconnect switch between their organ equipment and the power supply, during an electrical storm a lightning strike could still follow the path, jump the disconnected contacts and arc (like you see on a spark plug) and reach your equipment.

I don't trust any kind of surge protector any further than I can throw them, they're good for surges and that's about it as far as I will trust them. A direct lightning strike is a bit more than a surge. It's great for the makers of these devices to make all the promises and guarantees in the world that your equipment will be protected, but when your equipment is fried and you're calling them to complain, watch them come up with all the excuses in the world.

Our local church employs supposedly the best surge protection in the business according to our maintenance guy, after a Saturday evening electrical storm they came in Sunday morning to find the sound system and the electronic organ DOA. Luckily it didn't fry the complete system but the organ needed a few new circuit boards before it was back up and running and the Mackie sound system had went in to "protected" mode and we had to reload all the saved settings to get it working again.

Best and safest bet? Unplug and get your plugs away from the outlet, and even that may not be 100% fool proof.

Marc

Marc.....
Thanks for the very thorough explanation as to what lightning can do....
As much as we know about it...there are still many strange stories of how it acts and affects the things it may strike directly or indirectly.....including living things...(humans too).....
Bottom line...I am still waiting for word from my insurance company as to whether or not they will cover my losses and either pay for the repair or replacement of my Technics Organ (which has served me well and is super-compatible with the Hauptwerk programs....)
Meanwhile, I will keep you (and all) informed, as it may help someone else someday.....
Regards,
joe

Important note........
Had I not gotten hold of an electronic organ technician (who knows his stuff) after my Technics organ "bit the dust", I would not be the recipient of an Insurance Claim Check of.... $ XX,000.00 to purchase the organ of my choice......OR...............TAKE THE $$$$ and run...........
Take heed.......Electrical storm damage can be subtle and undetectable to the average person.......and if you suspect such damage, get hold of a qualified tech......... likely your insurance carrier will reimburse you for your loss (at replacement value).....OR give you a check to do with as you wish.....
Had I not stumbled upon this fact, I would be out an organ.........woo hoo !!
Regards,
joeroberts

Hi Ed/engrssc.....
Great idea...but way beyond my electronic capabilities.......Besides, I received a handsome check from my home-owners insurance policy to cover my losses......
regards'
jr

I would like to propose something a step up from a surge protector. They are called 'power conditioners'. Here's an example of the two furman units I have.


These serve two functions: they are surge protectors on steroids (they protect a much higher jolt than a typical store-bought unit, and they also have additional electronics that help filter out "noise" that is introduced into the signal from other electronics in the house. (As I understand it, various electronics connected to the wall can introduce variations in the current that can affect other electronics downline. Things like AC units can have a particular affect.) I was having a lot of hiss come out of my studio monitors due to the very poor wiring in my house. After introducing these two units, I notice that the hiss is softer and more white/neutral. Just as important, however, is the fact that they are much more adept and "active" at dealing with surges. To see what I mean, watch this video demonstration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JujCqjLSQF8

While I still unplug my most expensive stuff frequently (I live in Oklahoma where we have thunderstorms of legendary ruthlessness!) I do feel a lot better having these units protecting my organ and speakers. There are many to choose from, and some become quite expensive and have various "banks" of outlets that are all shielded even from each other on the same device. Just search for "power conditioners" on yahoogle and you'll find plenty of info.