Lightning Rods - SEEKING advice!

[Abscate]

This is not home owner type stuff. Get someone qualified in this to do this, it is not a simple electrical problem.

On boat fora, idiots trying to lightning proof their boats abound, and are stricken. From the gene pool In flash,
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[djkeev]

Big tree next to house.

That's where a lightning bolt is headed.

Encourage it with a rod in the upper branches.

It wants a good ground path, give it one.

Many feel rods are worthless anyway.
Some who have rods paint the woven cables not realizing that the current flows on the outside of the cables and a layer of paint hinders that.

Also, aluminum rod systems are readily available.

Dave
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[epowell]

Huge tree but only very slightly taller than the house itself.

I am now seriously wondering if rods really work anyway. Some friends are telling me that if we don't have a rod the lightning will be attracted to the nearby houses that DO have rods.

I looked it up and found out that actually there is no scientific research proving that rods work. Apparantly there have been no rods studies done in over 70 years. The current concensus however seems to be that they do work, but not as well as everyone seems to think.

So I'm currently sitting on the fence as to whether or not even to do anything about the issue. However the other night there was a huge storm and I couldn't sleep - I went to shut off the electrical breaker for the duration of the storm.
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www.edwardpowell.com

[Abscate]

Rods do work , and yes, they do invite lightning to strike by providing a path for the initial “ streamer” that ionizes the air, which creates the path for the main discharge. The details of many things like the rod is bonded to the wire and grounded are the devil that the pro knows about, these details are subtle. It’s not just sticking things together.

There is a vast subject expertise protecting assets like power line distribution and windmill farms.
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[oprn]

Just found this thread. My unprofessional opinion is the first mistake was the choice of roofing material. Aluminum? Are you serious? On a building that tall? Now the whole bloody roof is a very effective lightening attractor!

Do not put any sort of ground cable through the inside of the house! That would virtually guarantee a fire! I see scorched walls and burnt ceilings as the future in that scenario!

Yes hire a professional lightening rod company to fix this and make sure they have a good insurance policy to cover their work!

[YDBD]

Our roof in Germany was just replaced last winter, the company removed all of the lightening rods and didn't replace them-apparently it was a thing of the past and not part of the building codes.

We do get some lightning, and looking around the neighborhood only old roof houses still have them. Our house is about the same height (3 floors) and corner lot with an open field across the street.

Check with the neighbors and city requirements, but if you believe you need them install them for piece of mind.

I would go with aluminum if you can, less weight and higher conductivity.
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[epowell]

[AZ Landshaper]

With a tree that close the rods might be worth your $$. Some insurance companies will give you a credit for having lightning protection. According to my friend ( an insurance agent) there were only 100,000 lightning claims in the US last year. Is that a lot? Not sure. He thinks its very little and your chances are slim of being struck.
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Previously
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[epowell]

[mark tucker]

some rods can be lightened a good amount some cant....and some people can lighten rods effectively and not hurt the rods.and some people can lighten the rods for swap meat usage....oh crap, rong kind of lightning rods....sorry...

[super74beetle]

[epowell]