Took a Lightning Strike!!!

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Jimrahbe

Jimrahbe

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Jul 7, 2014
35,880
Bedford, TX
Well, actually my neighbor took the direct hit, I just got what was left over...

My neighbor lost almost everything that was electrical. It took out his water heater, blew the faceplate off his sprinkler system controller, took out all his TV's and an electronic gate that was less that a week old...

I lost everything that was directly connected to my AT&T U-Verse Modem, which included two Ethernet router/Wi-Fi units, AT&T Wi-Fi unit, AT%T Receiver/DVR, a Samsung Blu-Ray Home Theater and an old DVR.

So, what does this have to do with my pool?? Well, my EasyTouch will no longer communicate with anything. The pump runs manually, but will not talk with the ET, the SWCG runs manually but will not talk to the ET, and ScreenLogic will not talk with the ET. I am hoping it is just the ET that is bad, but I suppose it could be everything???

I'll be interested in seeing how Pentair views the situation, warranty wise... :confused:

Could have been a lot worse, I suppose, but being without any access to the web for two days was like moving back into the stone ages!!! I am really amazed at how many times I went to my computer intending on doing something before I realized that it would just have to wait.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Not that it would help for a direct strike, but when you are putting everything back together, I highly recommend a whole house surge protector for the main panel and pool sub panel (as well as any other sub panels you may have). It won't always save you but for a $150 and one afternoon DIY (for both panels) it's sure worth a try.
 
Yes - get a whole house surge protector.... cheap and they work electronically to detect a spike and shuts down ALL the power in a nano-second vs manual breakers that take millisecond.


This is what I used but there are others now.
https://www.cpesupply.com/2324100/Product/SYC-120/240-T2?gclid=CjwKEAjwvr3KBRD_i_Lz6cihrDASJADUkGCa0t3bZrGLQibLpNBYW_cifzI36uUsF0gSNgncSAJGlxoCkdTw_wcB

Also your homeowners should cover a lighting strike. They actually have software that allows them to validate if your property was hit by a strike and its very accurate.

Pentair nor most vendors will not cover a lightning strike.

Hope all works out.
B
 
chief,

I have power line surge protector and another one in the ET... Does not appear the strike came in on the power line, but I suspect it hit an Ethernet cable in the attic..

Jason,

AT&T replaced sent a tech out they everything free of charge... well, not really free since they charge me about a million bucks a month...

We will see what Pentair does...

Jim R.
 
Jim,

Don't you have a surge protector at the panel???

If so, they come with a warranty. If anything is fried on the pool equipment, see if SquareD will cover it. I believe the warranty is up to $50k in damage.

I'm hoping and praying you're made whole on the equipment.
 
Check where your service enters the house for a grounding device of some kind. A nearby lightning strike can induce a voltage on a long wire which can be much higher than your household ground if there isn't a grounding point where the service enters your home.
 
Yikes! I'm so sorry to hear this! Hopefully, everyone is ok. Wonderful that AT&T stepped up!

+1 on the whole house surge protector. It's warranteed for replacement of anything hit by a surge.
 
Yeah you probably going to be stuck paying for the ET stuff. "Acts of God" are usually never covered by warranty. Even your homeowners insurance will not cover unless it is a direct strike and you can see where it struck.

Sounds like you took a hit thru the network/cable. Only way to protect that is to use a network surge protector on your devices. I would suggest talking to AT&T about it and see what they recommend so as not to interfere with your service.
 

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You think that's bad, my house was struck on the same day I moved in!!!! Luckily the house was empty, were were literally moving in from the Apartment to the house. We closed in the morning, went to the apartment, and on the way to the house, it was struck by lightning. Put a huge 4 foot by 4 foot hole in the roof.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
I think lightening is covered Jim, see here -

http://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_enDocType=Warranty&p_File_Id=1704012662&p_File_Name=8291-0202Rev02.pdf&p_Reference=8291-0202

Whether or not they'll cover pool equipment may be up to interpretation.
Click to expand...

I suppose they could claim your damage is incidental since it was your neighbor that got the direct strike. However, there's no harm in asking and seeing if they'd be willing to cover something consider the proximity of the strike (it's not like it was a lightening strike that was 2 or 3 miles away).
 
My household insurance pays for lighting strikes, so that is a good thing, but of course I have pretty high deductible, so that is a bad thing. Still waiting on the Pentair guy to come out...

But... it gets worse... This morning while walking thought the breakfast area in my bare feet, and found a 3 foot circle that was hot. That would be fine if I had an in-floor heating system, but I do not. Found that with nothing running my water meter is spinning... Turning off the cold water into the water heat stops the spinning flow meter... Looks like I have an in-slab leak. Not sure if it is related to the lightning strike or not, but if not, it sure is a giant coincidence...

Sigh!!!!!

Jim R,
 
My goodness. I feel for you Jim. While it's good no one was hurt, I'm sure this isn't how you wanted to start your summer. I worry about things like that every time a storm passes over us in the Texas country. I feel like an easy target. I sure hope you are able to get everything resolved soon so you can focus back on enjoying the summer. Best of luck to you.
 
Some of that current could have carried through the service lines and zapped a few things underground. Ask your neighbor to check his water meter. If he's having the same issue that gives a little leverage to the theory the lightning strike caused the damage to the plumbing.
 
zea3 said:
Some of that current could have carried through the service lines and zapped a few things underground. Ask your neighbor to check his water meter. If he's having the same issue that gives a little leverage to the theory the lightning strike caused the damage to the plumbing.
Click to expand...

My neighbor said that was one of the things the plumbing company did when they came out... They said he was lucky... So, I guess it can happen.

I have the same plumbers coming out tomorrow morning for an estimate I can turn in to my insurance company.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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