Lightning Surge protectors

[bluesofa]

We have plenty of power cuts where we live – so far 86 in seven years. How many of them are caused by lightning surges I’m sure is anyone’s guess.

Months ago our Panasonic plasma TV stopped working, couldn’t switch it on at all. It happened after some lightning. It’s thirteen years old, it was the first time anything happened to it.
Had it repaired only three weeks ago.
 

Yesterday it rained and we had a power outage for fifteen minutes. Later on my wife said she couldn’t switch the TV on. I watched it the day before, it was OK.
I’m assuming the same thing has happened again.
I don't know if the lightning surge came via the cable TV or the mains supply. I don’t suppose anyone can say which is the more likely to be hit.
 

We have a set-top box the Cable TV company gave us free. The coax goes into that, then splits between coax out again to the TV and an HDMI output the the TV.

Both times when the TV stopped, the set-top has been unaffected.

We have two other TVs (straight coax in, no set-top box). Neither of those have been affected.
 

When we took the TV to Amorn for repair, they were very efficient repairing it and simply said it was the “main board”.
 

Now I’m sure people will say we need to install a lightning surge arrester on the coax and on the mains supply.

 

We have an ELCB on the consumer unit, adjustable between 5-30mA. I have to keep it on 10mA, as at 5mA it trips – but only in wet weather.

I’m assuming it’s damp ingress into a (taped!) joint somewhere, but just where would be almost impossible trying to find.
 

Having searched online it seems a ‘service entry surge protector’ is what I need on the mains supply? We have a single phase 15/45A supply.

Is there a readily available coax surge protector?

As always, the cost is a prime factor.

 

[bankruatsteve]

If you are that unlucky with lightning you might be best served by unplugging stuff when it's around.  Surge suppressors will work but no guarantee.  

[bluesofa]

14 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

If you are that unlucky with lightning you might be best served by unplugging stuff when it's around.  Surge suppressors will work but no guarantee.  

I take your point.

It doesn't seem practical to me. Every time it rains I need to unplug everything?

Yesterday there was no lightning at 11am when it was raining for perhaps twenty minutes, but the power went off taking the TV with it.

It's only this year out of thirteen in this house we've had a problem.

[Justgrazing]

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

but the power went off taking the TV with it

Unlucky .. sounds a bit crazy does power .. 

 

[Crossy]

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

Every time it rains I need to unplug everything?

 

I would do what Madam does with the washer, only plug it in when in use. But she only does that because of the mega-issues we had with our previous Samsung machine, there's a thread somewhere on the Samsung Saga.

 

Nothing will save you from a direct hit on the incoming supply, but I'd go with the following.

 

Big (>60kA) MOV arrestor on the incoming mains with a good quality plug-in one on all the technology.

 

Co-ax arrestor on your incoming cable.

[NCC1701A]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Is there a readily available coax surge protector?

a hard core over kill would be this with a thick copper wire and ground rod. the actual amount of wire you would need laid out in your yard would be quite large to do a proper job dealing with a indirect hit. adapters would be needed to get in and out of this for your cable. 

 

http://www.tenmetershop.com/product/113237/DIAMOND__CA35RPW/

 

yes unplug everything during electrical storms. that includes everything plugged into the flat screens. i unplug my whole house when I am gone on long trips except unfortunately the internet modem and CCTV cameras. They are plugged into large UPS's. 

 

if you are at home and the power goes out unplug everything before the power comes back on. that is when the big surge happens. hard to do sometimes. 

 

"Common lightning arresters on your antenna feed line help only with minor stray lightning bolts.  A direct strike on your antenna cannot be stopped by a simple arrester; there is too much energy involved to dissipate.  The radio will be destroyed in such a case, along with possible damage and injury."

 

https://newhams.info/2016/03/09/antenna-lightning-protection/

 

 

[Crossy]

49 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

if you are at home and the power goes out unplug everything before the power comes back on. that is when the big surge happens. hard to do sometimes. 

 

Our over/under voltage protection has a 30 second delay before it turns on after a power failure which hopefully gets us past any power up surges.

 

Plenty of low-cost under/over units on aliExpress, well worth installing even if you don't get regular brown outs.

[Susco]

4 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Months ago our Panasonic plasma TV stopped working, couldn’t switch it on at all. It happened after some lightning. It’s thirteen years old, it was the first time anything happened to it.

 

Few years ago, every lightning storm I would have a blown up router or modem.

 

The last one, the fourth one that year, I had modem - router , 3 tv's, a marantz receiver and 2 Android TV boxes damaged.

 

In short, everything that was connected to the network, and the devices connected to those devices.

 

Turns out, I had internet over coaxial cable from BTV, and the "technician" had been so smart to tie the coaxial cable to the steel grounding cable of the pole that holds my transformer.

 

The that steel wire that sticks out about 1 meter above the pole is not connected to anything else, so every time it get hit, the lightning travels over that wire to the ground, and I'm sure some of it may be transferred to the coax attached to it

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

I would do what Madam does with the washer, only plug it in when in use. But she only does that because of the mega-issues we had with our previous Samsung machine, there's a thread somewhere on the Samsung Saga.

 

Nothing will save you from a direct hit on the incoming supply, but I'd go with the following.

 

Big (>60kA) MOV arrestor on the incoming mains with a good quality plug-in one on all the technology.

 

Co-ax arrestor on your incoming cable.

Can you point me in the direction of suitable a MOV arrestor Crossy? I have no experience in that area.

 

[bankruatsteve]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Yesterday there was no lightning at 11am when it was raining for perhaps twenty minutes, but the power went off taking the TV with it.

If no lightning around then you might be getting voltage surge when power is restored (or your TV is a bit delicate).  A MOV device will probably ignore the surge from reinstated power.  For that you would be better off with over-under device or AVR.

[Crossy]

46 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Can you point me in the direction of suitable a MOV arrestor Crossy? I have no experience in that area.

 

One of many https://www.lazada.co.th/products/1-din-35-2-80ka-380-ac-spd-i1387084959-s3536770318.html

 

Make sure you get an AC one (they're cheaper anyway), the DC ones are intended to protect solar inverter inputs.