Curious if your arrestor was a Delta?Yes. And I was aware that the Midnite was superior ( for many months now);for one thing they have a LED that indicates the unit is still operational.
Would a lightening rod several feet higher than the roof prevented this from happening or reduced the amount of damage? I guess it is hard to say for sure.
This is the most detail I've ever seen on the effect of a lightning strike on an electrical system. Thank you for posting these- and they should spark some good discussion!
... had surges that have blew out a microwave ....
As for physical disconnect of the array (8 feet +) there are rated plugs or connectors.
The more I think about it the more I like the idea of having the ability to easily disconnect the feed from the PV panels to the CC, etc. I stress easy, as my wife is not going to want to get in there with a tools to reconnect the wires at a box. I just asked and she said she would much rather not. It's not often she is at the cabin without me, but it does happen. I would want it to be a simple matter for anyone to unplug if they hear thunder rumbling around us.
The spiny steel "tree" that UK4X4 shows is about the ultimate in "air terminal" I would think. Sharp metal blades that can quiver in a small breeze, would offer a lot of "bleeding" into the air stream. This would help to neutralize any potential that might build between ground and clouds. In the unlikely event of a strike .. the bolt should be greatly reduced in energy compared to what if would have been without the tree. After all, light rods (forgive me, "air terminals") are intended to prevent strikes, not guide them.
I like the sound of the corrections you are making to the grounding system. I think septic drain fields and tanks offer some good grounding opportunities ... as they are being constructed, of course. Not so good for retrofits.
Presently we are using a backup Samlex 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter for the cabin AC power needs. It does mean having to think when using the microwave or electric kettle. It will do until we decide if we really need the power capacity and convenience of something like the 3500 watt Outback that was toasted.
When I read this my mind went to the beetle infestation we have here. If you are seeing a lot of bluing - bingo.
That is interesting on the lack of resin blobs, the epithelial cells under normal circumstances are the last to die, they can still be cranking out resin in the logs months after a tree is disconnected from its' roots. The moisture is higher here but we'll get blue in warm weather with or without beetles in dead sapwood that is above fiber saturation point. Beetles tunneling through the spore covered bark certainly carry it in much faster. That sapstain fungi is a sugar eater, drinking it up from the cell lumens rather than feeding on the cell walls themselves but it is saying the conditions are right for the true decay fungi to move in.
I suspect the steam explosion(s) within the tree cause an embolism in the vascular water column between roots and leaf and the tree has no way of repriming that capillary pump (which is also why it is impossible for sap to "go down" in winter. a tree has no way to re-establish a broken water column)
There is always great urgency to move pine logs to the mills and get water on them in the summer time. This of course prevents the blue stain or the growth of the fungus that causes bluing.
I counted 102 rings today; 2 feet above ground @ 16" diameter. That's a NM tree for you.
WOW you are definitely not the the pine forests of Georgia and the Carolina's nor the Washington and Oregon plantations.....
It's one reason I do quite fine with a 16" bar. ;D
I have one more already thoroughly dead and dry ponderosa about this same size that I'm leaving standing for the birds or whatever. It's far enough away from any normal activity, far away from buildings, etc, but close enough to a bunch of other trees that it is pretty much guaranteed to hang up.
thread drift? ..... what's that?
The idea of slowly blowing / moving cool air from inside to the battery box has merit I think. If the box was sealed better than mine that should push the circulation from bottom to an upper exit. In one end at bottom and out the other at the top.
Petawawa Fire Fighters fought several blazes yesterday after a massive lightning strike behind two homes on Blue Jay Way in Petawawa.[/b]
According to Petawawa Deputy Fire Chief, Chico Traclet, at 2:30 in the afternoon yesterday the lightning strike hit a jack pine sending splintered wood in a 200 feet radius in the backyard of the two homes. The energy of the lighting strike ignited a natural gas meter at one home and hit a garage at the 2nd home. The strike also hit an underground tracer wire along a gas line and ruptured a 4 inch line in front of the two homes.
One home completely burned to the ground while the second home suffered damage to the roof of their home and their garage burned to the ground.
No one suffered any injuries and 16 Petawawa Fire Fighters responded to the blaze as well as Garrison Petawawa Fire Fighters. The Garrison also provided their ariel truck to combat the flames. Crews were on scene monitoring the situation until 6:30 this morning.