lightening strike

[John D.]

Re: Surge protectors work...kinda/sorta...

Larry, I talked to my insurance agent and asked if my rates would go up if I turned the claim in. She said they would go up about 100 buks a year. Not fair I said. Lightening is not supposed to be an issue with the companies I was told. But she said it really isn't. Just that I lose my 10% discount for having no claims for x number of years. I am not that good on electronic mumbo jumbo but do know more than the average guy whatever that means and I am surprised that outside of lightening rods equipment cannot be protected in a dead hit. Then there is my pal Larry chopping holes in his piper cub inviting the lightening in for a go at it. Go figure. Well Carlisle is in two days and here I am wasting time. Later, John

[Zachary K.]

Insurance Companies = Legalized Extorsion *NM*

[Peter L.]

Re: Carlisle

John - Are you going to be at Carlisle? Let me know. I have some orange clutch cross shaft plugs for you. Pete

[Loren Smith]

Re: Surge protectors work...kinda/sorta...

My three year old Dell got fried by a strike a couple of months ago. The only other things fried were the garage door unit and a small TV. Not nearly enough damage to cover the deductible of 2% of the house value to claim on insurance.

[Clem Z.]

maybe they should start selling lighting rods

again. i can remember when i was a kid every barn and a lot of houses had them on the roof

[Jack H.]

They still do...

sell lightning rods. But, you have to WATCH your wallet! Those who specialize in selling/installing these systems often take things to overkill levels trying to put in a system that'll give you 'umbrella' coverage of your property.

That means a plurality of masts/towers stragetically located at various points to get above trees & bushes on your site in addition to the main house & any outbuildings. They prey on the property owner's fear and often wind up selling an overkill system that winds up running $15-20K!!!!

Some handle consumer cost objection(s) by insisting that they can't sell/install a smaller system since it might constitute 'malpractice'. But, when you actually read the fine print of their contract, it ususally contains a 'best efforts' escape clause!

[Doug Flaten]

Re: They still do...

In the oil patch, we have had good luck with a transient voltage surge suppressor made by Magney Grande. They may have been bought out by Schlumberger Reda, but we used to put them on wells with expensive submersible pumps and control panels. I seem to remember they cost a few thousand bucks. Some folks were buying the smaller units for protection of their house because the believed in them. As Jack previoulsy mentioned, I am not sure anything could withstand a direct hit, but these things helped with some of the surges that came down the line. They used to be based out of Colorado, maybe Jack knows whether they are worth anything other than boat anchors.
Doug

[John D.]

Re: Carlisle

Peter, Glad you got some good orange plugs. Peter if you will scroll to top of page you will see that John put a nice note saying this ain't ebay.heeeee.
So u better shape up key guy. Quit selling those fake plugs on the DB.
Look forward to seeing ur smilin face. I'll be at L93-97 from Thurs till Sunday noonish. Have a save trip. Look forward to seeing you. Hope it stops raining here though. Having a hard time stocking the trailer. Should unplug(not orange) this HP as it ain't helpin. John

[John D.]

Re: maybe they should start selling lighting rods

Clem, That's what I am going to buy for sure. House next door has them and it only lost one PC and two tv's. Go figure. Later, John

[John D.]

Re: Surge protectors work...kinda/sorta...

Loren,My 4 yr old Dell got southern fried. Lost the mother board and the power drive. Hard drive survived thank God. Had the Geek Squad put a lot of stuff on CD for me. Kept the hard drive in a special bag. Insurance agent says my insurance will go up about 100 buks a year if I turn the claim in. I may or my not do so. Don't have the time right now to worry about it. Take care, John

[Loren Smith]

Re: Surge protectors work...kinda/sorta...

I replaced the power drive because it was only about $40, but that didn't do the trick - the mother board was also fried. So I dropped the $800 for the new computer from Dell. I've been running the new computer, but I haven't had time to get our computer guy at work to copy over the hard drive, so I don't know if it got fried too. I hope not - I have lots of good pictures on it I hope I didn't lose.

A wise man told me once that you should only insure for the big losses, otherwise you are paying too much to the insurance companies; i.e. get the larger deductibles, you'll save money in the long run. Not sure if it's true, but I guess it makes sense.