As an aside to your question, I would encourage everyone to read the fine print in their home insurance policy, as to any limits that may be imposed in the event of a major loss. My own policy protects my system to the full value of the policy. No restrictions on the stereo. I posed the question directly to the insurer, and gave them the $$$ risk should the system be lost to fire, flood, theft and yes, lighting. I have the answer back from them in writing. After the event is NOT the time to become an expert on your insurance coverage. Cheers.
Do You Unplug Equipment During Thunderstorms?
On one hand it seems like a good idea to unplug audio equipment during thunderstorms. But on the other hand the chances of getting your house hit directly by lightning seem fairly low. Some places get more thunderstorms than others. So I am curious what other people here do. Do you unplug your audio equipment during thunderstorms?
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A little off topic, but here’s a fun site if you like to look at the end results of electricity doing bad things.
https://www.electrical-forensics.com/SurgeSuppressors/SurgeSuppressors.html |
Quite a few years ago I lived on the outer banks of N.C. And went through several hurricanes there. Lost one power board in my preamp while I lived there. Sent it back to the manufacturer for repair. The second time the power board went out was because of a power surge to the house, no hurricane involved. I live in an area that is growing quickly and neighborhoods go up quickly. You can be sitting here and the power goes out and five minutes later it comes on with a surge. That was enough that to take that same preamp out again. So this time I found a guy that had some power boards at a reasonable price and I purchased 2. Since that time I keep the preamp unplugged unless it is in use. |
@taoist just reminded me. Used to live near Boston and used DirecTV. Lost a couple of DirecTV receivers, but it wasn’t actually to lightning. It was to wind storms. The wind would cross the surface of the antenna depositing an electron charge. It would eventually build up and ZAP!! Probably no more of a charge than you get on a dry night when you walk across the carpet and touch something or some one that's grounded. No lightning, no power surge needed. The solution was installing a coax surge protector. BTW, it was grounded externally. That was not why. |
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