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Lightning Strike

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

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Corley5

  And we've got more carnage to add.  The window AC unit that's on the same circuit as the fried TV is making an odd noise and doesn't like to shut off after it's turned on.  Both freezers in the basement are loud now.  They're working but are making more noise than they used to.  Dee and Zach watched the LED lights on the back porch die and another ceiling fan is toast.  Most all the GFCIs through out the house are toast too.  We're concerned about our lap tops and cell phones and other devices as well.  They were all plugged in charging at strike time.  They still work but for how much longer?  It did fry a phone charger that Zach wasn't using.  How much equipment will fail as a result going forward?  Insurance people should be calling soon.  We've got a list of damage and questions.  We're going to see and talk to Zach's boss this evening.  Get a master electrician's assessment of the situation.
 We're disappointed that we missed the Pig Roast.  It was all planned out.  Had our door prize contributions boxed up, bags packed, ready to head out that morning  :( :o :'( :)  
 It could have been so much worse  8) 8)  Dee had been soaking in the cast iron claw foot bath tub moments before impact.  
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

WV Sawmiller

   I am so sorry to hear it and thankful nobody was hurt. Probably a bad time to mention it but I'll think about you every time I watch the start of King Ralph.
King Ralph 1991 trailer - Bing video 

    Note the picture of the royal family.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

hedgerow

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?
Corley5  Sorry to hear about the lighting strike. Its been over thirty years ago we had a bad strike when we lived on one of our other farms. The strike hit a large walnut tree in the pasture just out back of our house and killed three cows and calves that were under the tree. It blew the door off the breaker box. Didn't burn the house down or shop or any outbuildings. Damage in every building. No one would touch the job without rewiring everything. Long story short we were out of the house for three months and the house, shop, outbuildings, well, under ground to the house and any thing that was plugged in at the time of the strike was replaced. Thirty plus years later the house and all the buildings are standing. Good luck with the insurance company we had a lot of issues with them. 

Tom King

Glad no one was hurt.  I hope your insurance company will write you a big check.

Back when I was little, before electronics, one struck near our home.  It blew out every lightbulb in the house, whether the switch was on, or not.  No other sign of it.

We were backpacking, and camped near the top of a mountain in the Great Smokies.  One night, we had a thunderstorm, and heard lightning striking right on the other side of the peak.  The next day, we passed through that area, and there were trees blown all to pieces.  There were large pieces of some trees sticking perpendicular to the tree they were impaling.

We never slept near the top of a mountain again.

chevytaHOE5674

Probably 15 years ago lightning struck the inlaws house. Their damage looked just like yours outlets blown out, etc.

The entire house was rewired and when they started knocking the plaster in the damage to the wiring inside the walls was unreal, how the house didn't burn to the ground is beyond me. Things melted, studs charred, insulation melted, etc.

They replaced pretty much every appliance and electrical device. The ones they didn't do right away failed not long after.

Corley5

The well is toast.  The white pieces are chunks of the PVC casing.  We need a new well.



 

 

 
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Tom King

Dayam!!!    I've heard of it taking out pumps, and we've even lost some, but I've never heard of it taking out a well!!!

SwampDonkey

A new well? Boy that lightning sure did a number. Nasty bunch of business. Hoping for a speedy but well done recovery so there are not issues after.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Corley5

Yup a new well.  Rusty called his uncle who drilled it back in 95.  Rusty was working for John then.  Any way over the years they've only seen a couple with the casings blown from lightning.   My first interaction with the insurance adjuster wasn't real positive but it could have been worse.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

reride82

Quote from: Tom King on August 09, 2021, 11:29:34 AM
Glad no one was hurt.  I hope your insurance company will write you a big check.

Back when I was little, before electronics, one struck near our home.  It blew out every lightbulb in the house, whether the switch was on, or not.  No other sign of it.

We were backpacking, and camped near the top of a mountain in the Great Smokies.  One night, we had a thunderstorm, and heard lightning striking right on the other side of the peak.  The next day, we passed through that area, and there were trees blown all to pieces.  There were large pieces of some trees sticking perpendicular to the tree they were impaling.

