oldjohnt Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 NOTE, if the RV received a direct or near direct lightning strike, you don't need to worry about it finding a "path to ground" via any light wimpy 6 or 10 Gauge RV cord Equipment Grounding Conductor (and even then its NOT connected to mother earth until no telling how many feet away) AT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VOLTS POTENTIAL HIGHER THEN MOTHER EARTH, it will find a path NO PROBLEM and it dont know or care or matter much about that wimpy little power cord conductor!!!!!!!!!!!!!y Again, Lightning Protection is NOT the same as power line surge protection. Ya reckon if a guy is wearing rubber sole tennis shoes he's safe from a lightning strike ???? NOT Ya think if he has a 10 Gauge wire stuck in the ground next to him that's a path to ground so he need not worry??? NOT If you wanted to protect the RV from a lightning strike, you would have to install tall Lightning Rod Towers all around the perimeter which have huge braided copper wires leading down to a buried copper wire grid all around the perimeter. Having it plugged or not plugged into the RV Power Pedestal with a rubber cord that has a bare/green equipment grounding conductor that is eventually maybe several feet away bonded to a 1/2 inch copper ground rod DONT MEAN A HILL OF BEANS TO A LIGHTNING STRIKE. STAY INSIDE (safer then out) and if its already storming or lightning I wouldn't be running around grabbing power cords and if I did Id throw the breaker first. Keep safe yall John T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raquel Posted July 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 If you wanted to protect the RV from a lightning strike, you would have to install tall Lightning Rod Towers all around the perimeter which have huge braided copper wires leading down to a buried copper wire grid all around the perimeter. John T Well, I guess that would pretty much fill up the basement of the 5th wheel, wouldn't it? Trish & Raquel -------- "Road Runner" -- 2005 Volvo VNL780, 500hp Cummins ISX, Ultra-Shift, ET-Hitch, 198" wb "Wile E." -- 2013 Heartland Landmark San Antonio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alie&Jim's Carrilite Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 You could just make sure you park next to an Airstream...... All that shiny metal has gotta attract something Alie & Jim + 8 paws 2017 DRV Memphis BART- 1998 Volvo 610 Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sehc Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 The lightning rod does not attract lightning to bleed it to the ground. The rod dissipates static charges to equalize potential and avoid a possible lightning strike. Some times it doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 Sehc, Indeed the rod dissipates the charge inequality (charged cloud with respect to earth) to mother earth to stop a strike from ever happening. Its more like a gradual lower current energy discharge versus letting potential raise so high an arcing strike occurs. And whether or not the RV skin/frame is bonded to the power cords Equipment Grounding Conductor sure don't matter much lol John T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 We do not use surge protectors or the EMS to ward off lightning strikes .If the RV takes a direct hit it will ring your chimes and it is gonna hurt the RV. Saw one in a campground that hit a tree jumped to the C.G water connection took out all the electronics in the RV and burned a hole in the siding. We were about 100 feet away and I nearly went through the roof and could not hear for about 15 mins . The poor folks in the RV were shell shocked for quite a while. Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mscans Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 If you are one of the only ones "breakered off" then knowing that electricity takes the path of least resistance, your neighbors might be active protection against the voltage jumping your breaker. it will PROBABLY be soaked up by your neighbors before getting you. However if everyone is unplugging, go get wet with them . Happy Trails, Florida Mike EXPERTS AREN'T!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reed and elaine Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 I do not think the ordinary surge protector will do much help How many volts and watts are in lightning? Lightning can have 100 million to 1 billion volts, and contains billions of watts 30,000 amperes(30 kA), and transfers 15 coulombs of electric charge and 500 megajoules of energy. Large bolts of lightning can carry up to 120 kA and 350 coulombs.[31] Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp51443 Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 What the ground looks like after a strike varies a lot, I picked that picture to show the spreading of the bolt once it hits, different soils and objects create very different patterns. We have seen trees hit where the strike unburied the roots for about 20 feet as it boiled the water in them to steam and blew the dirt away. Had one hit in our front yard at the house that burned just one clump of bunch grass but knocked out electronic gear in several homes since it hit about 15 feet from the transformer serving them. We had a truck hit, the tires were conductive enough to provide a ground path and they all burst and caught fire. New tires didn't help recover the truck as several of the axle bearings were welded solid. I'd say keep some coat hangers and marshmallows handy if your rig gets hit. Protection is always good but how much good it does towards saving your gear really depends on the quality of the surge suppression and how big a surge it has to deal with. A whole lot of surge suppressors are junk (in my opinion) and do little to nothing to help things. Others do a great job - within their limits - and are worth buying. My favorite example was a Tripp-Lite Isobar that I had in Germany, got a strike nearby that toasted a lot of gear but I had my main computer plugged into it. It caught fire and blew sparks like a firework but it protected all the computer gear by shorting the spike current out internally. They make them in 2 to 8 outlets, maybe more and they are not cheap. http://smile.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-ISOBAR6ULTRA-Isobar-Protector/dp/B0000513US First rule of computer consulting: Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day. Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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