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Lightning Strike

Started by Corley5, August 07, 2021, 09:18:46 AM

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Corley5

  Going to take pics after I talk to the insurance company.  Waiting for my phone to get to full charge.  I've talked to the well people.  He's looking for parts.  Ours is a 2hp Franklin control box.  He may not have parts for it and won't have until Monday but he's checking and will call back in a bit.  We do have the lights back on.  There are 4 damaged circuits with blown breakers,  many blown LED lights, one fried TV.  The house didn't burn down 8) 8)  Crazy...  Pics to follow.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Don P

DanG, check heater, any winter equipment that won't show damage for months yet, anything else that was plugged in. It can do crazy stuff, we had a big pine hit in our yard and it blew a knob off the neighbors oven.

Southside

Been there, lot of the same things. Insurance inspector spent maybe two minutes at the house, handed me a packet of paperwork and said to "write down everything that was plugged in" and he wasn't kidding.

Electric fence charger was blown off the wall and melted on the floor, entry door was bowed out and had what looked like a welding arc across the inside, breakers were toast. Had what appeared to be a bullet hole in an inside wall. 

Phone lines had copper blown out through the insulation every place the pair twist over each other. Definitely a mess. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

Corley5

The strike zone.  It took out Dee's fairy garden.  A 125lb Great Pyrenees fits well in the main crater.  There are three craters total.




 

 

 

 

 

 


 


Blown out concrete.  Probably where the charge entered the house.  The blown off flood lights.



   

 

 



Fried pet fence and plug in the wood shed.  The pump and draft blower still work on the OWB.


 

 

 

Zach installed remote controlled yard lights.  They won't shut off now.  The phone box blown off the side of the house and the cover.  The other half of the cover is in little pieces scattered in the area.  The phone jack and cover inside the house.  We haven't had a landline hooked up in years.



 

 

 

 


Smoked well box, light switch for the blown off the wall flood lights.  The plug is on the same circuit.  Wires are blown off a couple breakers in the the panel.


 

 

 

 

 

 



We've got an insurance claim #.  The adjuster will call Monday.  Still waiting to hear back from the well guy.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Corley5

The well guy found a couple of older boxes that are tagged tested and OK.  He's on his way to see if he can get water flowing again 8) 8) 8)
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Roxie

Wow is an understatement. Thank God it didn't start a fire. My own lightening strike stories are so pale by comparison. 

Let us know when you have water. 
Say when

mike_belben

Holy smokes  :o


You got me thinking about redneck lightning rods now.

Bolt hit my neigbors poplar a few years ago and lit his brush pile maybe 30 feet away.
Praise The Lord

Corley5

Water's on  8) 8) 8) 8)   He replaced the control box.  It's amazing that it didn't burn out the pump.  The outside faucets are still running flushing the rust out.  The shock wave really stirred it up.  Crazy...  
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Dan_Shade

Yikes.

That's not a contest anyone wants to win.

Glad you're ok.  


Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Corley5

And the well quit.  They'll be out Monday to replace the pump.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Southside

How deep is your well?  Can you pull the pump?  It might be the drop wire is damaged if the phases cross over each other, sort of like my phone lines were blown out. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

metalspinner

I would have. hard time trusting the existing wiring in the house. At least every receptacle and box needs to be inspected?
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Ianab

Quote from: metalspinner on August 07, 2021, 05:12:47 PM
I would have. hard time trusting the existing wiring in the house. At least every receptacle and box needs to be inspected?
Agreed. You don't know where the current has tracked. I'd be checking everything looking for burn marks / damaged insulation that might cause a problem later. 

Years back our neighbour's house took a hit like that on a concrete power and phone pole by the back door. Again nothing caught fire, but lots of damage. The one I remember best was the sewing machine. It had been left plugged in, but switched off at the wall socket. The power cord was still melted, with copper coming out of the PVC, and it wasn't even powered on. The concrete pole had to be replaced, similar damage to that foundation all the way up the pole. I think the current heats the reinforcing rods so quickly that it splits off chunk of concrete. 
We lived about 1/4 mile away and any light bulb that was on exploded, as did the big ceramic fuses for the old phone. It didn't just blow the fuses, it exploded the whole fuse box. Still better than next door, their whole phone exploded.  :o
So I've seen that sort of damage, and man if gives you a fright to be in the middle of it. 
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Corley5

The well is 290'.  I think the pump is hanging at 270'.  I'm going to let the pros do it and the insurance co pay for it.  I don't trust the wiring in the circuits with the blown breakers and I'm suspicious of all of it.  Going to see Three Doors Down now 8)
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Sedgehammer

Quote from: metalspinner on August 07, 2021, 05:12:47 PM
I would have. hard time trusting the existing wiring in the house. At least every receptacle and box needs to be inspected?
I had lightening take down my barn. The next summer my house went up. They never found what caused it........
Necessity is the engine of drive

Don P

Might be worth exploring under the strike points;
Fulgurite - Wikipedia
I noticed it mentioned a similarity to lichtenberg burning.

Corley5

  We're planning an excavation after the insurance guy sees everything.  The linemen suggested that night that there may be glass in the ground from it  :) :)
  Zach's starting his 2nd year as an electrician's apprentice.  His boss is going to come out tomorrow evening and check things out.  We'll see what the insurance guy suggests as well.  We haven't turned the breakers on that tripped.  There are LEDs through the house that cooked.  The wires going into the water heater's breaker are blackened but it did work until the pump quit again.  We're back from downstate and are going to make a list this evening.  The house is still here...  I wondered if it would be and was half expecting a phone call...
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

DbltreeBelgians

Wow Corley you're lucky. Looks like a bad strike.
Wishing you good luck with everything. We left Harrison at about noonish
and we're set up here in Wolverine at the city park campground along the river. Justin and Chelsea McManemy just dropped in to see us. (They're our daughters future brother and sister in law).

Brent

Corley5

A little siesta after the drive back from Detroit and I'm off to get the tractor to move the pudding stones away from the well so Rusty can get to it tomorrow.  You were heading the right today Brent.  South bound 75 traffic was backed up, stop and go from Bay City to north of West Branch.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

DbltreeBelgians

I saw the traffic nearly stopped southbound from Grayling where we merged onto I-75 from 127 to Waters and Gaylord area.

Brent

Corley5

How long are you staying in Wolverine?
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

DbltreeBelgians

I have no agenda other than riding some trails in the SxS now that most the riders have left the area. I imagine a couple days anyhow. Daughter just got here from Ohio and she brought our Lab with her. She's on her way to Minnesota with her 2 dogs to meet up with her man who's working the pipeline up there.



 

Brent

Southside

@Don P these are from Oregon. Sun stones are another product you will find. I have a collection of those too. 


 


 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

thecfarm

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Tacotodd

Don't know what to say except YOWSERS!!!

& we missed you at the shindig, but you had VERY good reason! WOW

BE SAFE 
Trying harder everyday.

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