We never slept near the top of a mountain again.
This reminded me of a Boy Scout story that happened in the Highland Mountains south of Butte, MT in 1922. Ten scouts were caught in a lightning storm at around 10,000 feet elevation. Nine survived, several severely injured, and the rest were knocked unconscious at least. It's a crazy story for sure, and those guys are all tougher than me! Google brings up a Facebook post about it here:  Update Your Browser | Facebook 
'Do it once, do it right'

'First we shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us'
Living life on the Continental Divide in Montana

Corley5

  The insurance adjuster asked if I'd been given a possible $$$ amount for a new well when I told him the casing on this one was blown.  Rusty told me 20-25,000 to replace what we had.  The adjuster about choked and said that was really high.  I told him it was 290 feet deep and then he asked if I had documentation to back that up :o >:( >:( >:(  I told him I was looking at the pile of pipe the pump had been hanging on.  The conversation got short and he said a field adjuster would need to have a look.  I agreed and told him that someone needed to lay eyes on this mess that it wasn't an average "my TV got fried" strike there were craters in our yard.  I'm calling my agent in the morning to tell him what's going on.  I had a meeting there for county farm bureau stuff this morning and showed him the pics.  He said they have very little to do with claims but if I had any issues to call.  I'm getting ahead of this issue.  Another acquaintance said it's never too early to lawyer up.
One electrician told me today not to sign off on the claim for 90 days.  Zach's boss told him not to sign off on anything for 6 months and that the wiring in the house needs to be gutted and replaced.  The adjuster told me that there were tests for bad wiring to see what needed to be replaced  when I mentioned the fried circuits, burnt plugs switched ect. ::) ::)  
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

thecfarm

On my well I can take the cover off and it stamped 140 feet, 40 gallon a minute.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Southside

Guess I would tell the adjuster that the wiring test is that he sleep in the house for 6 months and you get to deadbolt the doors each night from the outside.

Nobody ever accused me of being PC. 
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

Drywall is cheap. If they tried to get away with just a test? I would start yanking the drywall off for a visual inspection.
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Southside

Sadly you should probably start shopping around for another insurance company, be prepared for when they decide not to renew your policy.  
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

Ljohnsaw

John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

Roxie

Couldn't agree more that this is no ordinary strike. 
Say when

WDH

Now is the time for your Insurance Company to do what you have always paid them to do. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

VB-Milling

Quote from: WDH on August 10, 2021, 07:09:26 AM
Now is the time for your Insurance Company to do what you have always paid them to do.
Never there when you need them the most has been my experience.
Years ago, I canceled my auto policy with the green lizard company and I asked the rep when I could expect my refund check as I had never needed to make a claim in the entire time I was a customer.  She politely replied "Umm, you know that's not how it works, right?"  We had a good laugh after I told her I was joking...but, only partly joking.

Really sorry for your hardship @Corley5 
I sincerely hope the process gets easier
HM126

Corley5

Still haven't heard from the  field adjuster.  My agent has been trying to make contact with the guy I talked with  yesterday.  He's not communicating.  He's got a half hour before we go around and over him.  I'm the county president of the organization that wholly owns this insurance company.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Corley5

Sounds like we started a fire in home office.  I've been advised to speak freely about my experiences with the company thus far.  Not that I  wasn't going to anyway 8) ;D
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Corley5

New adjuster and a much more constructive conversation.  I'll get pictures and a list to him tomorrow.   And a written estimate/quote for a replacement well.  We'll see where it goes from here. 
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

newoodguy78

Doesn't sound like a time to back down keep doing what you're doing 

VB-Milling

Quote from: Corley5 on August 10, 2021, 06:21:09 PM
Sounds like we started a fire in home office.
With a thread all about lightning strikes and compromised wiring, I thought this meant something different upon first read.
Keep the momentum going 
HM126

Corley5

Our well guy is writing up a quote for a new well, I've applied for and paid the $$$ for a well permit and this is the preliminary list of damage I sent to the adjuster. 

Ceiling lights in living room, kitchen, dining room, back porch, bedroom, hallway, and front porch; upstairs and down stairs ceiling fans, dining room chandelier, upstairs bathroom and outside GFCIS, living room TV, DVD player, Roomba, phone charger, Bose radio, window AC, outside floodlight switch and whole circuit, WELL, landline telephone stuff, underground pet fence control box, outlet in shed and maybe more,  outdoor wood boiler has issues that need further investigation, wireless smart switch for outdoor floodlights and maybe the fixtures, 5 blown up fairy house lawn ornaments, 6 yard marker lights, Pac Man game, upright freezers in basement are loud but currently working.  The hot water heater wires are charred at the breaker.  There were many tripped circuit breakers including a 100 amp main in a sub panel and the 200 amp main in the service entrance panel.  This is a preliminary list and expected to grow.  Stan's Electric of Cheboygan will have a journeyman electrician here on Friday.

The pump and draft blower worked on the OWB the other day.  Nothing now.  I need to fire up the circulation pumps for the heat inside.  Hopefully the pex-al-pex in the floors didn't cook.  I need to fire up the hanging unit heater in the basement too.  What......
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

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