A/C Compressor Died

[RH77]

Originally Posted by cfg83

Are there any additional ways you can protect your A/C from power surges

I could install a household surge suppression system, but those are big $$$.

Oddly enough, last night we had another barrage of lightning.

We were watching a bit of news when there was a bright blue flash quickly followed by a CRACK-BAM!

We figured it hit close. A couple minutes later... the Fire Dept rolled up to a house 5 doors down. They had a spotlight on the roof and went into the house with long pokers (pike poles) and were suited up. So something must have been smoking or on fire at some point. The house (and neighborhood) had lights, so it may have blown out an item that created some smoke.

I'll have to ask the "well-informed Neighbor" what exactly happened.

Our next place is getting lightning rods, sheesh.

RH77

[cfg83]

RH77 -

Originally Posted by RH77

I could install a household surge suppression system, but those are big $$$.

Oddly enough, last night we had another barrage of lightning.

We were watching a bit of news when there was a bright blue flash quickly followed by a CRACK-BAM!

We figured it hit close. A couple minutes later... the Fire Dept rolled up to a house 5 doors down. They had a spotlight on the roof and went into the house with long pokers (pike poles) and were suited up. So something must have been smoking or on fire at some point. The house (and neighborhood) had lights, so it may have blown out an item that created some smoke.

I'll have to ask the "well-informed Neighbor" what exactly happened.

Our next place is getting lightning rods, sheesh.

RH77

Maybe you can just strategically "pull the plug" on the AC. Not convenient or foolproof or comfy, but potentially save a few repair bucks here and there.

My sister and her hubby used to run a Mailboxes Etc. After a thunderstorm people would come in with their Dish-TVs in droves. The dishes would be fried by the lightning, and everyone would be returning their setups for free replacements under warranty.

CarloSW2


In Hunts

[dremd]

II was taught in high school that surge suppressors essentially jumped one leg to another. (THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS TRUE) . So if that's the case why couldn't you (we) disassemble surge suppressors and place a suge "unit" or several between each line and neutral. May just be a crazy idea, but if true then you could have hole house surge suppression at ecomodder pricing.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by dremd

II was taught in high school that surge suppressors essentially jumped one leg to another. (THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS TRUE) . So if that's the case why couldn't you (we) disassemble surge suppressors and place a suge "unit" or several between each line and neutral. May just be a crazy idea, but if true then you could have hole house surge suppression at ecomodder pricing.

First, I did some research on surge protectors. No consumer-grade surge suppression system can protect against a lightning strike. The suggestion is to unplug the item. My Grandparents did that in the 70's when the big-ticket items were the TV and Toaster Oven -- not too practical today.

But what about rogue downstream surges from lightning? So far they've taken out random items around the house over the last 3 years.

Apparently the guts of a surge suppressor could be wired up to the hot and ground at the outlet like this diagram. The trick would be to maintain the fuse or have easy access to it. If wired properly, this could likely be doable -- I'd have to take apart a surge strip to see what goes on in there. It might all be "in-line" instead of per-plug.

-RH77