Surge protector

@jea48 , I continue to follow this thread with interest. I did go to Lowe’s site and find their listing for the Siemens FirstSurge 140-kA Indoor and Outdoor Surge Protective Device.

After reading the second to last post you made, it got me wondering about this: in the spring of ’20 we had a micro-burst that brought down one of two large pine trees in my front yard. The tree almost could not have came down any more fortuitously than it did--no damage to my house or anyone else’s and only minimal damage to the cap on one of my pickups (which the tip of the pine tree hit). But it did take out the line from the power pole to our house (it did NOT yank the meter out). It also did not damage any equipment or appliances (I don’t think I was manually tripping circuit breakers back then). Was I just extremely lucky?

@rvpiano 

Can you give us an update re: what has occurred since your 5/16 post ?

I got a new complimentary amp from GoldenEar and had it installed in the speaker.

  I’ve decided not to worry about a new surge. It was the first one I had in my house in the 50 years I’ve lived here.
I’m keeping the speakers plugged into the wall.

I’ve decided not to worry about a new surge. It was the first one I had in my house in the 50 years I’ve lived here.
I’m keeping the speakers plugged into the wall.

I’d most likely do the same thing in your shoes, given the particular chain of events you’ve described.

At the same time, I have to admit I’m curious as to why Golden Ear replaced the amp for free if the problem was with the Furman...

GoldenEar simply said it was under warranty and promptly sent me a new one.

Fantastic speaker and company.

Yes; that is fantastic, indeed. So, a happy ending, at least!

The fact that every audiophile has a different system, hears differently, has different tastes and different experiences with different gear can complicate the process of choosing whose recommendations to act upon.

OP, 👍

I’m old enough as well to just not worry about a lot of stuff. Yes, a once in fifty years kind of thing is worth not worrying about.

I remember putting UV filters on my Nikon lens to protect them. What a waste. I stopped that twenty years ago and have never damaged a lens… but got the best the lenses have to offer. I don’t lock my car… I live in a very safe area… and there is nothing inside to steel. Etc. I just don’t sweat that stuff any more.

I recommend this unit. It's been working wonderfully for me.

 

If you have two spare slots in your main panel, I'd recommend you consider having an electrician install a whole house surge protector.  If you don't have two spares, they still can work around that, it's a bit more expensive.

That’s what I’m doing.

I got a Siemens unit installed in my breaker panel

If you have two spare slots in your main panel, I'd recommend you consider having an electrician install a whole house surge protector.  If you don't have two spares, they still can work around that, it's a bit more expensive.

@ejr1953  , does it matter where in the panel those slots are?  I thought I read something to the effect of closer to the top the better, but I don't know that I'd have enough wire to move the breakers that exist in those slots down.  

@rvpiano said:

I got a Siemens unit installed in my breaker panel

@rvpiano

Did the Electrician inspect the "Grounding Electrode System"?

The Grounding Electrode System = ground wire that connects the Electrical Service Equipment Service Entrance Neutral conductor to Mother Earth.

He should have inspected the Grounding Electrode Conductor (ground wire) connection at the main service equipment neutral bar. Also verify the neutral bar is solidly bonded, connected, to the panel metal enclosure. He should have also checked the grounding electrode conductor connection to the (at least) two earth driven ground rods. Check for any signs of corrosion and for tightness of connections, ( 3 ). Clean connections if needed and re-tighten.

The grounding electrode system is the foundation for a good low resistance path for lightning to travel to mother earth. *NEC requires a ground rod to soil resistance of 25 OHMS or less. That’s way to high. IEEE recommends 5 OHMS or less.

If the electrician didn’t inspect the Grounding Electrode System I would recommend you hire him again and have him inspect it. Your new Siemens Type 2 SPD will greatly appreciate it...

*NEC requires a ground rod to soil resistance of 25 OHMS or less.

Requires, well, not exactly. NEC only requires one 5/8" x 8' ground rod if the rod to soil resistance is tested. IF tested and the rod to soil resistance is higher than 25 OHMS then the ground rod shall be augmented by one additional ground rod. No further testing is required...

Electricians just install two rods and they are done. Rod to soil resistance? Hey, it meets NEC...

.

Thanks for the info.

@rvpiano

Depending on the year your house was built, and at that time the State of NY Electrical code required a CEE, (Concrete Encased Electrode), Commonly called a UFER ground, you may have one.

As far as the NEC code a CEE was first required in the 2011 NEC Edition. (Many States lag behind adopting an NEC edition. Sometimes years.) From what I could find NY State is working under the 2017 NEC Edition, adopted 5/12/2020.

IF a CEE is installed correctly and inspected by an electrical inspector before the foundation footings were poured a CEE is by far a better low resistance to mother earth grounding electrode than a couple of 5/8" x 8ft earth driven ground rods. Your Electrician should be able to tell you if the AHJ, (Authority Having Jurisdiction), in your area requires a CEE and the year it started being required. A phone call will accomplish that. If your house was built after the AHJ started requiring a CEE to be 100% sure though the Electrician would need to come to your house to check for sure.

See #3.Concrete-Encased Electrode

8 Items that Form the Grounding Electrode System | NFPA

.